THE PORTAL...OPENS

THE PORTAL OPENS

Do people know that there’s a fine line between reality and fantasy? Tru didn’t think so. It was just her imagination, the stories she wrote, the pictures she drew and the vivid dreams she had…

Then…..


The inventor of Calomia went upstairs to her room. Her mother had told her she was overtired and her imagination was far too vivid for a 42 year old woman. Tru might have reached this grand old age but she had the creative mind of a very bright 14 year old, although not the energy. Like most creative types, she was rather scatter- brained and vague.

“Away with the fairies!” people said of her.

But Tru needed Calomia. She needed the escape. Of course, dragons and trolls, elves that hated to be mistaken for fairies and strange, amorphous beings that could change their shape but not their colour didn’t exist…..did they?

What about the humans? The young people she saw as her own children. When she was younger, they’d been her friends. She knew Joel, Fid, Henri and Erik like family. She’d known them for over 20 years and she felt her “children” had developed. Recently she’d married them off and given them children of their own.

“I’m a grandmother!” Tru smiled to herself.

A bright light shone just outside her small, cosy bedroom on the landing. Funny, she thought. As somebody who cared about the environment, she made sure that she turned the lights off.

The very bright light was coming the laundry cupboard. Had somebody left a torch on in there? Why?

Tru tried to open the door but it was jammed shut. It locked from the outside. What was going on?

The door started to move by its own violation. It started to shake violently. Instinctively, Tru threw herself against it. The door started to come away by it’s hinges.

Suddenly….

A green hand reached for her hair and yanked it back. Tru was too shocked to feel any pain.

A tiny, green face peered from behind the ravaged door. Tru, even in her shock, recognised the dunovoc- a shape changing creature she’d invented. She knew they could metamorphose into any shape as long as it was green. It was just an amorphous blur.

Accompanying the dunovoc was a rock elf, a beautiful fairy like creature she’d also invented.

Hmmm, these were just the little ones. What else was going to try and burst through the door?

The creatures were getting bigger now. Something licked her shoe. She looked down to see a small green dragon - Dracus Caninus - a dragon with dog like characteristics. She remembered that her character Princess Agrita kept one of these in her handbag.

To Tru’s horror, some of the rock elves and ‘trites were escaping onto the landing. What would her mother say?!

The door shook very, very violently and came off its hinges. A large, yellow dragon was peering over the top of it. It licked her hair. Tru knew that Bentley was harmless but she was still scared. Then a huge troll reached for the door knob and with his other..hand?.. Claw? for her. She remembered Steve - he had strong romantic feelings for her although she was carbon based and he was silicone. She’d taught him in Calomia - how to read and about Earth and England where she came from. Now, Calomia was coming to a modest, mock Tudor semi-detached in Essex in England! Could this be Steve’s doing? He was more educated than the other trolls. Could he have magic ked up this portal? But stupid Steve! Why was he trying the door knob when the door was going to come crashing down at any moment!

Every creature she’d invented and some she hadn’t such as the unicorn which terrified her with its horribly pointed, sharp horn. Although she loved horses and ponies, unicorns were plain scary! She didn't know why she'd written them into Calomia but every fantasy place needed one she supposed. She’d even brought squonks into Calomia because she loved the old Genesis song. She couldn’t see any. Perhaps they’d dissolved into pools of tears.

And hang on, wasn’t all this just in her imagination?

Was she dreaming. She’d pinch herself if she wasn’t fruitlessly trying to hold the door up.

No sign of any Calomian humans though. That would have been quite re-assuring. Even Joel Hogweed with his appalling guitar chords, even now he was a father.

The grabbing claws and rasping tongues were real enough! The door felt very heavy and wooden.

Suddenly the door came crashing down...... Soppy, old Steve grabbed her by the waist to stop her being crushed....and all chaos was let loose!

“Oops,” Tru murmured to herself “What AM I going to do?"


This amazing song is on my Calomia "soundtrack". It fits pretty well I think! www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-DmAh…

I thought I was being so original then Yonderland started!