Doors

One of the key components of Advent Calendars are the doors. Even if it’s just a perforated bit of paper, the door hides the surprise. The act of opening it turns the unknown into the known. And, for me at least, it’s that act of opening that is the real pleasure. Sure, I love a bit of chocolate, and eating it is fun, but that moment of discovery somehow holds more power.

I have always had this fascination for doors. Perhaps it comes from a childhood of reading science fiction and fantasy, but no matter how many times you walk through one into the bathroom, or bedroom, or closet, there’s always that infinitesimal chance that this time you might end up somewhere else. Blame Narnia, maybe.

My mother had an interesting garden at her house. It was overflowing with all manner of little statues and other decorations. But my favorite was always the Door. My mother had found an old door at an auction or some kind of sale and then hung it on one of the trees outside. And there it hung, this white door, not attached to any structure other than the still-living tree. And I could never shake the idea that at the right time, the right person might actually be able to open that door and walk into someplace else. Someplace magical.

Not the tree door, but suitably holiday-themed.

There are, of course, many special doors in fiction, beyond simply the door to the Wardrobe. The door in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland comes to mind, through which she sees a garden, though the door is much too small for her. The “DRINK ME” bottle lets her shrink down, but of course she left the key on the table. I always found it incredibly sad that she would never find out what was in that garden.

Poor Alice.

Of course what lies on the other side of the door is not always pleasant. There is, of course, the idea of the monster in the closet. The idea that what lies beyond the door is too horrible to even consider opening it.

Then there’s the door in Coraline, beckoning with the lure of discovery. A door that at first seems to lead to something wondrous, but soon reveals a lurking Nightmare.

Regardless of the end results, doors lead us places. They take us on journeys to places that delight us or scare us, places that we fear to go, or places that we need to go. One might even say that all doors are magical whether they seem to be or not.

I don’t intend to flood these Advent Calendar posts with my fiction, but I did write a story called “Doors”, attempting to capture at least a little of what I’m talking about here. It was originally printed in GUD Issue #6, but is now available to listen to, as a free podcast, at the excellent website, Podcastle. Some of you may have already read/heard it, but if you haven’t and are interested, here it is.

Today’s quotes:

There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.
Aldous Huxley

I feel very adventurous. There are so many doors to be opened, and I’m not afraid to look behind them.
Elizabeth Taylor

Until the next door…