The tiny wooden door in the neighborhood garden had always plagued Jax. Why make a door so tiny? Why bother locking it? It was too small to fit through.
One day an envelope was delivered to Jax’s house. It was covered in vine-like cursive. Inside was a single key, marked 616.
The moment the key touched his hands, he felt a pull. Jax followed the tugging out to the garden and towards the door. The key guided itself into the keyhole and the tiny door swung open.
Almost instantly a vacuum-like pull sucked Jax through the door. His body was squished, traumatized by the event that was not completely unlike a second birthing.
On the other side was damp, earthy-smelling darkness. The passageway was narrow. He could feel vines dragging along his face. He’d might as well walk with his eyes closed, as the key was still guiding him.
Upon reaching an open space, Jax noticed that hundreds of other passageways were leading to the same location.
A creature with translucent skin approached Jax. “Let’s see some identification.”
Jax looked confused.
“Your key?”
Jax placed the key into its palm.
“616, our new gardener. Welcome.”
“New gardener?” Jax asked.
“You’re certainly not our old gardener. He’s dead!” The creature threw back its head and laughed.
“This is madness!”
“Walk through our labyrinth. It’ll calm you down.” It pushed Jax towards the entrance. Jax began to wander. He missed the feel of the key guiding him. Fearing getting lost, he exited.
The creature was standing next to a wall of hanging keys. Each key looked identical to Jax’s.
Jax panicked. “Where’s my key?”
“These are the keys of our past volunteers. Beekeepers, horticulturalists, and gardeners such as yourself. These keys lead each of them to our Center.”
“Give me my key so that I can go home!”
“Your key cannot lead you back home!” The creature laughed. “Even if you find your passage again, you’ll never fit back through the door. The pull only works one way, 616. You’re here to stay.”
“No!” Jax ran towards the closest passage. He tripped on some roots and fell.
“Catch!” said the creature. It tossed something to Jax.
Jax caught it and opened his hand. The key!
It felt smooth and comforting. He missed that feeling. He relaxed and smiled as it slowly pulled him back towards the Center.
Author's note: This was written for a weekly 250 word challenge. This week's story turned out to be much longer. As I cut it down I decided I had already cut too much and didn't want to cut further. It's now at 390 words and that will have to do! Thanks for reading!
