Submitted to: Contest #295

WHEN THE WOLRD IS ASLEEP

Written in response to: "Write about a portal or doorway that’s hiding in plain sight."

Fiction

When the world is asleep my imagination comes to life. The words I write. The pictures I draw comes to life. The world of Tomorrowland comes to life. The doorway to Tomorrowland opens and I go through.

Late at night I write about a magical world filled with flying cars. A train that floats in the air. An elevator that reaches all the wall to space and so much more. A city that is the city of tomorrow.

The sky is full of mystery filled with the wonders of the universe. The doorway to Tomorrowland opens tonight. A door of mystery is what I call it.

The moon is high in the sky. I sense the doorway near me. It's time to go.I grab my shoes and jacket and put them on. I grab my notebook and put it in my bag. It's time to leave.

I quietly leave my house and begin my walk to the doorway. I live in a beautiful town call Shawnee Lake. I love living here but sometimes it gets boring. The lake is the only fun place to visit. The lake holds a mystery no one sees.

My imagination, the tales I write, the drawings I make are the only thing that keeps me from going crazy. The worlds I create allow me to transport myself to a magical place.

The doorway is near. I sense the pull of the doorway. The whispers of Tomorrowland is calling me. On the lake appears the doorway. A doorway nobody sees but its there. I walk into the lake and open the door.

I step into the door. The swirling lights pull me in. All over me I feel the power of the door. My feet are taking me to the other side of the door. To Tomorrowland.

The swirling lights have stopped. I've reached the other side of the door. I put my hand on the knob and open the door. I step inside. My Tomorrowland is in front of me. How beautiful it is?

Everything I dreamed about. Everything I wrote. Everything I drew is right in front of me. Oh my! I duck. I look up. I smile. Someone is flying. I wave. He waves back.

Where should I go first? I can only think of one place to go. The one thing I dreamed of the most. Every time I look up at the sky and dream of the stars. To space I go.

I begin my walk to the space elevator. As I'm walking, I see a group of androids. They must be from android city. I stop and wave at them. They are so cool. They show me their technology and what they can do. Wow, simply amazing.

I wave goodbye to them. I continue my walk to the space elevator. Mind uploading. I wonder what that is. Curiosity has got the better of me.

I make a detour. it says I can upload my mind to a computer and go to anyplace my heart desires.

This sounds like fun. I'm greeted by a girl my age. "Welcome young stranger. Where would you like to go?" Let me thing. I can go anywhere and yet I can't decide.

"I always wanted to fly across the world." She leads me to a device which she attaches to my head. She tells me to lean back and close my eyes. She puts a controller in my hand and tells me to use the controller to maneuver the plane.

In an instant I'm transport into my very own plane. I'm using the controller to maneuver the plane up and down. To the left and right. I'm going really fast over the ocean, the forest, the desert. Through cities and towns. I'm loving this.

That was incredible. The girl whose name I didn't get takes off the device. "Call me Sky Rose. Did you have fun?" I nod. "Sure did.

I wave goodbye to Sky Rose. I leave mind uploading and continue my walk to the space elevator. Tomorrowland is incredible.

The smile on my face is big. My eyes are as wide as a girl in a candy store. My eyes grow bigger when I see what's above me. It's a floating city and its moving.

I follow the city all the way to the ocean. Oh my! Look at that. There are more floating cities. I can't believe my eyes. One of the cities is opening up.

What is that? Someone jumped out of the city. Where did the person go? I look up and see the person flying. Wow, more are coming out of the city.

They are putting on a show. The moves they are doing are incredible. One of them is flying towards me. I see they have jet packs on. Very cool.

The crowd has gotten bigger. They are cheering and clapping. Little kids have big smiles on their faces. It's hard to leave this amazing show but I do. I turn around and leave. I'm back on my path to the space elevator.

How cool is it to fly? I wish I could try that. Anyways up ahead I see a big building. I wonder what that building is. I see people going in. One more detour.

Tomorrowland mall and its huge. I love shopping. I have an itch to go inside but I have to stay the course. Maybe next time I will explore the mall.

I'm back on the path to the space elevator. Oh my! Look. I look down and see little robot dogs. I bend down and touch them. They are so cute. I watch them walk away.

The space elevator is up ahead. Wow, that's a long line. I guess everyone wants to go to space. I hear a buzzing noise. I look up and see mini drones. They are so tiny they look like bugs.

Oh my! There is the floating train. It's going around in a zig zag pattern. I'm going on that train next. The line is moving. I'm so excited.

What is blocking the sun? It's a sunny day. I look up and see the tallest person. I feel like a bug compare to him. He easily eight feet maybe more, He looks down on me and walks away.

The line is moving quicker. The space elevator is in full view. It's bigger than what I imagined. The doors are opening. I see eight to ten people going in. In a matter of seconds, the elevator shoots up. Another elevator comes down. Now it's my turn.

I walk in and take a seat by the window. I strap in as do the others. The final person is in. The door closes. A voice booms over the speaker. The voice tells us to put the oxygen mask on and not to take it off until we are told to do so.

I put the oxygen mask on. I hear a click. I look down. My feet are locked in place. This must be for gravity purpose. 1,2,3, the elevator shoots up to space. The people, the buildings are getting smaller and smaller.

The clouds are giving way to the darkness of space. My dream has come true. I'm in space. The elevator stops. I unstrap myself. My feet are unlocked. The voice comes back. It's safe to take the oxygen mask off.

I get up and follow the people out. I look out the window and see an amazing sight. The biggest space ship called The Enchantress of Space. I can't believe it's actually out there.

The space station is so cool. It looks just like earth. There are trees and plants probably grown in an artificial room. There are people going to and from their ships. There are stores in every corner.

The people are an interesting group. Some are not humans. Some are a mixture of both humans and androids. Some are just plain old humans.

I want to see a lot more of the space station but right now I'm more interested in seeing The Enchantress of Space. I follow the signs.

I make so many turns until I finally reach the docking station of the ship. It's real and beautiful. I wonder how it looks on the inside. The ship could probably fit five to ten cities. It's that big.

Before I take a step into the ship, I sense the doorway.. Just my luck. Next time I will visit you. The doorway appears. I open the door and step in.

In a matter of seconds I'm back at the lake. The doorway disappears but the doorway is still there. I'm coming back Tomorrowland.

Posted Mar 27, 2025
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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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