The door

Laura liked to think that she was a pretty independent person. She worked in a cubicle alone, lived in a house alone, and just generally found life better alone. But after 30 years of being an independent person with no purpose, Laura was sick of it. She wanted a break. Some kind of hobby other than sitting alone all day long. The day when she had the urge to escape, she was spinning around on a chair in her cubicle, drowning in boredom. The boredom was like fog... It dulled her senses and made her feel trapped. Trapped in her stupid isolated cubicle.

"Bob!" She hollered.

A chair squeaked as the weight lifted from it then one large and noticeably balding head appeared from behind Laura's cubicle opening.

"Wha wha what!" Stuttered Bob. "You can't scream like that while I'm working. Accounting is some tedious wor-."

"Yeah, yeah. I know accounting is a delicate art, a true beauty, a form of magic."

The bald man did what looked like a mixture of a scowl and scoff with a little bit of a whimper. Then he marched back to his cubicle. It reminded Laura of a child who was told they cannot have a piece of candy. It brought an amused look to her face.

"Wait! I forgot. Can you tell Mr. Dower that I'm leaving early from work? I feel a bit sick.

She wanted to get out of the office as soon as possible, practically running out of the office before bob could even respond.

"Fine whatever."

Laura rode the elevator down to the office building's garage and hopped into her black Toyota. The familiar smell of cigarettes wafted through the car's warm air. And the passenger seat was still set at that stupid position way too close to the windshield. She had an idea to start with a hobby of volunteering, so she decided to go to the local animal shelter but right as Laura plugged in her car keys, she felt a strange pull. All the thoughts in her mind disappeared down the drain and all that mattered was getting to her basement. Laura sat upright and tense in her seat like a dog who spotted a squirrel and jammed down the gas petal and sped home.

When she got home, she stepped down the stairs to the basement slowly and winced at the creaking wood. The squeaks weren't shrill and high like a mouse's cry, but more foreboding and seemed to shake the house. When her high heels finally clicked on the basement's concrete Laura snapped out of it. The pulling sensation ceased and feeling dazed, decided she needed a nap.

Laura awoke with a jolt of a strange feeling. Almost a religious need. Staying in bed felt like a sin that would bury her in the depths of hell for eternity. That odd pulling sensation was back too, tugging at her skin. It felt like that feeling people get when they see a rather cute looking puppy in a store window. The need to pet it. To touch it. To see it...

The basement's staircase creaked and protested as her bare feet scampered down and with a flick of a light switch, a door was found. It was a small door maybe three feet tall and had a silver doorknob. Laura jumped back in surprise. The door had never been there before. The last few minutes were a daze to her. But the curiosity of what was behind the door remained. With hesitant steps, she neared the door and twisted the knob.

* * *

"Bob?"

"What do you want now Laura?"

"Nothing... well... can I show you something?"

"Where is it?"

"It's at my house. It's really weird."

Bob was slightly confused. The friendship between the two had faded over the last year and so had the visits to each other's houses. But why not rebuild old bridges. After all they had been friends since third grade.