She stood before the final door, holding the large silver key in her hand. This one was larger and more ornate than the others. The light reflecting off of the key gave it the illusion of glowing bright white. She held it within the cast of her shadow and could see a pattern made up of thousands of tiny intricate triangles and circles. She extended her hand towards the door and the light reflected glowing white from the key again. She was filled with nervous anticipation that shook the other six keys hanging off of the key ring. The sound they made together was the faint metallic twinkle of a small wind chime being tickled by the wind.
She unlocked the door and tucked the key ring back into her pocket. The door was made of solid, ancient wood but she was able to open it effortlessly. A pale lavender portal took up the space between the door frame. She reached out with both hands to touch it, and felt the wet, gelatinous substance. All the portals had felt this way, and she still wasn’t used to it. She held her breath and closed her eyes (superstitious, she knew) and stepped forward.
A second later, she opened her eyes and was back on the giant, three-toned chessboard from the beginning. The board was surrounded by giant trees that grew so tall that their tops made only a pinprick of green in her vision. The trees made an impermeable border, she knew from her last visit here.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she shouted out in frustration.
She heard a quiet sound of fabric moving behind her. She turned around and saw her guide walking towards her. He appeared to be a human of about her same height and age, but there was some illusion about him that kept her from perceiving his features when she looked directly at him.
“Well? What is going on? Why am I back at the first door again?”
He laughed quietly, as if she had made a joke only he understood. “When you have opened all the doors, you will find the way out. But the way out is beyond all doors.”
“I’m so tired of your nonsensical riddles and puzzles!” she cried. “Are you telling me that this is all just a pointless treadmill of doors?”
He stood quietly, leaving her to ponder his words. She had opened all the doors, so shouldn’t that mean she had found the way out? She looked at the space around her, at the chessboard and the giant trees. There was no other way to leave this plane besides the next door. What did “beyond the doors” even mean? By all calculations, this was supposed to be beyond the final door.
She repeated his words over in her head, and her thoughts swirled around in anger. How many years had she wasted trying to solve this impossible puzzle? Why couldn’t he just directly show her where to go, if he was such a great guide? She could feel the angry thoughts build up to the point that irrationality was starting to take over.
She pulled the keys out of her pocket and stomped over to a gray tile on the far end of the chess board where she remembered the first door to be. She unlocked it and violently pulled the door open to reveal a dark red portal. She threw the keys as hard as she could through the red, viscous substance and then slammed the door closed.
“If I can’t get out through the doors, then I’m not going to bother any more,” she proclaimed. She walked over to the edge of the board and sat down, leaning back against the largest tree for support. “I think I’ll just sit right here and do nothing instead.”
The guide gave a mysterious smile and started to fade away. He had nothing more to teach her.