Tunnels to Nowhere

I was looking around my new house one day when I saw something that struck me as unusual. How did this even get here? I thought to myself as I felt the seam around a door in the back of my closet. I tried to open the small, round door only to find that it was locked. 

"If I were a key, where would I hide..." I whispered to myself, groping in the dark abyss that was my closet. We didn't have electricity in the house yet. 

Suddenly a voice behind me made me jump to my feet.

"Whatcha lookin' for?"

"Ah! Verena, what are you doing in my room!?" I said to my little sister, who had sneaked up behind me.

My sister furrowed her brow and made a pouty face. "You didn't answer my question, Selina,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.

“What are you looking for?" 

"I'm looking for my favorite book and my pillows," I lied. 

I couldn't tell her the truth. It could be dangerous. I didn’t have the slightest idea of what was on the other side of that door, and I knew she would beg to come with me. 

"Shoo. I don't need a distraction. It's hard enough to find anything in the dark."

"Fiiiiiiiine." Verena sneered, walking out of my room in her typical sassy manner. 

I returned to digging around in my closet. Ugh. This was going to take a while. Since we had only been here for a couple of days, there were still a ton of boxes in my closet. I started to slide my trophy box out of the closet. Why did I have to have SO many trophies!? I slowly pulled the heavy box out of my closet and reached for the next box, one labeled "clothes". This one was a lot lighter. 

I saw a shimmer in the corner of my eye. I reached for it, feeling a shock as it hit my hand.

"Ow! Ow, ow, ow!" 

I put the object in my other hand and shook out the hand that had been shocked. 

"I'm ok!" I yelled, not wanting to make my mother come into my room. 

I took my first good look at the thing that had shocked me and realized that it was a key.  It was made of a gold substance that was intricately swirled into a pattern that looked like a fairy whose wings were the same shape as the keyhole on the door. 

I glanced behind me, debating whether or not to put the key into the lock. 

Well, I might as well... I thought to myself as I inserted the key into the lock. The door swung inward to reveal a dimly lit passage that reminded me of the Labyrinth from Greek mythology. I took three deep breaths to steady my racing heart and crawled inside the tunnel. The door swung silently shut behind me. 

Once the door closed, I watched as the pathway grew taller and wider to a point where I could stand up and put both my arms straight out beside me.

"Wow..." I murmured, totally in awe at the size of this tunnel I had discovered. I kept walking, not sure whether to feel terrified or excited. Every turn made me lean more towards terrified, making me more nervous.  

Well, at least I won't get lost, I thought, noting that the path hadn't had any forks.

After what felt like miles of walking, I finally reached another tiny door like the one at the entrance. It was round, like the first, but the knob on the door was different. I looked at the key and then at the lock.

"Are you kidding!? I walked all this way and the keyhole DOESN'T MATCH!?!?!?" I yelled, figuring I might as well get it all out since no one could hear me.

"Shhhh!" A tiny voice whispered.

"Who was that!?" I said, looking around wildly for the source of the voice. I felt the key move in my hand.

"It's me of course! Haven't you ever seen a key fairy?"

"What? No! Fairies are only- Wait. Wait, wait, wait…” I said, releasing the key fairy from my grasp. “If fairies are real, does that mean all mythical creatures are real?"

"Yes," The key fairy said. "Well, except unicorns. They died off a couple years ago."

"Oh. That's too bad. How did you find me? I'm Selina, by the way. What's your name?"

"In your tongue, it's Mirabelle Fairbank. If you like, you can call me Mira," Mirabelle said. “And I didn’t find you. You found me. I got locked on your side of the tunnel a couple years ago. No one looked for me, so I just sat there. Key fairies can’t open their own locks, you know.” She shook her head sadly.

"Oh.” I said. “Glad I could help get you back where you belong.”

“Now, if you want to open the door, you must follow my instructions very carefully."

I listened carefully to Mira’s instructions and repeated what she told me to. I watched in awe as the shape of the lock morphed to fit the key. When the transformation was finished, I stuck the key into the newly reshaped lock. It was harder to turn the key this time than it was last time. When the lock finally clicked, I reached for the door knob and turned it slowly.

There was no way I could've prepared myself for what I saw. There was a whole world beyond the door no one knew about but me!

"Welcome to Nowhere," Mira said.

There were no words to describe the beauty of the world I had found. I was on the edge of a forest. On the meadow in front of me, anywhere you looked, there were creatures from every myth and legend you've ever heard of, plus so many more I couldn't even begin to name. I noticed that the trees behind me all had doors in their trunks and were labeled with the names of any place you could think of, and places I hadn’t ever heard of. That's when I noticed the bay down below the sloping hills.

"Are there mermaids in that bay?" I asked Mira, releasing her once again.

"Why, of course! That's Aqua Bay. It has sirens, mermaids, kelpies, selkies...you get the point. Ah! Here comes Livelyfoot the Elf. You’ll like her," Mira said as a tall, slender elf walked towards us. She had flaming red hair tied into an intricate braid and a bow slung over her shoulder.

"Ah! Mirabelle! You’re back! What have you brought in this time?" Livelyfoot asked, looking my direction. "I'm Livelyfoot the Archer, at your service," Livelyfoot said, bowing to me. "What brings you here?"

"I just moved into a new house, and I found a tunnel and Mira, who was a key at the time, and the door opened when I put the key in the lock. I walked down a tunnel and now...well, here I am!” I rambled, trying to take in this new figure. 

I realized I had forgotten to introduce myself. “My name is Selina, by the way."

"Well, you can call me Liv, if you like. Now...I wonder why you are the one who opened that door?" Liv said, a curious look on her face.

"What do you mean? You say that as though it hasn't been done before,"

"That's because the door you went through hasn't been opened in centuries! Come, we will talk more in my house. It is safer there."

We walked together into the woods. I noticed that each door had a fairy house hung in the branches of its tree. Finally, we reached a small hut with odd marks and characters above a round door. Liv opened the door and ushered me inside, glancing around behind her before closing the door. Mira immediately flew into a small house on the corner of a ledge above the hearth. It was a homey little cottage, small but not tight. Liv sat in a red velvet armchair and I sat on the earth toned rug in front of the hearth and Mira’s tiny dwelling. 

"There is much you do not know, but only time will tell if you have arrived early enough," Liv said. As I listened, I prepared myself for the long journey ahead.