The Door of Mystery

The hinges creaked, protesting from ages of neglect. I felt the cool bronze of the doorknob pressed against one of my clammy palms, and the rough, peeling wood of the door beneath my other as I began to push it open. My heart pounded against my chest. I could feel the blood raging through my head. Everything was so loud that I wondered if anyone else could hear it. Then I remembered that I was alone. I stood by my lonesome before the two doors, ultimately deciding my own fate. Glancing over one last time at the door next to me, I paused, hesitating. Everyone went through that door, as if there were some unspoken agreement among us all. It always stood tall and proud with a fresh layer of paint coated on its face, the doorknob was always scrubbed clean of any fingerprints, and the decorative knocker was always polished to the point that I could clearly see my reflection gazing back at me. 

Despite the seemingly unanimous preference for that door, I never cared for it all that much. Its cleanliness might have been pleasing to the eye and provided a certain level of familiar comfort to most people, but I had always been intrigued by the door next to it. The peeling paint; the dozens of chips, knicks, scratches, and scrapes upon its rough surface; the slight jagged angle at which it hung. Just by the sight of it, I could feel its unknown history vibrating through the grains of wood, almost as if it were begging to have its story told. I had always considered it the Door of Mystery, and I just knew it held a special secret specifically for me. Inhaling a deep breath, I shook my head to clear my thoughts and I proceeded through the entrance. 

Immediately, I was struck by a musty yet smokey smell, as if Grandma had decided to light the fireplace. Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, and I found myself standing on the threshold of a room I had never seen before. Dozens of dusty, mismatched carpets lazed on the wooden floor, muffling the creaks and moans that escaped from beneath my feet as I took an uncertain step forward. 

“Who’s there?” a small voice suddenly cried out, causing me to jump in surprise. Across the room, I noticed a small, wizened old man rising out of a dark blue velvet armchair, appearing to be shocked to see another living human being before him. I opened and closed my mouth idiotically, as if I were a fish out of water, all the while staring at the old man. I wasn’t sure what I had been expecting to encounter on the other side of the door, but it certainly wasn’t this. 

“I-I-I came from out there,” I eventually managed to stammer out, pointing behind me at the door, which I had since closed upon entering the room. The alert expression on the old man’s face suddenly relaxed into a look of gentle wonder, and his thin shoulders lowered slightly.

“From out there?” he asked in the same small voice that had startled me moments ago. “No one’s come from out there in ages… I figured everyone had given up on my door…”

I felt a slight twinge of annoyance when he said that. It wasn’t his door, it was my door! I had a special connection with it! It was impossible for him to share the same unexplainable passion that I felt for it! However, the instant these thoughts crossed my mind, I immediately found myself filled with shame. Of course this wasn’t my door. If anything, it probably was the old man’s door, as he was clearly here before me.

“Well, not quite,” I replied, giving him an embarrassed smile. “Apparently I’m the only one who felt like going against the grain for a change in a while…”

The old man grinned, and for a moment, I caught a glimpse of the young man that he used to be. 

“A very long while, indeed,” he chuckled, placing his hands behind his back. “I was the last person to step foot through that door, and I’d say I was probably your age then, if not younger.”

“Really?” I asked, unable to suppress my surprise. 

“Oh, yes,” he replied in a soft voice. His watery eyes shone brightly as a faraway look passed over his face before he suddenly shook his head and gave me a warm smile. “I’m so glad that you’re finally here, though. It means I can finally move on.”

“I’m sorry?” I said, frowning at the old man in confusion. What was that supposed to mean?

“You’re my successor,” he said casually as if the answer were obvious.

“Your what?” I then demanded incredulously, staring after him as he began bustling around the room, collecting items. Upon hearing the tone of my voice, the old man paused and peered up at me with round, searching eyes.

“M-my successor…” he repeated quietly, suddenly appearing to be even smaller than he already was. “Once you step through your door, you take the place of whoever was there before you… Surely you knew that, though...”

“What?” I said blankly, staring at him as if he had lost his mind. “No, I know nothing about the doors. We’re told nothing about them. What are you talking about?”

“What?” Now it was the old man’s turn to stare at me as if I were crazy. “Times really must have changed out there, haven’t they…?”

“I guess so…” I replied as a nervous feeling began to build up inside of my chest. I suddenly felt as if I had stepped into something much bigger than I was meant to be involved in, something that I was completely ignorant of. The old man let out a heavy sigh and gave me a weary look.

“Well,” he said with a crooked smile. “Let’s sit down. I’ll try to explain everything that I can remember…” 

With a flourish of his hand, the old man guided me over to a small mustard yellow couch that was just as ancient as everything else in the room. As I sat down, I found myself encircled by a cloud of dust, which caused me to cough and wave my hand in front of my face. The old man sat adjacent to me in a lounge chair, offering me an apologetic smile.

“Forgive me, dear, I have always been a lousy cleaner… And it’s only gotten worse with my age.”

Right…” I said once I had finally cleared my throat. “So, what exactly is going on?”

“Ah, yes,” the man said, clapping his hands together softly. “To put it simply, you will be taking over my job of greeting the next person to step through that door. Only then can you move on to the Inevitable.”

“The Inevitable?” I repeated with a frown.

“Yes, it’s where we all go, no matter which door you choose. The doors are just a formality, I guess you could say, really.”

“A formality…?” I said weakly, feeling as if a weight had fallen heavily into the pit of my stomach. All this time, I had thought the Door of Mystery was something special, that it meant something amazing. Yet all it turned out to be was an entrance to nothing more than a waiting room. 

“Oh, yes, but they’re-they’re special formalities,” the man said quickly, seeing my discouraged face. “Choosing your pathway is always a hard decision, and it’s not always easy. I can guarantee you that all of those who chose the other door had a completely different experience than you. Once you’re in charge of the room, you have dictatorship over everything in it. I chose for it to be the way you see it now. Obviously, you don’t have to keep it this way, though. You get to do whatever you want.”

“Really?” I said, sitting up a little straighter and gazing around the room. Suddenly I was seeing it in a much different light. It was mine. All of this was.

“Indeed, dear,” the old man replied with a nod. He then stood up and dusted off his clothes before giving me a kind smile. “With that being said, my time really has come. I must leave you to your own devices, and I must move on. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, after all.”

“Yes, of course,” I replied, quickly standing up to see the man off to wherever it was that he was going. He flashed me one last smile before walking over to another door that I hadn’t noticed earlier. I stared at it, dumbfounded, and wondered if it had been there earlier. I was certain it had not been. Nor had the hatrack that was next to it.

“Good luck, dear one. I’ll see you on the other side, eventually,” the old man then said as he lifted a newsboy cap from the hatrack and placed it on his head, quietly slipping out of the door and out of view. That was the last time I ever saw him, but now that you’re here, I hope to see that old man again. The only question I have for you is: Are you ready to take my place?