Baroea Chapter 3: Through the Door

         "Lara, it's almost one o'clock. Aren't you hungry?"

         Lara sat up and looked at her mom, who waited at the door for an answer. The book was closed on the bed.
         
         "I am, actually. Thanks, Mom. I must have fallen asleep." She got up and put the Baroëa book on the dresser, running her fingers over the cover. 
Lara’s thoughts raced. She was certain that something strange, maybe even supernatural had happened to her.  The Garden and Princess and Inreith had been so real. If Lara described it to anyone, they would think it was just a dream, but was it? Was there really a chance she could see Paul again? She would only know when she opened the book once more.

         Lara followed her mother down the stairs, thoughtful.  In the kitchen, Grandma plied Lara with pot pie, corn bread, milk and cookies. Lara wondered if her grandma knew about the Garden. If so, she gave no indication, just went on cheerfully planning dinner for that night. Lara decided to talk to her later about the book. In the meantime, no one needed to know about her journey to the Garden. They might think she’d gone crazy.

Grandma smiled as Lara devoured everything.

"That's more than I've seen you eat in a while,” Mom said. “I'm glad.” Lara just nodded, her mind on other things. It did feel good to be hungry again, though.

         “I do feel better,” Lara said. “I think I’ll go play outside with the boys when I’m done.” She couldn’t believe how invigorated she felt. And as much as she looked forward to trying the book again, she needed some time to decide what to do if she did get back.
         “What brought this on?” Mom asked. “That must have been one heck of a nap.”
         Lara smiled. “It was.”

         As she ate the last bite of cookie, Michael appeared in the kitchen doorway, Alan close behind.

         “Lara, will you come play with us?”

         Lara jumped up. “You bet.” The boys beamed.

         The three of them bundled up and ran into the farmyard. There were a few small buildings around the property: ramshackle sheds and an empty chicken coop. The garage was to the left, and the barn was to their right. The icicles lining the roofs were dripping in the sunlight, and most of the snow was getting slushy.

         “Dad said this is just a short thaw, it’s supposed to snow again tomorrow – a lot.” Michael kept looking up at Lara as he walked beside her toward the barn. It reminded her of how Princess looked at her.

         “We’d better get our energy out today, then!” Lara said. Michael grinned at her playful tone, and ran through the open barn doors. It was quite a bit warmer in there, since one side had been turned into a horse stall and pig pens. The boys sat on some bales of straw to decide what to play, while Lara patted the mare in her stall. The old lady was still strong, and pushed her brindled head against Lara’s hand.

         “Sorry I haven’t been to see you, Beth,” Lara said. Beth nickered, forgiving.

         Michael stood up. “Okay, we have an idea. How about snow pirates with
icicles for swords?”

         “No!” Lara turned on him, hands on her hips. “We could poke each other’s eyes out doing that. Why not just have a snowball fight? We can each make our own forts, and have flags to capture.”

         Alan ran to Lara. “I want to be on your team!”

         Michael rolled his eyes. “You’re six years old, right? Don’t you want your own fort?” Alan shook his head, wrapping an arm around Lara’s leg. “Fine, be a baby.” Alan didn’t seem to mind Michael’s teasing, just held onto Lara.

         They trudged back out into the yard, using paths that were already well compacted. Michael took the west side of the yard, in front of the barn. Lara and Alan made their fort on the east side, in front of the house. They had each chosen a “flag”– Michael’s was a pinecone stuffed into a red glove that he’d found. Lara and Alan’s was a stick with a strip of blue tarp tied to it. These were placed somewhere visible on or near the fort.

         The game was long, wet and lopsided. Alan was able to sneak up to Michael’s fort and take his flag while Lara distracted him with a barrage of sloppy snowballs. Michael didn’t seem to mind losing the game, though.

         “It’s just like the old Lara!” He pounded her on the back and smiled up at her as they made their way back to the house, soaked and shivering.

         They pulled off their snow gear just inside the front door. The house felt like a sauna compared to outside. Michael gazed at Lara, thoughtful.

         “Did something happen to make you feel better?” he asked.

Lara was struck by his penetrating scrutiny. He acted older than his ten years. She wondered when he’d gotten so mature. Probably at the same time they’d all changed, last August. Lara suddenly wanted so badly to tell Michael that she might have a way of seeing Paul again. She wanted that old closeness with her family back, but it seemed impossible that anyone would believe her.

         Lara just shrugged in answer to his question. “I had a really good nap.”
Michael didn’t look convinced.

They walked into the living room together. It was still a couple of hours until dinner, so the adults were all relaxing in the living room with coffee and a movie.

“There’s no room to sit down in here,” Alan complained.

“Come on, kiddo, we can play in our room.” Michael led the way upstairs.

Lara realized that this was probably her chance to try the book again. She went up to her room and sat on the bed, staring at the comforting pale green of the cover. If only it worked! Her heart skipped a beat at the thought. But if it didn’t, she didn’t think she could bear it.

One thing was for certain: she was going to go look for Paul. Whatever the risks, whatever the rules, she had to do it.

Lara opened the book.

The picture that had earlier taken her to the Garden now did nothing. Since it was lovely but still, Lara turned the page. Another illustration with the same jewel-like brilliancy met her gaze. This one was of the door in the wall, open to show green hills and faraway mountains beyond. This time, there were two verses, one on each page.

In the Garden’s vast wall you’ll behold a door
Marked with the sacred Sign of Four;
If this threshold you choose to traverse,
You shall not return ‘til your quest you disburse.

Select your destination well
For what you must seek only you can tell;
Dream, Spirit or Faerie beyond may glow
Beyond Baroëa, the hills where I go.

Yes. Lara could see those sunlit hills just outside the door, stretching to the darkness of a forest at the foot of the mountains.

Not yet, Lara thought. First I must go to the Garden.

She studied the near side of the wall, its stones barely visible under thick vines. There was a blurry shape at the very bottom of the illustration, below the verses’ curly print. It was the head of a tabby cat as seen from behind, its gaze apparently locked on the land outside.

Lara could have sworn she saw Inreith’s fur shifting in a slight breeze. She was sure of it! The vivid colors of the Garden seemed to grow brighter, leaves fluttering and flowers bobbing happily. In the space of a blink, the bedroom was gone and Lara stood by the bench, facing the white door.

“You’ve come!” Princess exclaimed, startling Lara with an unexpected hug. Inreith meowed convincingly in welcome, rubbing against their ankles.

“I said I would be back,” Lara laughed. She noticed one of the vast rings behind her again. This one had a jagged blue pattern around the edge. “How did that get there?”

Princess shrugged, uninterested. “They come and go, I suppose. Would you like to play with me for a while?”

Lara was determined to seek Paul beyond the wall, but wasn’t in a hurry to leave the safety of the Garden. “I would love to. I’m sure we didn’t see all of it last time. Am I right?”

The hedge maze did indeed have new wonders to reveal.

First, they came to a wide, clear pond that shimmered in the sun. A huge silver gazing ball reflected the Garden all around. Lara and Princess removed their shoes and socks and waded in, laughing and splashing. Schools of gem toned fish frolicked and leaped. Afterward the girls sat in the sun, drying their damp clothes and feet.

Lara breathed deeply of the warm, scented air. “This really is an amazing place you have here.”

Princess glowed with pleasure. “It was Inreith’s Garden long before it was mine.”

“Where did you live before you came here?” Lara asked. She expected this to be a sensitive question, but Princess merely looked bemused.

“I don’t remember. I just know that I don’t want to leave. Inreith promised me she would take care of me as long as I stayed, so here I am.”

They were quiet for a while as Lara pondered this. Princess was a lucky girl to have such a magical home, but surely she would eventually tire of being stuck in one place. It seemed such a waste, with a whole world waiting to be explored – danger or not.

Princess got up and stretched, putting on her socks and shoes. “Want to see the aviary?”

Lara followed her through the twists and turns, mind only half on where they were going. She gasped when they emerged, though.

The “aviary” wasn’t a cage or glass house like those Lara had seen before. This was a sort of dome made of massive cottonwood trees with branches that met overhead. The fresh scent of them filled the glade. Bird houses of every shape and size and color, as well as nests, filled the branches and hung between them on flowering vines thick as ropes. In the middle of the ring of trees was a beautiful marble fountain that poured water from three tiers into the largest basin below. The rainbow colored birds Lara had seen elsewhere in the Garden flocked here, seeming to dance in the air before her.

“This is amazing!” she exclaimed. “It’s wonderful that they are free to come and go as they please.”

“Why would they ever want to leave?” Princess asked.

Lara didn’t have an answer right away. It did seem to be any bird’s dream home.

“Maybe – just to be free? Curiosity? To see what’s out there?”

Princess gave her a solemn look. “You are going to leave, aren’t you? You want to go through the door.”

Lara nodded. “I have to. My brother may be out there. He’s part of me – the better part. And – I want to see the world outside.”

Princess smiled a bit sadly. “Let’s go find Inreith.”

The gray tabby waited for them in the clearing by the white bench. Her tail flicked as Princess sat down beneath the mulberry tree, ignoring the books scattered there.

"Walk with me, please” Inreith said, and Lara followed her toward the door in the wall.

The sacred symbol of the Four Worlds glimmered on its surface, and it swung open of its own accord as they approached. The vines were like a curtain in the stone doorway. Lara parted them, gazing down a steep slope outside the wall.
The Garden sat on a hill above those surrounding it. Below, rolling green spread out before a mountain range to the south-west. Dark trees filled valleys between the peaks, and there was a glimmer of water emerging from the forest. Lara had never seen such a lonely and beautiful place.

“There are some things you should know before you set forth. One could become lost forever here, which is why having a destination is so vital. Each time you come, you will travel until you find one of the ring portals – or it finds you. It wouldn’t be safe for you to stay too long – it changes humans forever. Gives them powers, or makes them mad.”

Lara shivered. Her courage was failing.

“Don’t be afraid, though,” Inreith went on. “You won’t be alone. You will meet seven Helpers. But do not trust anyone who claims to have all the answers – your instincts are what will guide you.”

Lara looked down at the cat, nervous and a bit desperate. She didn’t remember ever relying on instinct before. “How will I find my Helpers if they don’t offer answers?”

Inreith jumped up into her arms, putting a paw on Lara’s cheek. “They will find you. Have you chosen a destination?”

Lara looked out over the landscape. It seemed warm and welcoming, despite the dire warnings. And she didn’t want her adventure to end too soon, especially if she needed time to find Paul. So her gaze traveled farther, to the most distant point she could see clearly. A mountain, not the tallest of the range, but its stone peak bare of trees.

“That mountain, I guess.” She pointed.

“Dark Mountain. You would travel toward the Heart of Faerie.” Inreith gave no indication of what she thought of Lara’s choice. “You must keep moving through the boundaries toward your goal, but take your time and enjoy your adventure.”

Lara nodded. She gathered her courage. She could do this. It was time to go.

Princess came up to her. Lara hugged her. “Goodbye, Princess. I will be back as quickly as I can.”

Then Lara stepped forward into the land of Baroëa.

There it was, all stretched out before her, no time limit and no adults. She ran down the hill through grasses that got longer and wilder closer to the bottom. She had not felt this free in so long, if ever! She skipped through the grasses, now up to her knees, up the side of the next gentle swell.  At the top she paused, breathing the fresh air and looking out across the land. She could see the portal ring waiting three hills away. She was in no rush to reach it, though.

Lara rolled down the slope and lay in the sun, watching dragonflies hover over the grass above her. If only her family could see this place, and feel the wonder that she did now. She sat up. If they could see Paul again, even just for a short while, she was certain things would be better. It was a blissful thought that made Lara want to sing and dance. So she did.

After what seemed like hours of frolicking through the bright green waves, Lara decided it was time to go home. She knew now that the green book’s magic was real, and she had to tell someone.

The ring that would take her home this time was pale sky blue, with swirls engraved in it, like the wind rushing over the grasses. Lara took a deep breath and stepped through