The box. The door. The crumbling brick. It begged me to enter. I couldn't keep myself from opening the door. My mind begged me not to open it, but my body refused. I opened the door and a bright light strained and blinded me for a second. When my sight returned to normal, I was standing in a doorway on top of a snowy mountain. The wind whooshed behind me and the snow glistened on my skin. I took a couple of steps, and suddenly the door behind slammed. I spun around, looking for the door that had disappeared. Scanning my surroundings, seeing only snow and mountains, meant that I was stranded on top of a snowy mountain with no clue how to get back. 

I was about halfway down the slippery mountain when I heard a loud roar. Not too far off, I spotted a mythical creature staring right at me; it seemed to be half lion, half crocodile, and it was about 20 feet away. Briefly paralyzed in fear, I took off running down the mountain with the goal of getting as far as possible from this ‘creature’. RUN was the only thing on my mind, as I felt the beast striding aggressively towards me with immense speed. Turning around, I began to stumble and slip down the mountain. “AAGH!” I yelled as a mouthful of snow crammed into my mouth. Rolling down this seemingly infinite mountain felt like I was flying; I couldn’t control my descent and I was scared to death. A couple of seconds later, I flew into a mountain of rock, with a crumbling force. The collision with the rock made me feel as if my back and ribs had shattered. My brief second of relief was interrupted as I felt the presence of something coming upon me. I slumped against the rock, waiting for the beast to approach me, as I succumbed to my fate. I sat up only to realize the monster was racing towards my limp body at full speed. Then, out of nowhere the creature jumped out…

Suddenly a fiery arrow shot from behind me and hit the ‘creature’, causing it to stumble. I watched in amazement as the beast tumbled down the mountain, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I turned around to find a muscular boy around the age of 20, dressed in fur. He was pointing an arrow right at my forehead. I froze in shock. For a brief second, I stared at the boy, and then crumpled to the ground, in an unconscious heap. 

As my head became clear, my mother’s voice echoed in the back of my head, guiding me through a visual dream. Memories of previous vacations and family gatherings flooded through my head, coursing through my body. I reminisced over my past self-laughing with my family and enjoying all aspects of life. Beautiful images of my parents and me seemed to go on forever. My heart raced as I admired my past experiences with my parents, suddenly feeling an uncontrollable longing to be with them. As fast as these images came, they disappeared and new ones reemerged. Suddenly, a knot of anger coursed through my heart, and raised voices pounded against my brain.

“STOP IT!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, as I unbridledly arose. I was dreaming yet I was heavily breathing and my heart was pounding. My mind flashed back to the day I was almost kicked out of my house. I’ve always been an introverted person, mostly keeping to myself and never truly expressing myself. I never went to parties, and I never found myself in a group of friends who were similar to me. In my junior year of high school, people started to avoid me and constantly mock me. Students would play pranks on me and I was constantly looked down upon; I was the laughing-stock of the school. During the Junior Prom, I had reached my breaking point after two students poured milk all over my prom outfit. It was as if there was a clock ticking inside me that stopped. That night I went berserk, vandalizing the school and getting into multiple fights. When my parents came to hear this news, I saw them angrier than ever before, it felt like the Devil came raging at me. Their screams racketed around the house, and they nearly abandoned me.

I wish I could go back in time and reconnect with my family, I thought. All I wanted was to be safe and secure in my own home, surrounded by my loved ones. Given my current circumstances, my recent outburst appeared to be the least of my concerns; it seemed to be meaningless. 

“Hey,”  a voice echoed, “here’s some water”, the mysterious boy said while handing me a cup. At least I have water, I thought, thankful for something. This was my first true encounter with the boy, and I was taken aback. He appeared to be twice my size and significantly stronger than me. I was astounded by the muscles this boy possessed as I looked at his arms.

"Are you ok?" he asked, shaking me out of my daze. Gulping my water, I stared down at the boy, pressing my lips together.

"I'm fine," I replied quietly.

“What? I can't hear you," he said.

"I'm great!" I screamed angrily, "What am I doing here, who are you, and what have you done to me!"

"One question at a time," he replied calmly. "Don't yell at me, I saved you; now sit down. I have some questions for you." Sitting down, I shivered at the glooming threat the boy presented. “Who are you?” he asked, “Where are you from?”

Taking a deep breath, I explained I was from Earth, and I told him the story of how I got here, leaving out the details about my fight (too personal). 

“Well that's good, but it doesn’t explain why you came here,” he replied. Out of nowhere a sudden burst of anger exploded in my head. 

“I DON’T KNOW WHY I'M HERE!” I yelled, feeling frustrated, “I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I EVEN AM!” This is going nowhere, I thought, hinting that I was dissatisfied with my current circumstances. The boy's expression did not change and he remained silent for a moment. There is no way I can receive help from him to go back to the mortal world. 

Looking up, I felt the boy's eyes staring into me, attempting to grasp the sanity within me; they seemed to extract all the information from me. It felt as if an eternity had passed between our deadlock until the boy exhaled. 

“Alright, I’ll help you,” the boy said, breaking our silence.

We began to trek endlessly across huge plains, and there seemed to be no end. “Umm, where are we going?” I asked, evidently unsure of what was going on. The boy continued to walk, and it wasn’t for another two miles that he eventually opened up.

“I never told you my name,” the boy replied, surprising me, “It’s Ethan, nice to meet you.” A knot of anger in my heart suddenly contracted as I felt the tension release from my body. The boy finally started to open up, and didn’t seem as burly or intimidating. He talked about who he was and how he ultimately survived in this world. He talked about his struggles on Earth, which made him go through the doorway, and he believed that was his biggest regret. He talked about problems with the law, and his drug addiction which led him to this world.

As the boy opened up about his past and struggles, it felt like we were bonding; I could feel the first ounces of friendship of my life come upon me. My introverted nature had pushed me to shake the boy away and ignore him, but the prospect of friendship pressed against me, coursing through my body. 

We continued to talk to each other through our hikes over hills and mountains, and across the plains for days on end, as we started to connect with one another. Images of my parents encouraging me to make friends flashed through my brain, as I now held a twinge of regret for my past mistakes. 

We set up camp on top of a snowy mountain, as the sun began to set. I leaned back, exhaling, staring into the sunlight; for the first time, my desire to find the portal wasn’t the most important thing on my mind. It seemed that I was finally in a space where I was truly accepted and understood; the loneliness that had ripped me apart began to diminish inside me. I suddenly realized how far I had truly come on this journey.