What Portal?

The portal was right there behind the closet door.

Joanne said, “No, don’t bother. I hang things up in this closet over here. That door doesn’t work.”

Mary glanced sideways at her cousin and instantly knew something was off. She never tells me what to do when I’m a guest in her house. This isn’t right. I wonder what’s hiding in that closet.

Joanne hung up Mary’s jacket in the closet at the end of the staircase, not the one by the front door. Whew, that was close. I’ll have to cover that door with a curtain or piece of furniture or something. Maybe I should look at that mirror I saw in the antique store downtown.

“Come in here, Mary. I made tea and your favorite cinnamon cake. We can sit and have a nice long chat. We haven’t seen each other since Joel’s funeral and it's about time we got caught up with family news.”

Joanne led the way into the living room that looked out onto her well-tended garden, her pride and joy. She was very proud of her gardening skills and had won several awards at the Mayfair Garden Society’s competitions. She never would brag but she felt very satisfied with her gardening abilities.

Mary sat in a comfortable chair looking out the window at the magnificent display of color before her. Joanne sat to her right at an angle so she could see both Mary and her own handiwork.

“Well, what did you think of the rain last week?”

“Cut the crap, Joanne. Tell me why you summoned me here. No more bullshit between us. Joel is dead and those days are over. What are you up to? I know you well, and you definitely are up to something. Let’s start with your mystery door at the front of the house.”

“Why, Mary, whatever are you talking about?” asked Joanne as she demurely lowered her eyes to her lap and fidgeted with her cup of tea. “I’m sure you know how much I love seeing you, Cousin.”

Mary grinned. “Right. Well, let’s get to it, then. By the way, you still have a beautiful garden. Now, what about the last thing Joel told you about portals and such? I know you know what I’m talking about.”

Joanne raised her head, looked into Mary’s eyes, and suddenly stood up. She walked over to the dining table and put down her cup and saucer which had beautiful peonies hand painted on them. She turned to Mary and said, “Please, let’s not go there again. I told you before that I don’t know what he was talking about. Not yet anyway.”

“Not yet? Really? After all these years of covering for him, you don’t know what he was talking about? C’mon, Joanne, you’re a botany professor. You’re not fooled that easily. I demand to know where the portal is and what you know about it.”

“Look, Mary, just because someone told you about portals doesn’t mean you have to believe them. They might have been playing a joke on you. Let it go.”

Mary looked out at the garden. I wonder if it’s out there somewhere. Maybe behind that tree at the back of the yard or behind the water feature over there. I just know she has a portal somewhere on her property. I just know it.

The Ring camera went off and Joanne sighed. Thank goodness. Saved by the bell.

Nicolai walked in with his usual swagger and waved at Mary as he headed into the kitchen. He helped himself to cinnamon cake and took a Coke out of the refrigerator.

“Help yourself, Nikki,” said Joanne. As if he even heard me.

“So, what are you two girls talking about?” said Nikki as he pulled up a chair near Mary and took a swig of Coke from the bottle.

Mary leaned forward and blurted, “Portals.”

“Oh, I thought you might be talking about something mundane and ordinary. I’ll be happy to give you my version of portal talk, Mary. Ready?”

“Oh, God, no.”

“Okay, here we go,” said Nikki, as he took a large bite of cinnamon cake. “Portals are known to gamers worldwide. We all know what portals are. We run into them and ‘voila!’ we are in another land, or island, or something. Doesn’t matter. It’s a swirly cloud that we run into with our character and end up somewhere else where we can play the game with different landscapes and creatures. That’s all. That’s it. Those are portals.”

Mary stared at him. Surely, he doesn’t think he just explained anything relevant.

Joanne sighed. “Nikki, maybe you would like to continue this conversation in your room with your computer friends?”

“Okay, Mom, I know when I’ve overstepped. See ya later. Nice seeing you, Mary. Let me know if you need any more info about portals.”

Mary watched him go upstairs. God, I don’t know why Joanne still lets him live here. A man his age should want to be on his own. What’s wrong with the world these days?

“He writes software for a gaming company, Mary. I could read your thoughts.”

“Okay, Joanne, so you know I’m serious. You know that my background is in spiritual writing which includes portals. I mean spiritual portals, not computer game portals, natural portals such as caves and bodies of water, or psychokinetic portals created by humans. I mean portals used to access places in and out of our world. Yes, I know you deny their existence but just before he died, Joel told me he took you through one. So don’t deny it to me. I know you know.”

Joanne tried to change the subject but knew it wouldn’t work. Not with Mary. She had to make a decision that she didn’t want to make. She hesitated, looked down, bit her lip, and said, “Okay, Mary, I will talk with you about it, but I have no explanations for you. None. I just don’t know enough to understand any of it. But I’ll show you what’s here.”

“Good. I have thought for a long time that you had a portal in your home, and I intend to find it, unless you want to peacefully show me where it is now.”

“Okay, follow me, Mary. I’ll show you where it is, but I take no responsibility for what happens to you if you go through the portal. Joel showed it to me, but I have no idea where I went or what was going on at any time. So, good luck but don’t count on me to save you from anything. Got it?”

Joanne continued, “And do not, under any circumstances tell Nikki about it.”

Mary nodded.

“Agreed. The last thing we need is Nikki stuck in an alternate reality somewhere. He probably wouldn’t have a clue whether or not he's in a game.”