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birdofdawning · 1 year

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The Door in the Wall

Mother was making jam with Betsy and listening out for the shop bell, and she thought Charles was watching Helena playing in the yard. But Charles had gone upstairs to read Fun, and Freddy and Frank were at school, and so nobody noticed when Helena slipped the latch off the gate and crept out into the back lane — something she knew she was forbidden to do.

She trotted down the track, thinking how funny it was to see the back of everything. Mr Munday’s haberdashery, and the decorator’s shop, and the tobacconist’s were all so formal and tidy from the front — but from the back! Why there was a broken wheel barrow beside a gate, and the remains of what looked like a broken chair waiting beside the dust bins; and over the fence here was the sickly plane tree that the Mowatt children would sit in and shout out at Helena and her brothers as they passed by.

At the end of the lane Helena stopped and considered. Should she turn right and pass the corner shop into the High Street? But memories of a previous encounter with the sullen keeper of ‘Wallace – Decorators’ came to her then, and she decided to turn left.

Down she walked along an empty side street, until she stopped to fill the pockets of her coat with horse chestnuts from an overhanging tree. And when she stood back up she saw, across the way, the green door in the wall.

The sun had come out, and it illuminated a clean white wall so brightly after the previous gloom that Helena had to squint a little. The door was small and bottle green, and a scarlet creeper grew around it. And it wanted her to open it.

Now, Helena was never the sort of child who could not do a thing she knew she oughtn’t. Indeed, she quite made her mother despair at times, and no wonder! If there was an odd piece of glass laying in the street Helena must pick it up and play with the light it threw. And if a music box or a fob watch or any sort of useful device was left unguarded she would have it opened up and in pieces before its careless owner remembered and came back for it. Her mother would always try to intercept and assess for suitability each of the books and periodicals that Helena’s father would bring home; otherwise the girl would have carried it away to her small room in the attic, and her brothers would have to conduct periodic raids in order to capture reading material for themselves.

So when this door called out to her — not aloud, you understand, but as a sort of whisper inside — Helena walked straight across the street and up to it. Unlike most of the buildings around, the door was clean and bright, as if it had been painted only last week. It had a bronze latch with the face of a leopard or lioness on it, and it was just within reach if she stood on her very tip toes. It lifted easily, as if freshly oiled, and the door drifted open without the least push, inviting Helena to step through.

And — Oh! how wonderful! — instead of a grey autumn day it was warm, with a clear dark blue sky filled with the amber light of evening, and a few stars already lit in the heavens. And instead of dusty Bromley with its shops and roads she found herself in a park of great trees, with grass and little paths and a fountain in the distance. She could smell roses, for nearby there were bowers covered in them as if it were spring! And close by she could hear children calling to each other and laughing.

She stepped through, saying “O, lovely!” as she regarded the beautiful garden around her, and behind her the door softly latched itself shut.

For a short time Helena wandered in the direction of the children. The air was so balmy, and, she felt, somehow heavy; so much so that she was tempted to take off her coat. But one thing Mother had managed to teach to her youngest child was to never take off her coat among strangers, for what would people think?

And as the light faded — though she had only had her lunch an hour ago, she was sure — to her delight the trees nearest the path lit up with tiny lights, like fireflies, so that she could still see where she was going.

The path went around a hedge and suddenly opened up into a great meadow, and there she saw the children. They were some distance away running after some sort of device that hovered in the air, moving to and fro like a great bumblebee and humming like one too. And they wore hooded tunics — just like Robin Hood’s Merry Men had in an illustrated periodical she had once read — and heavy britches like a labourer, only dyed blue.

Only as Helena was about to go to the children she heard a whistle and turned to see a very pretty girl standing further along the path. She was dressed all in tattered clothes, like a boy's clothes, so that she looked like she had just stepped down from the Stage. And her hair was cut short like a boy's too, and it was lighted up like a fire as it caught the last rays of the sun. And the girl smiled at Helena and came to meet her, holding out her hand, and saying Well! I think you look like our visitor, here at last! — just as if she’d known Helena had been coming, and was pleased to see her. So they held hands and walked through the wonderful gardens, talking about all sorts of things (though afterwards she couldn’t remember quite what they discussed), until they came to a sort of summer house, like the bandstand in Bromley park.

And standing inside was the most beautiful lady Helena had ever seen. She had hair like burnished copper, and it was down, coiling in waves around her face. And her eyes were large and green, like glass, but so alive and welcoming! And then she gave such a big smile that Helena decided there and then that she would do anything to make this lady happy.

Then the lady stepped out of the summer house to meet them, and she was wearing trousers! But not shapeless trousers that fell like a sack to one’s shoes like Father and Frank and Freddie wore — no, these were shaped and curved so as to show the lady’s long, graceful legs. And, though she knew that such a thing ought to be very wicked, Helena just couldn’t think of this lady as anything but so very good. And right then Helena decided that when she was grown up she would wear trousers too, and she wouldn’t mind what Mother should say.

The lady had been speaking to the pretty girl, and now she turned and smiled again at Helena and said Hallo, and that she thought perhaps she knew Helena’s mother. So Helena said “My mother’s name is Sarah Wells, and my name is Helena Georgina Wells” and the lady was very still for a moment, but then she held out her hand and invited Helena to sit with her in the summer house.

They were quite alone now, and the lady brought out a slate, like one would use for doing sums or accounts, only it was made of glass. And the lady said What sort of animal would you most like to see in all the world? and Helena said “I would like to see a jaguar, please!” and the lady asked the slate to show them a jaguar and there it was! Not drawn in chalk, but a real, actual, moving jaguar creeping though the jungle and down into a river. And after that the lady asked Helena what she’d like to see next, and Helena said “A crocodile!” and there it was in the slate, a crocodile drifting through brown water toward an unsuspecting zebra that was drinking at the river’s edge. And they saw a secretary bird, and a polar bear, and a gorilla — because Charles was so scared of gorillas and Helena wanted to tell him that she’d actually seen one and hadn’t been scared a jot! “But how does it work?” Helena asked, turning the slate over and over and examining it with a frown, and the lady laughed and said that she promised Helena would find out one day.

And now it was quite dark outside, with the only light coming from an old lamp hanging from the ceiling, and from the magical slate. And Helena suddenly thought of Mother wondering where she was, and sending her brothers out to find her. So she decided that she’d better say Thank-you for Having Me and I Had A Lovely Time. Only she wasn't sure how to get back to the green door.

Then the lady said that she needn’t worry. Soon Helena would be back home, because this wonderful garden, and the summerhouse and the lady and everything, only existed while the lamp above them burned; and that it was almost out of oil and when the flame died all would be back as it ought to be. And Helena said “But that sounds like real magic! And I don’t think I believe in real magic. Father says it’s just superstition and humbug.” And the lady smiled again and told her that nevertheless the lamp had a special property, like an enchanted device in a tale of Arthur, and this property was that when you lit this lamp in this gazebo the person you most wanted to meet would come to you for a time. “Oh, but then who lit the lamp?” asked Helena, and the very beautiful lady said that she herself had. And Helena said “But that means that I am the person you most wanted to see!” Then the lady looked sad (though she still smiled) and said Yes, she supposed Helena was the person she most wanted to see. Only now it was time to say goodbye, though perhaps Helena would see her again one day.

Now Helena was the sort of person who tended to hold herself apart from others, so she wasn’t sure why she did what she did next, but before she knew it her arms were around the beautiful lady, and the lady held her tight too until Helena was done. Then from her pocket she took a bag that was like foil-paper, only it was a lovely violet colour instead of silver, and she carefully lifted down the little lamp and said Are you ready to go home Helena? And Helena was about to say “No! I think I would rather stay!” when there was a flurry of sparks like fireworks on bonfire night and a strange whistling in her ears and she felt all dizzy and most unwell for a time.

And when she was aware of herself again she was standing in the Bromley side street, beside the old wall. And I am sad to say that she immediately burst into tears.

Eventually she made her way back up the side-street toward home, feeling bereft and so low. Then who should she see but her Mother trotting out of the lane towards her and looking most displeased! And as she was dragged back home (with her mother saying Gardens!? Ladies?! Jaguars?! My child you your head is being rotted away by those silly papers your Father brings home, I never-in-all-my-life, and so-on), Helena looked back toward the white wall. She saw the scarlet creeper as clear as anything, but would you believe — only no, I do you an injustice, you will have guessed already — the lovely green door had quite disappeared.

Later she told Charles all about the green door and her adventure in the wonderful garden, and he laughed and teased her for more details, jeering like older brothers do, until Helena refused to speak of it again and went to bed very cross that no-one would believe her.

And she decided that one day, when she was a grown-up woman herself, she would find the very beautiful lady again, and they would wear trousers and have adventures together.

And her mind made up, Helena fell fast asleep.

(And here is what Charles made of her story many years later.)

#bering and wells #helena wells #myka bering #Warehouse 13 #helena x myka #A silly thing at 11pm #H G Wells (the real one)#The Door In the Wall (1906)#claudia donovan

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cibolasburn · 6 years

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i was tagged by @gryffenders like 2 weeks ago, and now im waiting for the cabinet repair man to show up, and im distraught because im home alone after listening to a Frightening episode of the magnus archives (the only one i’ve found scary so far) so I Need A Distraction

RULES: answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better.

a | age: 20

b | birthplace: bold of you to assume i was born

c | current time: 9:27am

d | drink you last slurped: coffee

e | easiest person to talk to: me and @reynegades have been talking non stop for almost 4 years now, so probably her

f | favorite songs: uuuuh i have a list. give me an answer, when the night is over, magneto are all there at the moment. (late night, meet me in the woods, and the enemy are probably my longstanding favs) (neither of them are officially out yet, but i LOVE this one and this one and i have for 2 years) if you really want more, i made this playlist a few weeks ago with everything i wanted to listen to on a roadtrip, so hit shuffle on that baby and see where it takes you

g | grossest memory: one time in first grade, we were on a field trip to our local pumpkin patch, and a kid ate some random mushrooms he found on the side of the road and then when we got on the bus he sat behind me and threw up on the wall and it was horrifying (other than that great field trip my dad chaperoned my group and bought us all food and also we got to go on a hayride)

h | horror yes or no: listen i love horror stories and movies, but i am very picky about what horror i consume bc i don’t trust hollywood and i don’t trust certain subgenres.

i | in love? nah

j | jealous? yah

k | knowledge people don’t expect you to have: i have a lot of uuh weird facts but i guess i know a lot about......... indie rock from like 1985 to present? also feeding tubes, cause my mom’s an actual expert in those and i proofread her lectures.....

l | love at first sight or what: nah

m | middle name: hmmm.... no thanks nah i know my fairy lore

n | number of siblings: 2

o | one wish: i want..... a maze around my house........

p | person you called last: my sister

q | questions you’re always asked: “oh do you plan on teaching?” (which like yeah is a possibility but i am not limiting myself to one career goal)

r | reminder to self: drink water

s | song you last sang: down in the willow garden, cause that’s just todays mood i guess!

t | time you woke up: 6:50am

u | unpopular opinion: u gotta have a concept of history like u cant just make shit up! people on here do that all the time makes me want to be dead

v | vacation: alice isn’t dead inspired roadtrip pls god

w | worst habit: not drinking water

x | x-ray? had one on two weeks ago, had a fun time at a pediatric hospital despite the fact i am almost 21

y | your favorite food: i don’t have a favorite food and i’ll eat most things except.... seaweed, brussel sprouts, certain types of rice, and badly cooked chicken...... and those are just because i have Sensory Issues

z | zodiac sign: scorpio

i tag @reynegades @ssassmasster @kepler-lamp-lighter @sithromanova @qu33nbeee @myka-wells-forever

#so here's the thing #i listen to a lot of music and i cannot choose a favorite #because they are all absolutely central to how i've learned to express myself nonverbally over the years so there's that #also im 90% sure the cabinet man is dead #some monster got him he's gone #there are weird noises in my house #i am very upset right now he was supposed to be here at 8 #OH shit he just showed up nevermind we're good #me: listens to a podcast where one of the elements of horror is literally the idea of the stranger #also me: wow im so glad this man i've spoken to once is here so i don't have to sit in this house by myself #tagged

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