The Door – Storytime Blog Hop

door-5316_1280Jeremy knew it wasn’t going to work, not this time, but he had to try something.

The door had given him everything he wanted—everything he needed—for years. All he had to do was ask… imagine… believe… and then go to the door. He had no idea how it worked; magic he supposed. But that part didn’t really matter. What mattered was that it worked. Whatever he wished for, if he really, really meant it, when he opened the door, there it was.

He smiled as he remembered his grandpa showing him the door for the first time. Make a wish he said. All your dreams will be fulfilled. But even then, it wasn’t exactly true.

At ten, he had the best bike on the block; the envy of the neighborhood. That bike was cool. It sparkled in the sunlight with its red paint and blue flames. Nobody had a bike that looked like that.

And it was fast. Seriously fast. He could beat even most of the highschoolers, racing around the neighborhood.

That bike made him awesome. Even now, the memory made him smile.

But not everything he wished through that door was so cool. He learned quickly why grandpa told him never to wish for anything alive. He cried for weeks about that puppy, and even now the thought of it sent chills down his spine.

No. The door had limitations.

But the door also lived up to his expectations in so many ways. The guitar he wished for when he was 16 was directly responsible for his career. He played that thing for hours, shredding his fingers as he learned to play shredding leads.

Because of that guitar, he started a band.

Because of that band, he met a girl.

Because of that girl… that beautiful, perfect girl…

Jeremy scrubbed tears from his cheeks as he remembered the way Melissa’s eyes lit up when she saw that ring. He thought that might have been the best thing he’d ever wished for. The best thing the door had ever given him.

Because of that ring, he got the girl. That beautiful, perfect girl.

Then she got sick. Cancer.

Melissa always wanted kids. She would have been such a good mother. But the surgery stole that from her, and still it didn’t stop the disease. Jeremy sat by her side as months slid by and his beautiful girl disappeared before his eyes.

It didn’t occur to him until the end how much he had been looking forward to making wishes with his children. Their children.

Now there would be no more bikes. No more guitars. No more perfect rings for perfect girls.

Jeremy stared at the door, Melissa’s ring held tight in his fist.

He knew what he wanted.

He didn’t know if it would work, but he had to try something.

He wished harder than he had ever wished, for all the things that would never be.

Then he opened the door, and walked through.

bloghopI hope you enjoyed this! I certainly enjoyed writing it.
If you aren’t yet on my mailing list, please consider joining to receive a free short story.

Also, please take some time to visit the other stories that are part of this Blog Hop, and if you enjoy their stories, join their lists too. 🙂

Dale Cozort: Two Letters In A Fireproof Box
Katharina Gerlach: Canned Food
Rabia Gale: Spark
K. A. Petentler: The Twisted Tale of Isabel
Shana Blueming: Paper & Glue
Amy Keeley: To Be Prepared For Chocolate
Cherie “Jade” Arbuckle: After I Died
Karen Lynn: The Family Book
Angela Wooldridge: An Alternative to Frog
Thea van Diepen: Are You Sure It’s That Way?
Paula de Carvalho: Body Double
Kris Bowser: Tantrums
Virginia McClain: Rakko’s Storm
Grace Robinette: Georg Grembl

Comments

  1. I got chills down my spine at the part about the puppy he didn’t want to think about. I love how you didn’t detail exactly WHAT happened in that incident, leaving it up to our imaginations to supply the horrific details.

    • Horrific details are almost always better when left to the imagination. Other people think of much more horrific stuff than I do. 🙂

  2. Nice work! Sad, moving and oddly hopeful. (I say oddly because I assume that was essentially a suicide, but when one has no idea what’s in the world of dreams and wishes…)

    • I don’t think I was thinking suicide, but certainly Jeremy would rather die than live without Melissa. He knows he can’t wish her back, but maybe, if he wishes hard enough, he will end up wherever she is living the life they were meant to have.

      That’s what I was thinking anyway. But, of course, the nature of story is that each reader brings something unique to it and so the story is unique for each reader. Your interpretation is certainly valid.

  3. So, they were right, when they said you wrote incredible short stories! This one was amazing. Thank you!

  4. Ooh, this one gave me shivers! A great story, and I love that you leave it open-ended to allow for interpretation. It lets me picture Jeremy walking through the door into a bright light, to be rejoined with love, their wished-for child in her arms. 🙂

  5. I get the feeling that this is a story that will stick with me for a bit, wondering just what he wished for.

  6. Good job. I enjoyed it.

  7. Gosh… I’m addicted to your stories. This was incredibly good. MORE!! FAST!!!

  8. Loved that – gave me the shivers! Brilliant.

  9. An amazing flash fiction! I love how you pictured the past and your MC’s desires in so little words, and yet still managed to create a great ending filled with emotions. I enjoyed every word of that story 🙂

  10. I liked it a lot, but couldn’t help but wonder what else is inside of you. Good job.

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