Morning came with a different feeling for Elara. Sunlight streamed through the gap in her bedroom curtains, but her thoughts were still stuck on what had happened the night before. Ever since she opened her eyes, the first thing she remembered wasn't the sound of rain or Rian's face, but the strange door standing behind her house.
She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at her own hands.
"Did I really see that?" she whispered.
Last night had felt like a dream that was too real. A door that had appeared for no reason, a stranger who knew her name, and a mysterious voice calling to her from somewhere that made no sense.
Elara picked up her phone and checked the time.
It was almost noon.
She let out a long sigh.
"If I tell anyone, they'll definitely say I watch too many movies."
But her curiosity still hadn't gone away.
She got up at once and walked toward the window. From there, she could see the backyard.
The door was still there.
Elara's heart immediately began beating faster.
She hoped it had all been an illusion, but the reality before her proved otherwise.
The old door stood in the same place.
Silent.
Waiting.
Elara hurried downstairs. The house felt empty because her mother had gone to work, while her father had been out of town for the past few days.
When she reached the kitchen, she saw a small note on the table.
"Elara, I'm off to work. Don't forget to eat. Don't stay up too late."
Elara smiled faintly as she read the message.
"If Mom knew I'd nearly walked through a mysterious door last night, she'd panic."
She put the note away and grabbed a jacket.
She was just about to open the back door when someone's voice made her stop.
"You really planning to go there?"
Elara jumped and spun around.
Rian stood near the living room door.
"You again?"
Rian raised both hands.
"Relax. I'm not here to scare you."
"Then why did you come into my house again?"
"I knocked earlier."
Elara fell silent.
She hadn't heard anything.
"Seriously?"
Rian nodded.
"Seriously. Maybe you were too busy thinking about that door."
Elara rolled her eyes.
"Do you always just show up like this?"
"When necessary."
"That answer is so annoying."
Rian gave her a small smile.
"People usually say that."
Elara studied Rian's face. Unlike the night before, he looked more relaxed today. But there was still something about him that made Elara feel like he was hiding a lot of secrets.
"I want to know everything."
Rian looked at her.
"About the door?"
"Yes. About the door. About you. About how you know my name."
Rian walked over to the table and sat down.
"If I tell you everything, you might have a hard time believing me."
"I've already seen a door appear out of thin air. I think my limits on what I can believe have changed."
Rian was silent for a few moments.
"Fifteen years ago, that door appeared in this house."
Elara froze.
"What?"
"And that time, someone opened it."
"Who?"
Rian looked toward the stairs leading upstairs.
"Your grandmother."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Elara said nothing.
Her grandmother had been the person closest to her since she was little. So many of their memories were kept in that house. But not once had her grandmother ever told her anything about a strange door.
"You're lying."
"I wish I were."
"Why did my grandmother never tell me?"
"Because she wanted to protect you."
Elara clenched her fists.
"Protect me from what?"
Rian didn't answer right away.
"From the things behind that door."
Elara looked at him seriously.
"Did my grandmother ever go inside?"
Rian nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"And she came back?"
"Yes."
"Then why did she never tell me about it?"
Rian looked out the window.
"Because she changed after she came back."
Elara fell silent.
"How did she change?"
"She started seeing things no one else could see. She knew something would happen someday."
"What do you mean?"
Rian looked at Elara.
"She knew the door would appear again."
Wind slipped through the gap in the window. Elara felt the house suddenly grow colder.
"Why now?"
"That's the same question I've been asking myself."
Rian stood up.
"I didn't come here just to tell you that."
"Then?"
"I came because the door isn't done yet."
Elara followed Rian's gaze.
The back door.
"What do you mean, it isn't done yet?"
Rian walked toward the backyard.
"The door opened last night, but you didn't go inside."
Elara followed behind him.
They stopped a few yards from the old door.
Unlike the night before, the door looked clearer today. The carvings on its surface seemed to have changed. A section that had been blank before now contained writing.
Elara moved closer.
"What is that?"
Rian looked at it too.
The writing consisted of only a few words.
"The chosen one must return."
Elara read it softly.
"The chosen one?"
Rian looked uncomfortable.
"It seems the door has already decided."
"Decided what?"
Rian didn't answer.
"Rian."
"I think the door chose you."
Elara took a small step back.
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Why me?"
"That's what we have to find out."
Suddenly, a voice came from behind the door.
This time, it was clearer.
"Elara..."
She turned immediately.
It was the same voice as the night before.
The voice calling to her.
Rian grew alert.
"We have to go."
"Wait."
Elara moved closer.
"I want to know who's calling me."
"Elara, don't."
But Elara didn't stop.
Her hand slowly reached for the doorknob.
The moment her fingers touched the wood, the carvings on the door began to glow faintly.
Rian was immediately startled.
"That never happened before."
"What?"
"The door is responding to you."
Elara felt something strange. It wasn't fear like before, but rather the feeling of meeting something that had known her for a long time.
Then another voice rang out.
It wasn't coming from inside the door.
It was a voice inside her mind.
"Don't believe everything you hear."
Elara yanked her hand back.
"Did you hear that?"
Rian stared at her.
"Hear what?"
Elara looked at the door.
"Never mind."
She began to realize that there might be things only she could sense.
The door wasn't just a passage.
It was trying to speak to her.
And the more she tried to find out, the more she felt that the biggest answers about herself might be hidden behind it.