What was always behind that locked door? Was it the door to all the answers one wanted, or was it a door that protected hideous creatures from entering the house?
Those were the constant thoughts of Jenny, who would always dream of becoming a bestselling author. She would always have the wildest dreams: dreams about fantastical beasts, dreams about being the first person to discover an actual centaur, and the latest one – an imaginary door that was always locked.
In her bedroom, there were two doors: the one that she could lock, and the one that locked her out. The second door was an ordinary door, but it didn’t have a handle or a lock. Instead, what she saw was a stamp on the door with an extraordinary symbol. However, it was carved in Jenny’s bedroom, and nobody knew why. Whenever she went to ask her parents about the door that locked her out, they would always be confused, and would ask her to stop thinking about the imaginary door. They couldn’t find the door in her bedroom, and they thought that she was always daydreaming. Even her brother, who would always read her short fantasy stories, would mock her for having “childish dreams”. It was also probably one of the reasons why many students at school would always stay away from her.
One night, when Jenny was about to fall asleep, there was a light that was glowing from the imaginary door. She could also feel that she was holding something – a sigil that shared the same symbol as the one she saw on the locked door. It whispered in her ear, “This paradise is the only escape from reality. It is like the heaven that you have always dreamed of every night. However, once you enter, you will never find a way out. And if you do, you will never see this door ever again, and your life will be turned upside down. Come, Jennifer Brown, enter this door now or you will regret it.” After the voice from the key had stopped talking, the key didn’t shine anymore, but the door was still glowing.
Jenny was left with a decision – to enter the door, or to miss that chance. If what she saw was a dream, then why would a “key” suddenly turn up in her hand telling her that the door was real? She was convinced that the door would let her be free in whatever way that she could dream of, but she was just too guilty to leave her family and “friends” behind, regardless of what they thought of her. As she glanced at the clock that was ticking, it was almost midnight, and the door was losing its glow. Just right before the clock turned midnight, Jenny turned to the locked door, grasping the sigil in her hand, and slowly stood with some doubt and a lot of confidence:
‘O locked door, share with me your secrets, and allow me to enter your paradise.’
Jenny placed the sigil at the door, and it slowly creaked open, revealing a white space where she was pulled in by some sort of blue spirit. When Jenny slowly opened her eyes, she found herself at the “entrance” of the paradise. She saw a bunch of blue rabbits that stood up on their two hind legs and they could talk and act like humans. Two of the attendants at the entrance, named Flora and Aoi, approached Jenny in a comforting voice.
“Welcome to the paradisum secretum, Miss Jennifer Brown! Allow me and Flora to guide you around this palace!” Aoi introduced, in a comforting voice.
“Uhh… Just call me Jenny. That’s what everyone calls me,” stuttered Jenny awkwardly towards the two guides.
“Huh, that’s what they call you? It’s strange, but I’ll call you that,” Flora replied, curious about the difference between their world and the “human world”.
Throughout the entire day, the two rabbits showed Jenny around their paradisum secretum, including the Flowering Fruit Tree, the Golden River, and Lepus Village. It was exactly like what Jenny wrote in her short stories: a paradise where the golden river never ended, where the flowers will always bloom, where the world was not black and white. In fact, the colour black was banned in the paradise.
“Farewell, Jenny! We hope you enjoy your stay in the paradisum!” Aoi concluded when they arrived at Jenny’s residence.
“Where are you guys going?”
“Everyone is headed to a festival, which is miles away from here.”
“So, when will you guys be back?”
“We’ll come back in a year or two, so make yourself comfortable!”
As they parted, Jenny knew that it would take some time for her to adjust to the new world. In the paradise, she knew she couldn’t eat the pancakes that her mother would always cook for her. Instead, she would munch on the pure fruits that grew from the Flowering Fruit Tree. There was also no Internet for her to chat with her online friends, so she would dedicate her time writing her novels every day. She even used this as her inspiration to write new stories.
Over time, Jenny started to treat this paradise as her home. She would run around in the flower fields, write her own stories, explore this vast world, and bathe in the shimmering rivers. Although she had her own challenges and problems, she felt like it was a reward, given specifically to her.
It was a reward for being hardworking, being the top student in her school, impressing the crowd with her stunning stories, and even earning a reputation with a lot of the people she met. Although she was locked away from reality, she knew that she would have the best time of her life here.
On the 365th day, Jenny woke up, in an empty room, surrounded by all the blue rabbits, including Flora and Aoi. In front of her stood an empty door; the same door that was in her bedroom. Jenny was confused about what was happening.
“Well, it’s already been a year, and we’re back. The paradise will crumble after you leave, and this is our way of saying goodbye. Nothing lasts forever, and we feel that you should go back to your actual home.” Aoi started.
“Before you do, you may ask for one wish, and one day it will be fulfilled in the future.”
Jenny silently recited her wish in her heart. She hoped to become an author that can share her stories, and inspire others like how many authors had inspired her. She wanted to impress herself, her parents, her teachers, the students at her school, and everyone who was willing to read her books.
She happily returned to the real world, where her family and friends were waiting.
There were always going to be locked doors for Jenny, but when one would shut the door on her, the other one would always open. Just like the two doors in her bedroom, just like the supporters and the haters, just like fantasy and reality. In the end, Jenny learned about what was actually behind the locked door.
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