The Smell of Right, and Wrong. (Chapter 1)

There are things that can only be explained in an abstract, or obscure way. This whole story is clearly just one of them.

Paul sat there on the picnic blanket just flipping the little hourglass that came with the Boggle game. He was watching the sands slowly drain to the other side when he realized that he had completely lost track of time. How many times had he flipped it over? His mom had said that she was just going to use the bathroom between their games, but to Paul it seemed like she had been gone for 20-30 minutes already.

He looked down at all of their stuff still laying on the picnic blanket, and he saw that she left her purse. She must coming back he thought, it was like her life line. It always seemed to him like she literally had everything in it, from bandaids to butterfly knives, his mom was always prepared. Paul knew one thing for sure, his mom never goes anywhere without it. He leaned over and looked in it, he saw that the car keys, along with her wallet and all the other lady stuff was still tucked inside. She couldn't go very far without the car keys, right?

He thought that it seemed odd, he looked down the hill in the direction of the bathrooms. He could only see part of the men's side of the little building from where he was sitting. There was a cluster of trees and shrubs blocking the other side. Plus between their picnic blanket up on the hill, and the bathrooms down below, there had to be a dozen other sets of people doing various normal park things... STRANGERS. Some were walking their dogs, others playing Frisbee golf, all of them seemed to be having fun. All of them potential thieves, or cannibalistic weirdos in his mind.

Paul felt like something was just off. He didn't actually notice anything particular going on that seemed to be strange, ominous, or out of place. He just had this strange feeling, one that his mom should have been back already, and that something was wrong. After another ten minutes of waiting, he considered going to the bathrooms to check on her, but their stuff was all laid out on the picnic blanket. He couldn't just leave it there, someone would surely take it the second his back was turned. He had to try and keep his mind occupied, so he kept his gaze fixed toward the bathrooms, and nervously flipped the hourglass again. He even tried telling himself that she was probably just waiting in the line forever. He knew the lines could be brutal, she had brought him here a few months ago, it was the day after his 13th birthday. They came for a picnic on that day also, and he almost pissed his pants waiting in the damned bathroom line. He wasn't sure exactly how long she had already been gone, but he knew it was at least three times longer than that. Something was up, and he could feel it.

A Man of Action.

He grabbed the little notebook that he had been using for the boggle game, and he just turned the page and started drawing. He had to occupy his mind and just wait on her. Paul loved drawing anyways, his room was covered in his charcoal pencil sketches. There was something about creating a new charcoal sketch that always soothed him. So for the next few minutes he sat there sketching, but not really trying to draw anything in particular. He was still kind of just staring off in the direction of the bathrooms while he did it. He kept trying to picture his mom walking around the corner of the building and waving at him so he could sketch it, only now it wasn't working. That was super strange for him. He tried to picture her as she walked up the hill so he could sketch it, but for some reason he just couldn't picture that either. He looked down at the page and saw that he had drawn a door. It was not just once though, he had drawn the door from different angles, on multiple different pages. It was not attached to anything, it was just an old thick wooden door standing between two trees. Only on one of them, the door was actually in the tree.

He would often draw when he was tired. A few times in the past he had woke up the following morning to find amazingly detailed sketches, only he didn't quite remember drawing them. This drawing while in a daze thing wasn't exactly a new thing for him, but under the circumstances it felt far different this time. He flipped back to the first one, and then looked up from his sketch. He scanned the area around him for two similar trees, but didn't see any that looked like them. Something drew his attention away from the trees in the picture, and he was now focused on the door. The longer he looked at the sketch, the more he could swear that he was actually beginning to smell the old wooden door, and the damp musty corridor that it probably led to. Something in this moment was drawing him to open that door in his mind. So he pictured it, and it worked. Considering he tried to picture his mom seconds earlier and couldn't it surprised him.. In his mind he was standing in front of it now. He could smell it, the tree the door, all of it. Out of curiosity he reached out to touch the iron handle on the door, and just as his fingers were mere inches from it… in the real world he heard “Heads up!”

When he snapped out of his daydream, the first thing he saw when he looked up was a neon green frisbee inches from his head, and behind it was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Both of them were unfortunately on a collision course with him, and his tidy little picnic blanket. It amazed him how fast the human mind could calculate things like that in a split second. He knew that all of this stuff would become a single pile of flesh, plastic, and cloth, and it was unavoidable. Then it all happened.

The frisbee bounced off of his forehead, which tilted his head upwards. After that he had just enough time to notice how fluffy a few of the little clouds were.. then “she” slammed into him like they were two NFL players at the line of scrimmage. After that there was only the sensation of ringing in his ears. Then he suddenly felt calm, and the most beautiful array of scents started to dance across his pallet. It set off an explosion of fourth of July fireworks in his mind.

When Paul opened his eyes, the only thing he could see was his boggle hourglass slowly indicating passing time as it's sands slipped through the narrow center channel and fell down into the open void in the other side. He tried to focus on the mess of blurry objects around the hourglass. The first thing that his eyes managed to make sense of beyond that, was curly brown locks of hair. Then he was hit with the realization, it was her. That intoxicating blend of scents, it was shampoo, and lotion, or some type of body spray. When he realized it, he instantly got butterflies in his stomach. He was trying to move, but he couldn't. She was dead weight on top of him.

He heard her groaning a second or so later “I’m sorry”, and that's when the hourglass began to move away from his face, but only by a few inches. She was trying to get up, and as she managed to wiggle free a bit further, the tangle of curly brown hair became more obvious. Along with the hourglasses actual location. It was jammed in her cleavage. When he realized where his head was just pinned he nearly passed out.

As she got her bearings and backed up a few inches further Paul felt the picnic blanket tighten up behind him, again. They had finally figured out they were both just completely tangled up in it, like one big people burrito. After a few more seconds of embarrassing struggling they managed to finally dislodge themselves. Then there was the deafening silence as they were sitting upright in the grass. Both of them just looking at the crushed crackers, smeared cheese, spilled drinks and other debris from the two person plus a picnic pile up.

That’s when Paul had to break the silence, and he said the only thing that came into his head. “Hi I’m my mom, and worried that Paul is missing.” She just awkwardly stared at him for a second as he was sitting there blushing. It got even worse two seconds later when he finally realized that his words came out all wrong. She was trying not to laugh. He was cute, but it looked to her like she must have knocked the confidence out of him. She wanted to say something, but could not get past the feeling that she knew this kid from somewhere. Her mind was racing as he sat there awkwardly with his hand extended to shake hers. She could see that he was still blushing, and clearly having an embarrassing moment, so she reached out and shook his hand. Hi, I’m Etta, and I'm sorry about that frisbee.

She explained to him that it literally did a u-turn in the air after she threw it, and then the wind must have grabbed it and driven it right into his forehead. She said “I’m so sorry” a few times. Paul didn't want to look like a wimp “It's Okay” he said. I'm Paul and something is wrong. She looked at him as he said it, his face went from a look of mild pain, to extreme confusion. Paul just pointed at something over her shoulder, something must be behind her. She looked back, and she saw it too. There on the hill behind them were two oak trees, and an old Wooden door standing there between them.

Etta panicked and jumped up, spinning around to address the strange appearances. Paul said “do you smell that?” Etta spun back around to look at Paul and went pale, there was blood already covering the whole lower portion of his face and it was spreading. His nose had begun to bleed profusely. She didn't have to point out to him what the funny smell was, he quickly figured it out in his own. He wiped his hand across his lower lip and chin and saw the blood. Etta managed to regain and hold her composure. But Paul looked woozy. She grabbed a cloth napkin that was hanging half way out of the picnic basket, and held it under Paul's nose. She was kneeling in the grass next to him and noticed his gaze was no longer on the door. He was staring at her chest.

Excuse me sir.. my eyes are up here. Paul instantly became flustered, he was staring at his hourglass pinned between her tits, and he noticed that she had three freckles right above where it was perched. They were in the perfect shape of Orion’s belt. “Ummm, I'm sorry I was just.. Umm.. my thing is stuck, and I need it to play.” The look of absolute horror crossed Paul's face, and he paused. What the hell did he just say to her?

Etta giggled, this kid was clearly no Casanova. Paul took a deep breath, cleared his head and tried to speak again. Instead of clearing his mind though it went into overdrive, and the words that came out next were no better than the first, or second set. They may have been worse. “If you could just pull it out for me, I would greatly appreciate it.” The look on her face was rolling back and forth from confusion to anger. That’s when he just stopped talking and reached up to point at her cleavage. “It's stuck under the belt.” She let go of the bloody nose rag, and went to cover her chest up, and that's when she felt the upper rim on the hourglass press into her sternum. She suddenly understood that he was not talking about his member. She just plucked the hourglass out of her cleavage and handed it back to him.

Suddenly the look of confusion crossed her face again. Then she asked him “If you weren't talking about your tool, what exactly is stuck under your belt?” He looked at her and cocked his head sideways like a confused dog, Not my belt he said, stuck under Orion’s belt. Again, he pointed at her chest. Etta just shook her head. Just stop she said, you are nervous, and embarrassed. I get it, but you will have to explain that later.. for now, let's figure out where that came from. She pointed at the door.

Paul, just said “thank you, I was dying there.” She laughed to herself, but at the same time thought at least he was man enough to admit it. She was standing up and stepping toward the door when Paul shouted “Wait!” She stopped moving, “umm.. for what?”

Paul was shaking his head, “My mom is missing.” She looked at him confused. You said that already. “Wait!” she finally understood. “You mean like she is currently missing, as in it just happened?” He just nodded yes, but did it enthusiastically.. so she knew now without a doubt, that's what he was saying. He finally spoke without sticking his foot in his mouth. “All of this strange stuff just happened within a few minutes of you throwing a frisbee at my head.”

Okay, she said let's think about this logically. You are going to have to fill me in, so.. to start, when did you notice that your mom was missing? Paul thought for a second, “Maybe 20 minutes before you showed up, I was sitting there on the blanket waiting for her to get back from the bathroom.” Then he continued, after she didn't come back in 20 minutes or so I was going to get up, and go check to see what happened. But, with all of this stuff laid out I was afraid that one of them would steal it. He pointed down the hill past the tree and door when he said it, and she followed where he was pointing instinctively. Umm, there is another problem Etta said. Paul looked down the hill where he had been pointing. There were no other people, they were all gone.

Both of them were now standing on either side of the door, looking down the hill at the now empty park. That's when they noticed that there were no bird sounds, bugs, or even the sound of cars in the distance for that matter. It appeared to both of them, that they were completely alone now. With nothing but a strange door as a clue, to what the hell happened. Paul looked at Etta, I have to gather all of my mom's stuff up before we do anything. He folded up the blanket first and laid it neatly at the bottom of the basket, then he finished packing the other stuff in it. He set it on the ground next to his mom's purse, and picked up a few things that had rolled out of it in the tumble. When he finished, he handed Etta the picnic basket, and slung his mom's purse over his shoulder. She looked at him and smiled, it matches your shoes she said. Ha, ha, ha Paul replied sarcastically, real cute. Now, let's go look around the bathrooms before we try to open the creepy door. Paul was packing up the last item. The boggle game, he put it back into the box when he noticed the letters. Open Door, was across the top two lines. Umm, Etta come look at this. She looked at the perfectly set, and spelled out words. Maybe we should open the door Paul.

He just nodded, and stepped towards the door. When he reached for the big iron handle, it looked like the door began to crack open by itself. The sound of the creaky old hinges was loud in the otherwise silent park. Paul had jumped back and stood in front of Etta with his arms spread out like he was a human shield. As they stood there watching the door slowly open they they both noticed why it was. There was a lady pushing it open from the other side, but she wasn't standing in the park. Behind her they noticed a world very different from their own. The woman looked at them and said “Come with me, we have little time.” Suddenly they were hit with the smell of something horrible. Paul nearly wretched. The lady urged them in again, This world is spoiling around you children, you truly must hurry!

Paul looked back over his shoulder at something that he heard behind them. One of the frisbee golf posts was rusted and falling over, the rust was visibly growing on it, and eating it before their eyes. He grabbed Etta’s hand and ran, he pulled her through the door with him.

They were now both standing beside the strange lady, looking through the doorway at their world. It was rotting, and crumbling right before their eyes. The ground on the horizon started collapsing into a void, and it was cascading in their direction when the lady suddenly closed the door. It slammed shut with the loud sound of the Iron door hardware banging on the heavy hard wood of the door. They all three backed up a step, and the door vanished. Where it was they saw a giant tree, it was so large, it was as if it was a wall, and when the door closed it became part of the bark. Etta, and Paul were both standing there with their mouths hanging open in utter amazement. To say this tree was large was not doing it justice, it stretched up into the sky for as far as they could see, and it's branches spread off for at least a mile in all directions. The lowest branches were so high, that Paul's dads 12 story condo building would have fit under them with room to spare. The smell of the rotting world they had just left behind was fading off, and they could begin to really experience where they were. The lady said something, and Paul and Etta looked at her. She said it again, it sounded like she said Yggdrasil. Her voice was strange, they had both noticed it before, but it was really obvious now, it sounded like her voice was mixed with the vibration from running your finger around the lip of a crystal wine glass. The place smelled like flowers, candy, and a mixture of unrecognizable herbal scents. She spoke again, this is the world tree, Yggdrasil. When they looked at her they noticed her appearance changing before their eyes. She was turning purple, and her dress was changing also, it went from a flowing sheer fabric, to being made of a series of what appeared to be small oddly shaped moving sequins. It looked like a moving kaleidoscope image. Paul stood back in front of Etta again with his arms spread. Don't you come any closer lady.

The Purple Lady.

The woman who was now multiple shades of purple and violet, had stopped from moving towards them, and had even backed up a step. My intention is not to harm, or scare you. Etta reached up and put her hand on Paul's shoulder, “Paul, it's okay” she said. Her voice eased him enough for him to drop his guard a bit. Paul was nervous, he felt backed into a corner. Clearly aggravated he blurted out, “Why did you turn purple, and where the hell are we?” The ladies response seemed very sarcastic. I am what I am, and you sir are right here. She pointed at the ground at their feet when she said it.

This time it was Etta that spoke up. “Okay lady, enough games.. where is right here?” She looked at the two confused teenagers like they were kidding, when they didn't begin to laugh or seem amused she changed her whole demeanor. You really do not know where you are, do you? They both shook their heads, and said NO! She was about to say something to them when suddenly Paul jumped back and pointed at something behind her dress. She stepped to the side a big step, and as she did her moving kaleidoscope of a dress slowly fell back down at her sides. It revealed two small creatures standing there. They looked almost mechanical, but they weren't robotic at all. They were alive, and rude. They looked almost identical, maybe a yard tall at the most. They only stood about thigh high beside the lady. They were both smiling at Etta and Paul, and their teeth weren't normally placed or shaped, they almost appeared to be moving in their mouths when they spoke. Both of them had saggy pointy hats on, like Link’s from the Zelda games, and all of their features were constructed from a multitude of little geometrical tiles. Much like the purple ladies dress. The one closest to the Purple lady suddenly pointed at Paul, and said “He’s a loser, he has never had a girlfriend.” Paul gasped, he could feel his face turning red, and he was hoping Etta wasn't going to look at him. Then the other short mechanical elf thing pointed at Etta, and it said “she is a coward, she already knows that she likes the boy, but is too afraid to ever tell him.” Paul picked up a small stone, and tossed it at the elf that had just run his mouth about Etta.

The purple lady said “stop it, and go.” The elves both looked up at her angry, but they didn't question her. They both stuck their tongues out at Etta and Paul, and then one of the elves stepped in front of the other one. When he did, the elf behind him seemed to vanish. Then the purple lady stepped in front of the remaining elf, and stopped for a few seconds. Her dress slowly fell back to her sides again, it looked like she was under water. When she sat down, the kids were shocked, at first they thought she was sitting on the elf. Then they saw one of the legs of the short stool as she crossed her legs. “Have a seat you two.”

When the lady said it, they both looked back to see if there were stools behind them also, but there weren’t. More confused now than they were just five minutes ago, they both decided to sit on the ground. They needed answers. “Who are you?” Etta calmly asked her. The ladies voice was melodic, I am known by many names young ones, but “what” I am, is far more important than who.

To start, I am the guide in this place, but you may call me Lila Dame. The name just appeared on her dress, it was written out over her stomach exactly as she said it. The way she said it, the pronunciation sounded like Leela Domma. This time it was Paul that asked her, Okay Lila where are you the guide of, what exactly is this place?

Stuck in the Middle.

This is the middle of everything. It is a place in between all of the realms. There were once open doorways all over the tree, and they led to all nine of the realms of this plane. Now the doors have been closed, and it has been like this since the Elder gods died in “The” battle. When she said “the” her dress took on the appearance of an active battle, from her belly all the way down to the ground. They were in awe watching, it was only a short scene though, one of several Gods being slain. Then the scene suddenly changed, and they saw the huge tree as it shook violently, and then they could see what looked like dozens of wooden doors just like the one they came through on its trunk. They were all slamming shut one at a time. Then it ended.

How did we get here? Etta asked her, but this time the lady looked genuinely confused. That, is a very good question Etta. Unfortunately, it is one that I am not able to answer at the moment. You see, Lila Dame said, the only other guests that I have had in over 1,000 years, have all been very brief. Just a few seconds for most, but for a few of them maybe two or three minutes. As soon as the drugs that the people took begin to wear off, they just vanish. I can smell that the two of you haven't taken any, and you have already been here far longer than any of them.

Paul was getting anxious now, he stood up and began to pace back and forth while looking up at the tree. How can we get back, my mom is missing and I have to find her. He held up her purse to further his point. Lila Dame looked at Paul and simply said “You will have to re-open the right door.” She said it as if that answer, was just going to somehow be helpful to them.

Now he was starting to get angry, he looked down at Etta like he was waiting for her to say something. She just shrugged her shoulders. When she was looking at Paul she noticed that his eyes were beginning to tear up. She decided to stand up and give him a hug, but honestly wasn't sure if she did it more to comfort him, or herself.

The lady waited a moment for them to regain their emotional composure. If you tell me exactly what you were doing before the door appeared, then perhaps we can figure out how exactly we can open the door to get you back home...

To Be Continued…

Come back next week to check on Paul, and Etta. Will Lila Dame be able to help them ? Will the mechanical elves they saw come back and continue being jerks ?

Check back in for the next installment of.. “The Smell of Right and Wrong”

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Thank you for reading !