《Doorway of Opportunity》


 Chapter 1

    Stepping out of the car, James looked up fondly at his grandparents house. He had many great memories here over the years. His grandmother has passed away and her funeral had been a little over a week ago by now. James had been the only one to offer to start sorting through her things. Well he had plenty of free time for it anyways now that he quit his job.


    He was, or used to be, a software developer, and a good one at that. Things had been getting stressful at work. It was a crappy project from the very start. There was just problem after problem popping up and he was sick of always being the person everyone went to looking for a fix. The stress of work and the stress of dealing with his illness led to James quitting. A few months off might be enough to get his head in order. He had told his parents that he may stay here for a while as there was a lot to sort out, but to himself James was thinking it was a good excuse to get away from everyone for a while and in the progress do a good deed.


    ¡°Well better get to it.¡± James said and started walking for the door.


    The days passed quickly and he was making good progress, but it was time to tackle the basement. He¡¯d left it till last as from what he remembered it was a dusty mess down there. Opening the basement door it was exactly as he remembered it. There was old tables and chairs and lots of random ornaments all over the place. Some were covered with sheets and others were covered by old books and junk. This was going to take a while, James said to himself.


    He saw a bookcase near the back and was intrigued. James had recently become an avid reader. He mostly enjoyed sci fi novels. It was a good way to escape reality for a while. So he shoved the chairs and odd looking side tables out of his way and stood inspecting the bookcase. The bookcase was taller than James¡¯s six foot one. It was old and not moved it a long time. There must have been about an inch of dust covering the books and other stuff on the shelves. The books were an odd mixture of more modern novels and much older books.


    His eye wandered to the top left corner of the book shelf and there he saw there was something behind it. Maybe it¡¯s an interesting painting or something. It certainly looked like it might be a picture frame. Interested to know what it was. He quickly cleared the bookshelf and pushed the bookshelf to the side.


    ¡°It¡¯s a doorway!¡± James said in bewildered tone. Why would there be a doorway here. There¡¯s just solid earth behind this wall. He grabbed the knob and swung the door open and was almost blinded. Light poured into the basement from the open door.


    ¡°What the fuck!¡± He said just as a cool breeze blew in through the door. ¡°This has to be some kind of a joke.¡± He reached out with his hand into the open doorway, fully expecting it hit a screen or barrier. But all he could feel was open, if slightly cool, fresh air.


    Without thinking James suddenly stepped through the doorway and into a forest. He looked around him with an insane expression. He took one step back and was back the basement. Looking through the doorway he could see the forest where he¡¯d just been. It was like someone put a TV behind the door playing a forest scene. He stepped forward once again and was back in the forest. The ground was a mix of dew covered moss and brown leaves. Massive trees of oak and ash and a few he didn¡¯t recognise surrounded him. It must be the spring wherever this place was because he could see buds on the end of branches; which was odd because it was currently fall where he was. He glanced behind him and sure enough he could see the basement through a door sized rectangle just free floating a couple of inches off the ground. Then suddenly it sparked out of existence like when you switch off one of those big, old tube TV¡¯s.


    ¡°Amazing!¡± James exclaimed out loud. It was breezy and kind of chilly, but at least it was sunny which was lucky for James as he was only wearing jeans, a shirt and a light zip through hoodie and his sneakers were not exactly ideal for hiking through a forest. Looking up, the sun appeared to be high in the sky to it must be close to midday. Then worry began to set in. What just happened? Where the hell was he? How can I get back? He looked around frantically and shook his head as if he was trying to wake up from some crazy dream.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Then the problem solving part of his brain kicked in. He quickly checked his pockets and pulled out his phone, which luckily for him was almost fully charged. He opened up the maps app and turned on the gps receiver, but there was no signal. He gave it another few seconds, but still there was no signal. Okay so that¡¯s broken, he thought. He turned off the gps and tried calling a few different people a number of times but on every occasion it never even got as far as dialing.


    Emptying his pockets all he found was his wallet, with some cash in it, a useless phone and some keys with a swiss army knife keyring, which might turn out to be useful. He put everything except the army knife back in his pockets and used it to mark a tree close to the closed doorway so he could find his way back here at some point. He picked a direction at random and started walking, being careful to mark a tree every few minutes. Getting lost in the forest trying to get back to the doorway would not have been a good idea.


    It was a dense forest but easy to navigate. The hiking was easy going except for a few streams and a couple of big outcroppings of rocks every now and then. After about 20 minutes of walking he could start to see open countryside through the trees. James pressed ahead and upon exiting the forest he looked upon lush green grass and rolling hills, with what seemed to be a large snow topped mountain range and yet more forests in the distance. A beautiful view all things considered. Before pressing on he was careful to leave a fairly visible marking on a nearby tree. Continuing across the lush green field ahead of him, he soon came across a loose stone wall. A very good sign. There must be people nearby. Hopping across, he found himself on a well trodden dirt path.


    Left or right? He reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a coin. ¡°Heads for left, tails for right¡±. Flipping the coin and catching it. ¡°Left it is¡±. Proceeding to walk, James was trying to figure out where he was. The loose stone wall suggested somewhere in Europe. The plants and landscape also added some validity to that theory. He had never been to Europe despite planning to go on multiple occasions, but it never worked out. But from pictures it looked like he could be anywhere in north western Europe.


    James kept walking. He hadn¡¯t expected to be doing so much walking today, and was glad he kept himself moderately fit. He was no athlete but liked to jog for a while most days. The land gradually started to level out and he could see people out in the surrounding fields. Given the time of year and the fact that the soil looked fertile. I guess they must be ploughing the land and sowing seeds. James thought. It seems kinda odd to be doing it by hand. They looked to be wearing kinda shabby clothes too. I suppose you can¡¯t be out working the fields in your sunday best. They started looking and pointing in my direction. Maybe I should talk to them and ask where I am. He started walking their way.


    Just past the people in the fields was their house. It looked like a thatched cottage. It was quite small with uneven, rectangular walls and there seemed to be smoke just coming out of the roof. Hopefully it¡¯s not the roof that¡¯s on fire. He was almost at the edge of the fields by know and started waving over at them. One of the men stood up and started to walk his way. He was a short, at least compared to James, slim fella with long hair.


    ¡°Hello there sir,¡± the man said. ¡°Don¡¯t remember seeing you round here. What you want anyways?¡± The man looked James up and down, giving him a strange look.


    ¡°Hi!¡± James replied. ¡°I¡¯m just wondering if you could tell me where I am? I seem to have lost my way.¡±


    ¡°Well.... you¡¯re about 25 minutes walk from Newlake if you keep going south and a few days walk away from anything in the other direction.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Okay.¡± Newlake must be the local town or village. For some reason James was fairly certain he wasn¡¯t going to be getting much more information out of this guy. ¡°I should keep going the way I was going then. Thanks!¡±


    Walking on James was more confused than before. Never heard of a place called Newlake before. Maybe there will be some way to get back home there. The dirt road seemed to be getting wider as he was walking on.


    There were other people walking ahead of him. He could see them now. They were dressed similarly to those farmers. He had been passing more and more cottages and farmsteads. Must be getting close to that town. I hope they take dollars.

 Chapter 2

    It was a surreal sight. Some sort of a medieval English town and James was standing right in the middle of it. The streets were lined with two story cottages and townhouses that seemed to get wider as they got higher. On the ground floor most of the houses were either stores or workshops. There were stores for all sorts of things, butchers, fishmongers, tailors, leatherworkers and many more. Above the stores were wooden signs hanging down. There were pictures carved into them relating to whatever they were trying to sell. He also noticed that the  majority of buildings didn¡¯t have glass in the windows, just shutters that could be closed at night or during bad weather.


    James just stood there, mouth agape, looking around him. He had been hoping to borrow a phone off someone but that was not going to happen now. That doorway must have sent me back in time or something, he said to himself. The streets were busy with people and horse and carts making their way up and down the streets. Some people, especially small kids, were slowing down and pointing at him, sometimes laughing at him and other times just giving him funny looks. He certainly stood out. For one thing he was the tallest person around by a good few inches. But the thing that was sticking out the most was the smell. The place stank. There was piles of horse dung and other, hopefully not human, dung all over the street.


    ¡°Get out of the way you damned fool!¡± A man shouted angrily from atop a horse pulled cart  behind James.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± He replied while jumping out of the way. The man with the horse and cart quickly made his way by James.


    ¡°What are you doing just standing in the middle of the road sir?¡± A small scruffy looking child asked. He looked like he had been crawling through mud.


    ¡°Walking, I guess.¡± Just after speaking, James¡¯s stomach rumbled loudly.


    ¡°Hungry are ya sir?¡±


    ¡°I suppose I am. Where do people go to get something to eat around here?¡±


    ¡°Most people just eat at home of course, but travelers head to one of the inns. There¡¯s a good one just down that street.¡± He said while pointing down a side street.


    ¡°Thanks kid¡± James replied and said his goodbyes after his stomach rumbled again.


    He set off down the street the child had pointed to. This one was much darker and more narrow. But hunger lead him further down until he came across a large two story building with a small stable to the side. The sign above the door displayed a beer cup overlayed on top of a bow and arrow. This must be the place.


    The inn was quiet, not surprising as is was still early afternoon. There was lots of wooden tables all arranged haphazardly around the average sized room. The bar was quite long and up against the front wall. There was also a row of high stools along the bar. It kinda reminded James of a traditional Irish or English pub except it was missing the shelves of nicknacks and random pictures. A few candles on shelves near the back and open windows next to the door lit the place up. The narrow wooden stairway to the rear and left of the room finished the look of the place. The few customers in the place looked up, gave James an odd look for a second and then went back to their meals or conversions.


    ¡°Hello sir! Can I help you with anything?¡± A portly, balding man said as he was walking behind the bar towards James.


    ¡°Looking for something to eat.¡±


    ¡°Certainly.¡± The man rattled off the short menu. After making my order the man asked for two copper. Taking out his wallet, James grabbed all his coins, and picked out two pennies.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Will these do?¡± He asked while handing them over.


    ¡°Yeah they¡¯ll do fine.¡± The innkeeper replied after taking a good look at them. He then made his way into what presumably was the the kitchen.


    I sat down at the the bar, not too far away from the door. The innkeeper came back with a cup of cider and said, ¡°stew will be out to you in minute, just warming it up¡±. I nodded and he continued, ¡°haven¡¯t see your like round here before. Haven¡¯t ever seen clothes like that either. Where are you from?¡±


    Thinking quick James replied with ¡°just got here today. Thought I might find some work.¡± I guess I need to stick to that story now.


    ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people thinking the same as you recently. A lot of them end up disappointed. Hasn''t been much jobs around town lately. So where are you staying?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know actually. Have any free rooms?¡±


    ¡°I do indeed.¡± The innkeeper replied while nodding his head. ¡°Rooms are 3 copper a night. Breakfast is extra.¡±


    James took another look at the coins he had left. He had a enough pennys to do one night but after that he had no idea what to do. He handed over the 3 pennies and said, ¡°I¡¯ll have a room tonight then.¡±


    ¡°Excellent!¡± the innkeeper said, looking happy with himself. He grabbed a key from the back wall and lay it down in front of me. ¡°There¡¯s your key. One of the barmaids will be more than happy to show you o your room when your ready.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    ¡°Ahh!¡± said the innkeeper, looking startled. ¡°I shall be back with your food.¡±


    While he was gone James took a sip of his cider and got to thinking. What was he going to do tomorrow? Where was he going to get money to stay here tomorrow night? He couldn¡¯t use any of his quarters. They¡¯re just nickel plated copper, using them could get him into trouble. Maybe he could sell them for the raw metal. That will probably be the best course of action. He could see the innkeeper making his way towards him with his food.


    ¡°Enjoy!¡± He said as he set a wooden bowl down and stepped away to deal with his other customers.


    <hr>


    James was walking down one of the main streets and still getting odd looks now and again. He was coming up on the centre of the town. He had asked the innkeeper before he left where to sell some metal he had with him and as James had suspected he directed him towards the blacksmiths Those directions could have been better he said to himself. Upon showing the blacksmith the coins and explaining that they were mostly copper with another metal covering it. He explained that by the time the metals were seperated there would be no profit to be made, which was fair enough.


    By the time he was finished with the blacksmith it was beginning to get late. He¡¯d been walking down this busy main street thumbing a cheap bracelet he¡¯d been wearing. He had a habit of buying those cloth bracelets with multi-coloured plastic jewels at concerts and other events. Seemed to be a better way of remembering it instead of random pictures that he was never going to look at again. Then he had an idea. He remembered passing a jewellery shop not long ago. That was his new destination now, let¡¯s hope it¡¯s still open.


    The jewellery shop looked a bit more upmarket than most of the other shops he had seen and was one of the only shops with glass in the windows. He opened the door and stepped in. Immediately in front was a waist high counter that ran the length of the shop. Behind that were display cases of different types of jewellery.


    A cute petite women appeared from the doorway behind the counter, gave James a strange look and asked, ¡°Hello sir! It there anything I can help you with¡±. Her voice was quite melodic.


    James quickly took off the bracelet.¡°I¡¯d like to sell this.¡± He said and placed it on the counter.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s certainly interesting.¡± She picked it up and had a good look at the ¡®gems¡¯. ¡°These don¡¯t feel like any gems I¡¯ve seen before. There crystal clear and smoothly cut. Very impressive.¡±


    This was good news for James they sounded expensive.


    ¡°I¡¯d say they¡¯d worth about one gold.¡± She said upon further inspection.


    James knew he could probably get a bit more out of her and made a counter offer, she made a further counter and on it went until they finally agreed on one gold and six silver coins.


    ¡°You drive quite a hard bargain...¡±


    ¡°James¡±


    ¡°Alright James. I¡¯m Nicola. If you come across any more gems like this you know where to find me.¡± She said while handing over the coins.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to do that Nicola. It was nice meeting you.¡±