#211 – The Tale of Axel and the Room of Doors

The sounds of the removalist truck could be heard disappearing down the road as Axel started examining every nook and every cranny of his and his mother’s new house. Axel was exploring underneath the stairs when he came across a tiny wooden door, painted cream with a brass door handle. There was enough light from the windows at either end of the hallway for Axel to see his reflection upside down in the doorknob. Axel thought about the time he had panicked when, at his old house, he had first seen his upside-down reflection in a spoon and started thinking that the whole world was now upside-down. His mother comforted him and eventually convinced him that everything was the right way up, but it was hard to shake his fascination with doorknobs and spoons as a result. Curious as to where the tiny door underneath might lead, Axel took a risk, opened up the door, squatted down and waddled through the door.

Once through the door, he was able to stand up straight and scan the contents of this hidden, circular room. Doors. A vast number of wooden doors lining the curved walls – though none smaller than the one he had just come from. They all had a lock, so Axel thought it important to start making his way around the room checking each and every door. He eventually made his way back to where he had started and, although he didn’t panic, he did think it best to find a spot to sit and consider his options.

Finding a seat where he wasn’t leaning up against a door was not possible, so Axel leaned against the comfiest door he could find. He found it curious that some doors could be comfier than others and started thinking about the other differences the doors had. He noticed that the wooden panels stuck to the front of some the doors made the shape of different letters. The panels on the door in front of him, for example, were shaped like a letter ‘A’. The panels on the door next to that, though made of a different kind of wood and of a much smaller size, made the letter ‘V’.

Axel stood up and raced back in​ the direction of where he had first entered the room and started piecing together each letter as he walked passed it. AVERYLITTLEKEYFROMAVERYLITTLEDOOROPENSUPTHELASTOFTHEVERYHEAVYDOORS. Although he felt tricked by the doors – making him work his way around the room yet again – he was excited to finally have a way out. He opened up the tiny door from where he had entered, though this time there was nothing but darkness and picked up the key waiting inside. He moved to the last door, presuming correctly that this was the door that the key would open. He pushed the key into the lock, unlocked the door, opened it and stepped through.

Windows. Lots of windows. Each one providing access​ to a different view. There were some that showed mountains and some that looked into shops. Only one, however, looked into a room where he could see his mother unpacking their possessions. Axel began analysing the numbers above each of the windows. He took a deep breath, realising that it was going to be a while before he could make his way back home.



Illustrations by Alisha Towers: FACEBOOK

Creative Commons License

7 thoughts on “#211 – The Tale of Axel and the Room of Doors

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      1. I had a character wearing all white in last night’s story (#212) and I was like, “Man, this is going to attract one of those, ‘What’s in the water up there?’ comments from The Stubborn Australian for sure!” But, in the end, I just have to write whatever comes into my head! Luckily it’s done a good job of filling in the gaps so far 😉

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