TIFITY

Boo's door

The second I got home with the wooden boards, my dad threatened me. He said he would hit me with one of them if I didn't get them out of the house immediately. I had no other option than leaving them on the backyard and work on my project while he was out, so he wouldn't see me or touch me at all. That meant I would have around three hours each day to work on the door to Tifity, as my father would be out during those three hours I was at home. It was so important for me to take the train that came before the one at half-past three, so I had those hours for sure. I'd have to use my father's tools to continue with the idea I had had, so I had to be as careful as possible.

I went to school the next day, but everything I did during those seven hours I was there was draw and design how I wanted my door to be. I imagined it like Boo's door from Monsters Inc., but the difference was that I wanted it to take us into a different dimension. I knew countless cases of extraordinary appearances of dimensional portals, where disappearances had been the incredible subject for hundreds of years and hundreds of cases. This being taken into consideration, I just thought that I could create a kind of portal to Tifity. "If it has happened before, why wouldn't it work this time?" I thought to myself. Yes, I knew that to invent such a door was almost impossible, as everyone that had tried to do so before, had failed. But I couldn't give up. Evangeline and Tifity were the only things that kept me going at the time, and I was ready to risk it all for them.

Making the door was the first thing I had to do once I got home. I had five wooden boards and the design ready to start, so I went to our storage room and took my father's work tools.  He barely used them, so I thought of hiding them in my wardrobe before he arrived. But I still had a couple of hours left to start cutting the pieces for my door. I, of course, thought of telling my mother about the reason I needed the tools before doing anything, but I felt like she would think I was mad for thinking I could build a door that would take me to an imaginary dimension. Nevertheless, I decided to go for it and tell her.

Then the most unexpected thing happened. After looking at me as if I was crazy for a whole minute, she just went: "Can I help you with anything love?". That comment left me impressed. Indeed, my mother had always supported me and I was sure she'd help me hide everything from her husband, but I never thought she would offer herself to buy me the materials I needed. I had some money saved, but she gave me a little amount so I could buy the painting and the knob for the door. I decided not to add a lock because if the whole thing worked, the door having one of those or not wouldn't be relevant enough in the end. I thanked my mum for helping me before leaving the house. It meant a lot that she was helping me although I hadn't explained much about the project I had in mind to her.

I went to this drugstore to buy the painting and got the knob from a hardware store near our house. I got the materials I was lacking, so the only thing I had to do was get home before my father did. I had one hour left to walk back home. But as unlucky as I am, I found so many obstacles on my way there. From finding every street light red to coming by a woman that walked so slowly on the sidewalk. These and many more setbacks made me get home when there were just five minutes left for my dad to arrive. I run upstairs in a hurry and hid what I had just bought in my wardrobe next to the tools. I had had no time to start cutting the pieces I planned to, but at least my father didn't catch me once he got home.

"I'm furious!!" was the first thing he said the second he opened the door. I heard him from my bedroom and my pulse accelerated instantly. I knew a catastrophe was about to take place. As if it was the first time I was seeing my father that mad and drunk, I hid under my bed. I was terrified he would come for me so hard again. It had been five weeks since the "incident", but my body still ached a lot. I wasn't ready to take such beating again. He had no reason to beat me this time either, but I knew I was in danger. "What's the matter?", my mum greeted him all nicely, knowing that he would yell at her and even throw her to the floor. I was aware of what my mum was trying to do; she wanted my father to hit her instead of doing it to me. I guess she still felt guilty for not stopping both my father and brother from beating me so sharply some weeks before. My mum was just trying to protect me, but I couldn't let that happen. Yes, I was tired of my father and brother's behaviour, and I knew they wouldn't change. But I couldn't let my mother suffer so much just because my dad had had another bad day at work. 

I stepped out of my bedroom, being aware of what was going to happen. "Hey!! leave mum alone" I shouted from upstairs. He was already holding my mum by the neck when he looked up and saw me. "Mind your own business brat", he yelled. I just went downstairs until he decided to let my mum go and hold me by the blouse. "You've been looking for it, so don't complain after I'm done". What destiny had prepared for me was very obvious.