The Ebony Gates

By Aishani Arpita Bhattacharya

Abigail turned to the dense undergrowths of the Evergreen Canopy which grew along the perimeter of her house. Abigail was a stout young girl of the age 14. She had a sharp face with well-defined features. Her eyes her bore the hue of ashen, her brunette hair was pinned up into a ponytail which rested lightly on the rims of her shoulder, her ends of her lip were always slightly curved, as if she was smiling. A rather beautiful person one would say. As the skipped along the densely-laid branches of the forest which she visited on a daily basis, her eyes fall upon something peculiar: two dusky ebony-coloured closed gates stood tall among the vines of an oak tree. Abigail stood in shock before it. Her heart started to pound fast. She had never seen these doors before, despite the fact that she knew every nook and cranny of the canopy. Known for being the inquisitive sort, Abigail decided to approach the doors. Upon slightly pushing the doors, it opened. Abigail found herself face-to-face with an undying dark abyss which seemed to lead into more darkness. This grew more curiosity within her. The door abruptly closed behind her. At that moment, Abigail realized it would not open again, there was no going back. With adrenaline surging through her veins, Abigail stepped up and decided to kick in her survival instincts. She inched forward one step, and then suddenly the lights came on. And that's when everything she knew changed. She appeared to be in some sort of maze. There were pathways encapsulating from every side. Abigail caught the sight of one board in which it was written there were four levels-- the maze, the ways, the shades and the graze. Puzzled further by this, Abigail noticed a moving dark lanky figure approaching her. He then started talking "Welcome player 221, you have entered The Ebony Gates. Please brace yourself for the level one, if you wish to win this fight. WARNING: Pace yourself for danger. Once you get eliminated, there is no way out. Every day a new puzzle can be unlocked by you. ENJOY!" Abigail, in horror, was speechless. She then recovered her sense as she could not see a single living being in a 100-mile radius. She exclaimed "Hey, what do you mean there's no way out? And where am I? Hello mister, I am talking to you." Then the man once again looked into the child's fearful eyes and started to repeat the same thing he had said just a few minutes earlier. Abigail understood he was not a real person--perhaps he was programmed to say those words. If only she did not trespass the gates, none of this would have happened. She was now a victim of circumstances and had no choice but to proceed forward. She estimated there were atleast five different roads which she could take. But which one seemed the most auspicious? Abigail had once read about "the wall-following rule"--where if one followed the path proximal to the wall, it might lead to a success. Therefore, she implemented this method and went forward.Soon enough, she reached a dead-end. Exasperated by this, an idea struck Abigail. Maybe she could climb up the vines (if they were sturdy enough), to transport herself onto another path. Yes, the height of the wall was large but she decided to take the risk.

Placing her left foot among the knot in the vines, she pulled herself up. Then she fixed her right foot. Slowly she was hoisting herself upwards towards the other side. The problem arose when she was travelling back down to the other side; her foot got caught among a vine and she lost her balance. Abigail got injured in her abdomen and pelvic region. She lied down still for a moment, almost losing herself, and that is when she saw: the exit was 500 metres away. Determined to cross it, Abigail picked up herself and pushed forward. She was tired, hurt, cold and relentless now. Ignoring the sharp pains shooting up her leg, she spearheaded forward nearing a sign potraying "EXIT" in bold red letters. Once she crossed the line, everything went dark for a moment. She closed her eyes and opened them only to find herself back in the forest. Abigail ran back home to inform her family on her experience that day. The following day, Abigail along with her two sisters and mother, who did not really believe her, came to see the gates before their own eyes. Upon reaching the same spot, Abigail exclaimed to them, "Here, do you believe me now? The gates are right here, just as I said and I completed a maze which the man said was level one here, yesterday." The family appeared to be bemused by Abigail's statement. Then her mother spoke up, "Child, I don't know what you saw but right now I'm seeing nothing but a tall oak tree in front of me. Come let's go back. May be check your temperature." "Wait, what? Do you not see this?" Abigail said in a frantic voice, pointing at the doors. "Mother, sisters please do not play tricks with me. The gate is right here!" The sisters looked down nervously, her mother patted her on the back with a stern, "Let's go home dear." Determined to make her point, Abigail yelled "I will prove it to you that it exists!" With that, Abigail entered the hollow darkness of the gates again, to find herself face-to-face with the tall man once again who said "Welcome back player 221, you have entered The Ebony Gates. You are in phase 2 of the game which is "The Ways". Good luck! WARNING: Pace yourself for danger. Once you get eliminated, there is no way out."

And perhaps there was no way out this time for Abigail. She got lost in the 'the ways.' She got lost behind those Ebony Gates.

By Aishani Arpita Bhattacharya