Excerpt: Door to the Future

Next to the shelving were buckets and whatnot, behind which was a spare door, probably meant to replace one of the bedroom doors. Tom could have at least installed the door. After finding new homes for the buckets, she looked at the white door. Couldn’t this go in a better place? Tucked away behind the shelf, maybe?

She grabbed the door—it was a lot lighter than she expected. She could probably move it. She grabbed the handle to get a better grip, the handle turned—

The basement was finished—painted, furnished, and decorated. Tom never got around to painting the walls, much less decorating. And they never bought furniture for it. She took a few steps around. The basement was neat and clean. The furnishings were modern—very, very modern. She didn’t recognize a couple of things, in fact. She got a little shiver as she wondered what was going on. Behind her was the same door she had just tried to move. In front of her was the door that she knew led out of the basement. At least, it should. Cora was suddenly not certain of much of anything. But she had an overwhelming urge to get out of the room, far greater than her curiosity over the room and that door.

She walked over to the basement door, not knowing why she was taking care to step quietly. Opening the door to outside, she could hear the river lapping on the shore. She didn’t know whether to be relieved or more confused.

Cora gaped as she looked about. All around the house was landscaped, with great care, far more than Cora and Tom had ever given effort to do. Her heart began to race. She ran her hands through her hair, holding on to her hair for a moment while she tried to figure out what to do next.

“Um, excuse me, can I help you?”

Cora jerked and turned to the voice. A young woman had come around from the front of the house. Her features were sharp as her voice had been. Was she the owner? Was Cora on someone else’s property?

“Um, I—I… don’t know.” She looked around. No good answers to the woman’s question came to mind.

The woman’s expression softened a bit. “Are you all right?”

There was her answer. Not a truthful one, but it would get her out of this situation. “Um, I’m not sure. I don’t remember how I got here. Maybe I blacked out or something?” She tried to put on a helpless look of some sort, hoping to draw some pity from the woman that would distract her from the fact that Cora was on her property.

Bingo. All wariness faded from the woman’s expression. “Oh wow. You must have wandered for some time, too. What do you remember?”

Oh boy. Digging the hole deeper, she held her hand to her forehead. “I don’t know. I can’t seem to remember.” Her breathing was coming more rapidly, and while it wasn’t on purpose, it would serve another purpose.

“Oh wow. Maybe you need to sit down. Why don’t you come inside for a minute? Do you feel like doing that?”

Cora thought for a second, and realized that’s exactly what she needed to do. Without knowing what was going on, she knew she needed to get back to where this all started. “Yeah, yes. I think that would be a good idea. I’ll sit for a moment.”

“Good. I’ll get you a glass of water.”

The woman led her into the house through the front door, which looked nearly the same as her front door. She got another chill.

She found herself in a house that could have been hers. The layout was the same. The furnishings and décor had changed. But the structure of the house was hers. Was this her house? She shook off such a ridiculous thought.

“My name is Cory, by the way,” the woman said, as she led Cora into a kitchen far more sleek than Cora’s but structurally the same. “Please, have a seat,” she said as Cora stood there dumbstruck. A TV announcer’s voice came from somewhere she had yet to find.

“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Cora.” The woman hesitated for a moment, but then continued to pour her a glass of water from a pitcher in the fridge. Cora looked around. She was dazed a bit by where she was, and in each corner she found there was some bit of electronic gadget she had failed to notice at first. She began to realize that electronics were embedded everywhere, even into the walls. And that’s where she found the TV, embedded flush with one wall.

She drank the water gratefully. “That’s much better, Cory. Thank you. I just needed to clear my head.” She took a breath. Cory was listening to something on the news.

“I’m sorry, I was distracted. Terrible habit.”

Cora turned to the TV. Even the program she watched was very slick, with lots of graphics. This all gave Cora an eerie feeling, but she was sure she was being silly. There had to be an explanation for this. She just didn’t know what it was.

“And that’s the news summary for today, September 9, 2060.”