THE FINAL DOOR
Aron Woolnough
There is a
promise, passed from cave painting to camp fire; granting an answer to a
burning question: what is our meaning, our purpose? A promise that has found
its way into our stories and religions, appearing as Eve’s Fruit or Pandora’s
Box, but the stories and whispers are so far removed from the truth. There is
one bloodline that passes the authentic promise from father to son through
every generation. Injecting the original text into the skin across their
shoulders. They believe the closest modern translation is: ‘The Final Door,
behind which, you will find the end’. Curiosity breeds with every retelling.
Every son at some point seeks out the door, attempting to quench their thirst
for knowledge. It was no different for James Reed. His thirst crossed oceans,
peaked mountains and touched the skies.
A
million steps in sandals on a pilgrimage in Mecca to Ka’aba, a granite cuboid
surrounded in black stone, in the centre of the largest mosque in the world.
James scratched at his unshaven cheeks. He wore two sheets of white unhemmed
cloth, with the top cloth flung over his shoulder, covering half his tattoo, and
the bottom fastened with a white sash. Hours passed and his skin endured the
radiating sun while the crowds crept forwards.
Squeezing
through the crowd, James entered the mosque and saw a glimpse of what he had
traveled so far to see. Inside the mosque were thousands praying towards the
centre and in his entire life, James had never expected to think of a large
black cuboid as beautiful. The moon mercifully pushed the sun from the sky and
the pilgrims began to shuffle out of the mosque. There were ushers and police
filtering people out between giant pillars. James stepped out of his sandals
and silently moved across the dusty ground. As an usher approached, he hopped
out of view, moving around a pillar unseen. James spotted an ideal hiding
place, a small market stall, only, two policemen were resting their elbows on
it. He reached in under his garment and there were two knives taped to his
body, one big and one small, he pealed the larger of the two off and carried it
in his hand. He moved within running distance of the hiding place. James raised
the knife behind his head, aimed it, squinted his eyes and flung it forwards.
The
knife spun through the air and clashed onto the ground, far away from the
policemen, both of them saw the dust cloud it left behind. They cautiously
stepped forward and called out into the darkness, shining their torches as they
investigated. James then ran over and then ducked under the stall. He watched
as the dust cloud he had left behind settled and the policemen picked up the
knife. They shone their torches at it. Suddenly, both men looked back at the
stall and their bright torches dazzled James. He moved out of sight and rubbed
his eyes, their footsteps approached him. Taking a large breath, James curled
up and restrained himself into the shadows. There was a thud above him. James
and the entire stall vibrated. He clenched his mouth and nose with his hands,
smothering his whimper. One of the policemen walked around the stall and James
could see his ankles under the brim of a tattered sheet. James’ eyes widened as
one of the policemen’s torches invaded his shadows. There was a grunt and then
a spit. Both policemen and their torches stomped away. James released his
breath.
After
finding the courage, James came out of his hiding place and stood up, still
shaking. The arena was silent and empty. The hairs on his arms stood on end. He
gazed around, everything was enormous and he felt tiny. The cold harsh winds
whipped against his burnt skin, but his attention was captivated by the Ka’aba.
James paced toward it. He reached it and slid his hand across the black stone,
embracing every imperfection under his fingertips. He closed his eyes and
smiled. A warmth grew inside him, a sense of achievement and mild satisfaction.
He felt at ease. When he flicked his eyes open, a small, stout woman, with all
but her face and wrinkled hands covered in black cloth, stood in front of
him.
“You
shouldn’t be here”, she croaked,
“I could say the
same for you”, said James. He looked back at the Ka’aba, and felt a primal
desire to enter it. The woman stood between him and the door, “Why are you
here?” asked James, but she did not answer. Instead, she sat down in front of
the hard wooden door. “Can you move, please?”,
“You can’t get
through this door, whether I move or not”, answered the woman, “It is locked”.
James smirked,
“There isn’t a lock I can’t pick”,
“Can you pick
the lock, quicker than I can get the guards?”, said the woman. James stood in
front of her, he felt as if the door was begging him to open it. Then he felt
his shoulders ache and the words of his ancestors conquer his every thought,
“This is it”, he began, “I have found it, haven’t I?”, he reached out for the
door and continued, “This is the door, this is the place, my destiny”.
The
woman stood up and slapped his hand away, “Stay away, you crazy boy, this is
not your door to open”. Her small hands pushed into James’ chest, he grasped
her wrists in his hands, “I don’t want to hurt you”, James said. She scratched
at him and he let her go. “I don’t want to hurt you, either”, she said,
“What is it you
want: food, money, shelter? I can give you all of that and more, just let me
through that door”, James said. She shook her head at him and sat back in front
of the door. James began to breath quick shallow breaths, tensing his entire
body. The door captivated his gaze. There was a fury in his eyes, it consumed
his mind and she knew it. Her bottom lip trembled. His fist clenched. She
shuffled her way out of the door and saw the tensed muscles in his arms relax.
James
stepped forward and looked through the keyhole, there was only darkness on the
other side. He felt his heart racing as he pulled several hairpins from the
back of his head and fed them into the lock. He clicked and flicked the
tumblers around. His hands shaking from the adrenaline. The woman chuckled,
watching his efforts. With a sudden dread and frustration, James realised he
could not open the door. “This lock is different, like nothing I have ever come
across before”, he said as he retreated the pins from the lock and put his
hands on his side, “There must be a way through”,
“There is only
one key, boy” said the woman,
“Tell me your
name”,
“This is not the
door you seek”,
“Why else would
you be guarding it?”,
“My name is
Eden, and I have watched this door for a very long time, because I must – It is
my destiny”.
In
all the stories James had heard, all the passages and the clues, there was only
temptation, never restraint. He had prepared for over whelming knowledge,
changing his perspective on life, the universe and everything – but never
anyone in his way. “Why guard the door? If the promise is true, behind that
door is the end, to curiosity, to confusion, to death”
“Heed my words,
boy,” said Eden, “you are right, behind that door is immortality, eternal
knowledge and the end. The end is exactly what you expect it is, it is the end.
Once you look through the door, you will be gifted with some knowledge and
immortality, never enough to satisfy, only enough to make you want to go
through the doorway and know it all, and end it all – but what knowledge could
be worth the end?”, James took a moment to reflect on what she had said, but
remained confident he could handle the temptation of greater knowledge. “You’re
not listening!” Eden said, “It is over-whelming, you will not be able to resist
the temptation and I am not strong enough to pull you out”.
“You’ve looked
through the door? And been pulled out?”, asked James,
“The greatest
mistake anyone could ever make”, she said and then took a step toward James and
looked him in the eyes, “I was lucky that my husband had the strength to save
us, I have seen a hundred life times, happy people and hopeful people – living
and praying – the world does not need what is on the other side of that door”,
“But,
immortality”, said James,
“Is a curse”,
Eden raised her hands and embraced him. James held her tight and felt a rush of
disappointment and sorrow burn through his soul. She felt the disappointment in
him, and he felt a thick key on a chain around her neck.
James smuggled a hand inside his
garment. He winched as he ripped the tape from his chest; he pulled out hairs
and skin. Three strikes into Eden. Then James dropped the small blade onto the
ground, along side her collapsed body. He took the chain from her neck and
broke the key off it. “Stop”, roared Eden on the floor, “You have to stop”. She
rose from the floor, the wounds were gone. James rushed the key into the lock,
Eden rushed at him.
“One step closer
and I’ll turn the key”, said James, and Eden stopped in her tracks, “You really
are immortal” he continued, “this really is the Final Door, for thousands of
years my family has searched for this, exploring pyramids, jungles and ancient
wonders – if only we had read the Quran sooner”, James couldn’t keep the smile
from his face.
“You want answers? I have looked
through the door, I can tell you whatever you want, just please, don’t open
it”,
“Best start
talking”, James said as he turned the key ninety degrees.
“This is not
real. None of it. It is just a story and it will end”, she said, “when you turn
that key and open that door, the story is over, it is the end”. James looked at
her and laughed, “You’re gonna have to do better than that”, he turned the key
again and felt the lock resist against him, she looks at half of the tattoo on
his shoulders,
“You bare my
late husband’s words on your back, he passed them onto my son and my
grandchildren, that was meant as a warning, not a challenge, not an invitation
– Son, immortality means nothing when you end everything immediately after
gaining it”,
“You said
immortality was a curse”, said James,
“James, listen
to me”, said Eden,
“I never told
you my name”,
“I have the
knowledge – James said this, James said that. I can read it. I know all about
you and what you think is on the other side of that door – trust me, dear,
we’re family. You have to trust me, it is just a story and going through that
door will end it”, Eden fell to her knees, tears filled her eyes. James looked
between her and the door, “If this life isn’t real, if we’re not real, then
what? Why protect it?”, James asked,
“It is all we’ve
got”, Eden crawled forward and grabbed his leg, “Don’t go in, promise me you
won’t”. James froze for a moment, keeping his breath steady and his hand still.
His throat was dry and his heart pumping fast. He turned the key again, and the
lock resisted again.
“This isn’t the key”, James thumped
the door, “open it, open it now”. Grabbing her throat and forcing her neck into
the door, James growled his teeth to her ear lobe, “open this door, now, or I
will make you regret you inability to die”. She said nothing, but then he
slammed her head into the door. She let out a whimper. He did it again and her
eye became blood shot, again and her tooth fell out, again and her jaw snapped
in two. Moments later all healed, but the pain fresh in her mind. Eden placed
her hand on his chest and tried her best to speak, “Ignore the anger”. He
slammed her head into the door again and then dropped her to the ground. The
door was splintered where he had struck. He smiled and Eden screamed out for
help. James rammed into the door and ripped off the top hinge. He grabbed the
handle in one hand and the corner in the other, shaking the door back and forth
with all his might and fury. His muscles burned and throat ripped a part as he
let out his rage verbally. There was a crack and Eden stopped screaming. No one
was hearing her cries. James stopped and let go of the door. Every breath felt
like shattered glass in his chest. He looked at Eden, tears streaming down her
face. He did not take her eyes off her when he pulled the door from its place
and let it flop onto the ground. James saw terror in her eyes and smiled. He
turned and looked through the door.
Nothing happened, he only saw
darkness. Eden burst out into laughter, “Your face, you should’ve seen–ah-ahh”
she continued to laugh and roll onto her back on the floor, “But, I stabbed you
and you were fine”, James took a step back from the door and looked down at
Eden. He shook his head and then walked through the door. His eyes adjusted to
the light, but nothing else happened. Inside the room was a bounty of jewels,
treasures and idols, a sight any other man would be over come with joy for
seeing. “You never heard of a false door, boy? How foolish are you, you really
thought you had found the final door – ha!” Eden got up from the ground, James
clenched his fists. He let out a roar and threw his weight against priceless
artifacts, precious statues and fragile crystals a like. He thumped the wall
until his knuckles bled. Glass smashed and things cracked as they hit the
floor, “Ooo-that sounded expensive”, Eden cackled,
“I felt it”,
said James,
“Poor boy, you
didn’t feel anything”,
“But, I did, I
felt it, it is here, it has to be, it is my destiny”,
“Oh, don’t be so
pathetic, before it was funny, but now its just sad. Face it, you’ve lost this
round, boy”, Eden moved to the doorway, concerned. James searched through the
wreckage. Eden took another step forward, “Stop wasting your time, let me take
you away from here”, but James continued. Eden raised a hand, “James, dear,
look at you, you’re a mess, stop”, he ignored her, “now, James, stop”.
His
hands fumbled over an idol and it gave him an electric shock. He grabbed the
idol with both hands and launched it into the wall. It smashed and a red dust
exploded out of it. The dust collected in the air and formed a tall stripe from
the top to the bottom of the room, “No” screamed Eden, she ran outside and
looked for the small blade on the ground. James put his hand around the red stripe
and pulled like a handle. The Final Door swung open and illuminated the room.
James could see everything inside it. Eden dropped to her hands and knees
outside. James’ mouth dropped as he gazed through the Final Doorway. There was
a bounty of knowledge pouring into his mind, he revelled in a moment of pure
satisfaction and understanding, greater for every second longer that he gazed.
Eden fumbled around on the floor. She found the knife and picked it up. After
stumbling to her feet, she ran back inside the cuboid. The knife was held out
in front of her and she charged into James. He felt the blade slide in and out
of his back, but it did not hurt and it did not injure him. “I understand, I
have some knowledge, but never all of it on this side”, he said, “I cannot live
knowing what I know, without knowing more. You feel the same way, but you’re
too scared to go through”, James smiled, “I’m not scared, this is my destiny”, he stepped forward through
the Final Door, leaving Eden alone.
THE END.
