I don't know what I was expecting to happen when I jumped in the box but as the bright light subsided I found myself in a room almost exactly the same as the one I had just come from.
The same domed ceiling, doors in the walls all around, no Lane of Bells and no box in the middle, this room was also brilliant white in colour, so bright I could hardly see anything at first. I could see though, although where the light was coming from I had no idea, it was as if it perpetuated it's own light source, everything glowing bright.
I turned all around to see if I could see George, but no he was definitely not in here. I wondered if he had already gone through one of the doors or if he had even ended up in the same place, he did after all say that every experience of The Lane of Bells could be different.
What I was supposed to do here I had no real idea although it wouldn't take a genius to guess I should be going through one of the doors but which one I had not a clue. The events of the past few hours had been extraordinary to say the least and it's hard to make sense of the nonsensical, so I decided to stop even trying.
Right what was it that George had told me to do, use my abilities and use my different set of eyes. I walked towards one of the doors to my left and then looked at the door to the left and then right of it to see if they gave me a clue or if there was anything different about each of them but they all looked exactly the same.
I put my ear up again one to see if I could hear anything coming from behind, but no, nothing. It was very quiet in here, so quiet I could hear the sound of my eyelid blinking, something I had never taken notice of before, why would I?
Hello, I called out.
Nothing.
HELLO.
Nothing, not even an echo.
Well I had come in here to find fate and to find some answers so I guess it must be behind one of these doors and as each looked the same I could spend hours contemplating and trying to differentiate but I didn't think I would get very far.
Right, there's no point in procrastinating, I've been through strange things than this before, I closed my eyes and spun myself around, pointing my paw forward and stopped.
Hang on what was that? Just for a second I thought I saw something with my eyes closed. I opened them to see if anything was there but no, just the room with all the doors and the domed ceiling. I closed them again and nothing.
Um, curious, was my mind playing tricks on me? Let me try that again.
Eyes, closed, spin around, paw out, Yes there, what's that?
I stopped and moved slowly back, a pair of eyes blinked at me from behind one of the doors, my eyes opened and nothing, my eyes closed and a pair of blinking eyes.
I turned slowly to the right, eyes still closed, nothing there. I turned again a little more and a bowl of fruit, appeared from within the door a little like when fog clears with the mornings heat, burning away the screen. What!
I opened my eyes and nothing. OK this was the way to go.
I closed my eyes again and went from door to door, another pair of eyes, a bandage, nothing, a rose, a fox, nothing, the number 11, a chair, nothing, nothing, an owl, a rainbow, an elephant, nothing, nothing, nothing, a loop, a black cat, a banana, nothing, a mirror, nothing, a picture of River. What!
Why would a picture of River be here? I shook my head to clear it, maybe this was all just a trick playing with my mind, but when I closed my eyes again there she was.
OK carry on, a blanket, that was familiarly it was the same one I used to fall asleep on after my nights out with Troy Lamore, nothing, nothing, a little Buddha statue, both the Naughty Twins, The Swinging Heart of Love, nothing, Mogsie, the words HELP ME, I could do with that now I tell you that was a bit disturbing, nothing, nothing, nothing, a little red dragon emblem, George.
GEORGE! I called out.
Is that you there George? No answer, maybe not. OK back to it.
A row of bells, a blast of wind, Nanny and Granddad sitting on a bench, nothing.
I was beginning to feel quiet dizzy all this spinning around and although I could see things I couldn't understand what any of them meant or what door I was supposed to choose. Only a few more to go.
A pair of kittens, another dog like River, the Easter Island Head, a broken crown, the word LOST, nothing, a ? and a shooting star, a bowl of fruit, apple, orange, plum, lemon, nothing, a pair of blinking eyes. OK I was back at the beginning again.
I opened my eyes and looked all around me, everything was the same as before.
OK now time to make a decision, let me think. Oh this was hard some of the images made sense, some I had no idea about and some where plainly disturbing, especially that HELP ME and LOST.
Which one to choose? I certainly wasn't going to go through any that disturbed me, listen to your feelings they are trying to tell you something Daddy always said and I certainly intended to take heed of those words.
Then it struck me, something else Daddy always used to say, if you have a problem go back, go right back to the beginning.
I closed my eyes again, scanning the images in my minds eye I went back and found, what I was pretty sure was, the first door that I'd gone up to. Oh I hope it was the first door, knocking open the latch the door opened and I stepped in.
