That night, the rain had been coming down hard since late afternoon. The sound of water hitting the roof made everything feel quieter than usual. Elara sat alone in the living room, staring at her phone screen, which still hadn't received a single message. Every so often, she glanced toward the window, watching the yard blur behind the sheets of rain.
The house wasn't unfamiliar to her. Elara had lived there with her family since she was little. But over the past few months, after her grandmother died, the house had started to feel different. There were many corners she rarely visited anymore, especially the back of the house, which had gone unused for a long time.
"Why does tonight feel so weird?" Elara murmured.
She set her phone on the table and stood up to get a drink. As she walked toward the kitchen, her footsteps suddenly stopped.
A faint sound came from the back of the house.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Elara slowly turned around.
"What was that?"
She tried to listen more carefully. The sound came again, as if something far away were knocking against a hard surface.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
At first, Elara wanted to ignore it. Maybe it was just a tree branch blowing in the wind, or something that had fallen in the yard. But curiosity made her feet carry her toward the back hallway.
The light in the hallway flickered several times. Elara stopped for a moment and let out a sigh.
"Don't tell me the light's going to die too," she said, trying to joke with herself.
She took a small flashlight from the drawer near the kitchen door. Moving slowly, she walked toward the back door, which was usually always locked.
Strangely, that night, the door was slightly open.
Elara frowned.
"I don't remember opening this door."
She approached and touched the handle. It was cold.
Air from outside rushed in when she pushed the door open a little farther. The smell of wet earth filled her nose. The backyard was dark, lit only by moonlight that appeared now and then between the clouds.
But the backyard wasn't what made Elara freeze.
At the far end of the garden, near the old tree that had been there since she was little, something was standing.
A door.
Elara stood silent for several seconds.
She was certain it had never been there before.
The door stood alone, without any walls or building around it. It was dark brown and looked as if it were made of old wood. Strange carvings covered its surface, carvings she had never seen before.
"What the hell is this?"
Elara stepped closer. Fear began to take hold, but her curiosity was stronger.
She aimed the flashlight at the door. The closer she got, the clearer the carvings on its surface became.
There was an image resembling a large circle with patterns like winding paths.
Her hand was almost touching the door when someone spoke from behind her.
"Don't touch that."
Elara jumped and spun around.
A man she didn't recognize stood behind her. His hair was slightly wet from the rain, and he wore a simple black jacket. His face was serious.
"Who are you?" Elara asked, backing away.
The man didn't answer right away.
"My name is Rian."
"Rian? You come into someone's house in the middle of the night and tell me not to touch the weird door in my backyard?"
Rian looked toward the door.
"I know how crazy it sounds."
"It is crazy."
"I used to think so too."
Elara eyed him suspiciously.
"Used to?"
Rian fell silent for a moment.
"I've seen that door before."
His answer only left Elara more confused.
"When?"
"A few years ago."
"Then why am I only seeing it now?"
Rian didn't answer. His expression changed instead as he looked at the door.
"Because that door doesn't appear to everyone."
Silence fell.
The sound of the rain was the only thing they could hear.
Elara looked at the door, then back at Rian.
"What does that mean?"
Rian walked closer, but still kept his distance from the door.
"You're Elara, right?"
Elara's expression changed.
"You know my name?"
Rian looked at her seriously.
"I know more than I should."
Elara felt uneasy.
"Who are you, really?"
"Someone who's trying to stop you from making the same mistake as the people who came before you."
"The people who came before me?"
Rian nodded slowly.
"That door has a long history."
Elara wanted to ask more, but suddenly the door made a sound.
Creak.
They both turned toward it.
The doorknob moved on its own.
Elara froze.
"Was that..."
"Yeah," Rian said quietly.
"The door moved."
For the first time, Rian looked panicked.
"We have to go."
"Wait, why?"
"Because if that door opens by itself, it means someone—or something—inside already knows you're here."
His words made Elara even more afraid.
But before either of them could move, the door slowly opened.
There was no loud sound. No blinding light.
Only a long road appeared beyond it.
A road that shouldn't have been possible.
Beyond the door was not Elara's backyard.
It was a strange place filled with towering trees, thin mist, and an eerie light in a sky unlike any she had ever seen before.
Elara stood frozen.
"What is that?"
Rian stared at the road, his face filled with concern.
"It's the place so many people have been searching for all this time."
"What place?"
Rian looked at Elara.
"A place that might change your life forever."
Elara didn't move.
Her mind was filled with questions.
Why had the door appeared at her house?
Why did Rian know about it?
And why did she feel as if she'd seen the place beyond the door before—in her dreams?
Suddenly, wind blew out from inside the door. A faint voice drifted from somewhere in the distance.
"Elara..."
A shiver ran through her entire body.
She knew that voice.
The voice that had only ever appeared in her dreams.
"Who called my name?" she whispered.
Rian looked at her.
"You heard it too?"
Elara slowly nodded.
Rian drew a deep breath.
"Then everything is true."
"What's true?"
Rian looked toward the door.
"That the door really has been waiting for you."
Elara stared at the road before her. She was terrified, but something else made her want to step inside.
As if that place had known her long before she knew of it.
In the middle of that rainy night, Elara stood before a door that had never existed before.
And without realizing it, the small decision she was about to make in a few seconds would open the door to a story she had never imagined.