The Hidden Door
written by: Monika Ajay Kaul
Scene: A dusty, forgotten hallway in an old, sprawling house. The walls are lined with faint cracks, and the air smells of earth and time. A woman in her early thirties, Mira, stands in front of an inconspicuous wooden door she has never noticed before. An elderly man, Kiran, whom Mira has only known as a hushed neighbor, appears behind her unexpectedly.
Mira: (startled) “Oh, Mr. Kiran! You scared me. I didn’t hear you come in.”
Kiran: (smiling gently) “Doors like these have a way of calling people, Mira. I didn’t want you to open it alone.”
Mira: (frowning) “I’ve lived here for eight years, and I swear I’ve never seen this door before.”
Kiran: “You wouldn’t have. It shows itself only when you’re ready.”
Mira: (laughs nervously) “Ready for what? Is this some prank?”
Kiran: (serious, yet kind) “No prank. It’s a choice. This door has been waiting for you, Mira. It always has. But once you step through, your life will never be the same.”
Mira: “You’re really leaning into the mystery, aren’t you? What’s behind it? Treasure? A secret passage? Something worse?”
Kiran: “Answers. Questions. Maybe even silence. It’s not about what’s behind the door, it’s about what it opens within you.”
Mira: (pausing, unsure) “I’m not… I’m not ready for something that big. I barely manage my small life. I can’t handle anything more complicated.”
Kiran: “Complication isn’t what waits here. It’s clarity. But clarity often terrifies us more than chaos, doesn’t it?”
Mira hesitates, her fingers grazing the carved vintage doorknob. Something about the door feels alive, pulsing faintly beneath her touch.
Mira: (softly) “Why me? What does it know about me?”
Kiran: “It knows the questions you bury. The doubts you wrap in busy days. It knows your grief and your hope, Mira. It knows you’ve been searching for something… even if you don’t admit it to yourself.”
Mira: (whispering) “I miss them. My parents. It’s been so long, but the ache never leaves.”
Kiran: (placing a hand on her shoulder) “And it shouldn’t. The ache is proof that love remains, even in absence. But this door… it won’t take away your pain. It’ll show you how to carry it differently.”
Mira: (tears welling up) “What if I don’t like what’s on the other side?”
Kiran: “Then you close the door. Walk away. But something tells me you’ll find exactly what you need.”
Mira takes a deep breath, then turns the knob. The door creaks open, revealing not another room but a vast, glowing expanse. An endless horizon of light and shadow, whispers of laughter, songs she doesn’t recognize but feels she’s always known.
Voice Beyond the Door: “Mira… it’s time.”
Mira: (to Kiran, stepping halfway in) “Will I ever come back?”
Kiran: (smiling warmly) “You’ll come back… but not as the same Mira.”
She steps fully inside. The door closes softly behind her. Kiran remains in the hallway, leaning against the wall, a calm satisfaction in his expression. He whispers, as if to himself:
Kiran: “And now, her world begins anew.”
The hallway grows silent, the hidden door fading back into the wall, waiting for the next soul brave enough to see what lies beyond.
NOTE:
Based on the Prompt – Write about a hidden door that changes everything
- The Weight of a Shadow - March 25, 2025
- The Hidden Door - February 25, 2025
- The Ocean Never Asks - December 30, 2024
