The Realm of Napatan

The bough broke with mom's abandoned promise. She battled, but a black hole corrupted her spirit. Arael promised herself she would not bow out this time. Today was Wednesday, 110 days since her mother's suicide and 50 days since her grief counselor assigned her this arduous task.

"I can do this."

Shaky hands turned the lock before she pushed the copper door. Arael balanced herself as the hairs on the back of her neck rose, but she stepped inside. The living room remained unchanged. The swiss coffee walls, white and silver furniture, and accent pieces were immaculate. Out of habit, Arael looked down at the silver chest, opened it, and retrieved a pair of disposable shoe covers.

She took two steps and froze for a moment; suddenly, she turned around and glanced at the front door.

There, I did it. I walked inside—mission accomplished.

She reached for the doorknob but was startled by a cackling sound.

Juju found her way inside.

The neighbor's hen was a bothersome creature, but Arael was fond of the old bird. A smile arose with the thought of what her mother would say. There was calm over the girl whose life was chaotic for a moment.

Arael decided she would take Juju home. Maybe Mrs. Dunningun would allow her to keep the hen.

"Come on, Arael. A hen! You would choose a hen as an emotional support animal!"

The thought seemed ridiculous, but maybe that's what she needed, an unexpected change.

Arael paced herself as she advanced toward the sound stopping only once to look at her reflection inside her mother's favorite antique sterling mirror. Some of her best memories of her mother came from that very spot. When glancing at her reflection, her mother looked back. They were doppelgangers. Her ginger coiled hair, light brown eyes, and dark brown skin shimmered occasionally. Today would have been a shimmering day. Mom loved Wednesdays because dad was off, and they could sleep in and then go to their favorite diner for breakfast. Arael was envious of her mom'sWednesdays because it was her longest and busiest day. She participated in Beta Club, had cheer practice, and her school's weekly newsletter draft was due.

The cackling sound snapped Arael from her daydream.

"I'm coming, girl."

She turned the corner into the main hallway, nearly jumped out of her skin, and dropped her cell phone. There was a yellow door that did not belong. She heard the cackling sound, and this time it was deafening. There was no doubt that it came from behind the door.

Arael did not have a curious bone in her body, and she could ask herself all the questions in the world once she was safely inside her car. Then she heard it again and again.

"I hope I won't regret this," Arael said as she approached the door and turned the knob.

The door creaked when suddenly a bright light overwhelmed Arael and sucked her inside.

***

Arael cracked open the shell of an oval purple furry fruit she called kei. Kei kept her hydrated, and living inside the transparent tranquil fresh water was silver and green scaled fish with no eyes she called rupi, which kept her fed. She had no idea how much time had passed. Months or maybe years had run away since she opened the yellow door, yet Arael had not aged, but her body had morphed.

Her ginger hair was now onyx. Her dark brown skin soaked the spectrum of the plum sky. At times she appeared yellow, blue, black, and white, and at other times her skin would be red, pink, orange, and teal by the next red sunrise. Arael is now taller; she has stretched at least a foot.

As the sun begins to set, Arael runs towards her shelter. Each day she ventures further and further out, trying to find the yellow door to her world. As beautiful as this place was, it was equally dangerous. Arael missed her father, her best friend, and being a teen. Things she took for granted after her mother's death, she longs. Her grief webbed her into believing she was alone, and now that thought was true.

She made it to what she called the change link, her safe zone. There were no trees, and ice cycles encased her tiny body hairs. She pulled a large blue scaled skin cloak she stitched together from under a den and draped herself in it before entering the frost cave.

Arael walked over to the ice wall she had carved into a map. Once she found a new climate, she cut its topography and terrain into the ice. She's discovered fifteen different climate regions and 500 living creatures in the place she calls the Realm of Napatan, the name of her map. Thus far, she has been the only human, if she can still call herself that.

Warmth is not achieved by sparking a flame but by immersing herself in a black tar thermal spring. The ooze is cold to the touch, but the liquid mimics the body temperature needed to stay alive once inside.

Arael rarely slept, but on this blue moon, she closed her eyes. After some time had passed, the spring began to bubble and tugged at her. She struggled to lose the grip of whatever was coming but pulled herself onto the ice floor. The cave rumbled and quaked. Arael stumbled several times before reaching her cloak. Everything she had was in this cave, including the map, but this place had become a threat. As she tried to run for the exit, a tumultuous roar echoed, a glorious light flashed, and the spring erupted.

When she opened her eyes, her body and most of the cave were soaked in black ooze.

Her eyes flamed, so she focused on trying to clear the black substance from her face. Arael picked up a chunk of ice and rubbed it into her eyes until the burning ceased. Finally, her eyes opened to blurred vision, but she beheld a magnificent sight. Before her lay the first human she had seen since her arrival.

She didn't need to know where he came from but if he was alive. She rushed to his side and turned him flat. She stared at his chest and placed her ear above his mouth. With no signs of life, Arael began CPR.

"Breath!"

She continued for as long as her body would allow before she became exhausted and blacked out.

***

Arael could hear a faint scream as she opened her eyes and tried to lift her hand towards her face. She could not move; someone or something had tied every inch of her body except her head. The screams became an unrecognizable dialogue.

"Hello. Hello. Please help." She whispered, but the chatter was too loud.

The positioning of her body obstructed her view, so she could only see a black wooden ceiling. Frightened, Arael tried to roll her body over when someone stepped into view. At first, she could not comprehend the words spoken until the person placed a hand over Arael's forehead.

"There. There." The voice said clearly.

Confused, Arael panicked and begged to be released. She promised she posed no threat. Arael inquired about these people and where they had been. She mapped out every region traveled to, and none of the areas had trees. Where there was wood, there were trees.

Where am I?

The person she pleaded with was a young lady no older than Arael. The girl's skin was utterly blue, reminding Arael of the blue scales she stitched when a familiar face knelled down beside her.

"Thank you for saving my life." The young man whispered as he untied the thick heavy rope.

About fifteen teens came into view.

"You're welcome. Where am I? Where did you all_."

"I will explain. Come with us."

Arael stood but tripped with her first step. The young man balanced her against his upper torso.

They ran deep inside what Arael began to call the werewolf forest.

"The trees howl. We are getting close."

"Close to what?"

The group came to an abrupt stop. A fissure was ahead of them. They grabbed rope hidden in snakelike vines and tied it around themselves. As a former girl scout, Arael was familiar with the knot. The young man gave her a rope, and she mimicked what she saw.

"How long have you been here?" He asked.

"I do not know?"

"So you haven't jumped?"

"Jumped? No."

"Get ready."

Get ready for what?"

The young man and the rest of the red teens jumped into the fissure. Arael screamed because none of them secured their ropes. The young blue lady stood behind Arael. As they defined gravity, they erupted in celebration. Then gravity arrived, but their celebration continued.

At that moment, she knew they were not just humans but from Earth. Only earthlings would be that stupid. She turned around; then, there was a thunderous eruption. Twelve colossal blood-red dragons with giant leather wings encrusted with ginger membranes appeared beneath them.

The dragons caught the reds, who lassoed the beast that flew them to the plum mountain ahead.

The blue girl whispered then she and Areal jumped. A blue dragon and a yellow dragon appeared. She again mimicked what she saw.

Areal gripped the yellow dragon's two golden horns, placed her head on its back, and held on for life. After twists, spirals, ascends and descends, the dragons finally landed at the mouth of the mountain.

"This is it."

"What?"

"Our way to the red door and Arin's way to the blue door."

"I don't understand."

"What's your counselor's name?"

"Who?"

"Your grief counselor?"

Bewildered, Areal's voice cracked.

"Would you like to know my name?"

"Yes. Maybe. I do not know."

"We know you because we are you."

She stared into the young man she saved and saw their common attribute. They all had light brown eyes.

She could see herself in each of them. She never knew her counselor's name, and her counselor promised she would not give it until Areal asked.

Everything her personality had dreamed of was in this world. Every color and creature she and her parents made up at bedtime existed here. The world she constructed for her eighth-grade end-of-school-year fantasy symposium was real, and even her favorite mythical dragons surrounded her.

"My name is Gunner."

"It would be. That's my mother's maiden name."

Tears swelled and flowed as Areal looked around.

"Am I ready, Gunner?"

"Only you can answer." She exhaled and gazed at the landscape before entering the mountain. Once inside, the yellow door appeared.

"What's your name?" She asked.

The door opened, and luminous light appeared, ushering her through.

***

Sounds of joy erupted as Arael stood ahead of a crowd of tens of thousands. She looked into the eyes of her father, Mrs. Shafer, the now retired grief counselor, her former neighbor, Mrs. Dunningun, who held Juju, and her best friend, Royalty. After all these years, the reason she opened the yellow door still breathed.

Two benefactors placed a pair of yellow sheers into Areal's hands. She turned to the crowd.

"Welcome to the Realm of Napatan. A theme park for not only family fun but intimate spiritual mending."

The crowd erupted when Areal cut the plum ribbon.

"Where to first?" Her father asked as singles, couples, and families dashed inside.

"The yellow dragon, of course!"