As Mican’s eyes adjusted to the light, he was able to properly see the scene in front of him.

A shock froze him in his tracks for an entire ten seconds. After the pause, a flurry of thoughts rushed through the young man’s head as he slowly backed up beyond the doorway, releasing the handle of the door.

What is this? What is happening? Is this some sort of prank? Why is this light disturbing me? What does this mean? Is this dangerous? To what extent?

Question after question popped up in his mind, leading only to the creation of more questions. Though, Mican wasn’t one to be phased so easily in his decision making. There was only one true question the young man had to answer, the most urgent one.

Was this phenomenon dangerous to him and his roommate?

Mican forcefully calmed his nerves. A skill he had mastered out of many bouts of frustration in his life as he searched for his meaning.

Reaching his hand out, he pulled the door open until it was taut upon its hinges, giving himself a full view of the room beyond the door. His eyes darted around the room several times, and then several times again, more meticulously. Noticing nothing needing his immediate attention, he turned his gaze towards the elephant in the room.

The shining green light in front of him gave no conventional indication that it was a portal. In fact, it looked nothing like your average portal from video games or anime. It had no visible end, no other world, no symmetrical circle or oval, and no sense of adventure.

The portal looked more like a large splash of paint, or some radioactive chemical. It was as if someone had spilled a large container of some viscous liquid on the ground, being the size of a bed mattress. It was an unnaturally vivid neon green, emitting a light from within.

The only indication that this unnerving splash of color on the world gave in being a portal, was its inside. This was also the only reason Mican deemed it as such.

The splash was not two-dimensional, and gazing from above, it seemed to stretch out endlessly into some green, twisting void. It was similar to looking into a whirlpool.

It gave off the feeling that if you reached your hand in, it would fall beneath the surface as if akin to a body of water, like a pond. There was a large difference though, as the puddle of color gave off the feeling that it was merely a small entrance to a much, much larger body, likened to an ocean in comparison.

The light shining out from within the portal did not adhere to common sense as it appeared dim when shining onto external objects. It was only truly bright when looking at the source. Upon closer inspection, Mican noticed that the light seemed to slowly shift and pulsate upon the walls.

As there was no apparent, immediate danger, Mican took the time to appraise his options and answer the questions he had from before.

The light appeared to be a portal of some kind. The situation didn’t seem to be a prank, as he knew that his roommate was not the type to go so far for a mere prank. It seemed as if Mican couldn’t handle gazing at the portal for a lengthy period of time, as his head began to throb the longer he inspected it.

He didn’t know quite what this meant, but there had to be a reason for it appearing here, in this specific neighbourhood, in this specific house, in this specific… room…

A frown grew on Mican’s face as he thought deeper of the strange situation. His thoughts grew darker, cautious in nature.

This is Gerald’s room. Why would this “portal” appear right inside of his room, just a step away from the door? Why would it appear now, when it’s almost the usual time for him to head back?

To Mican, this entire situation seemed awfully suspicious.

Just what is this? Is this a danger, or some sort of trap? If it is a trap, what sort of person or group would go so far as to do… this?

He took out his phone from his pocket and opened his roommate’s number on the recent list, deliberating whether or not to call his number.

Does he have some sort of secret past history, or lead some life I don’t know about?

Upon entertaining the thought, he swiftly rejected it. He had known Gerald since the boy was still in high school, and the boy trusted Mican with everything he had. Mican knew most of his roommate’s insecurities and secrets, spilled to him by Gerald himself. It would not be an exaggeration to call himself Gerald’s older brother, and the both of them would not disagree.

Holding the phone, Mican pondered further. Something seemed very off about the entire situation. Even if one were to entertain the notion that Gerald were to be killed or kidnapped, what does that have in relation to… this?

This portal was clearly a product of some sort of unknown power or technology, and there was nobody who would go so far as to take such measures if all they wanted was Gerald’s death.

Mican still did not relax his thoughts, he refused to believe that this was mere coincidence. Through the myriad locations that this portal could have appeared at, why would it be at Gerald’s room, right before the time period he usually arrives back at?

After a moment of contemplation, Mican pressed the call button on his friend’s number. No matter what, this involved Gerald, and he should know. After a few rings, the call on the other end picked up.

“Ungh… My head hurts~ Mican~ What’s wrong? Are you finally regretting not coming with me? There’s so much good food and alcohol and you’re just missing out. Welp, serves you right for rejecting me, haha. I was just about to head back, I have takeout~ and I met this really nice girl I think you’ll really like.”

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“Gerald, stop joking around, it’s three times dangerous.”

Quickly cutting off his friend before he could begin his rambling, Mican spoke the line of code that the two of them had made together some years ago, meant for expressing an urgent situation in a single sentence. Three times dangerous meant that the situation was potentially life-threatening.

“There’s a problem with your bedroom, some sort of green portal or something appeared inside your room, right in front of the door. I can’t tell what it is at first glance.”

“Uh… huh? Wait, wait. Let me get my bearings first, I’m a bit wasted. I need some water, stay on the line, okay?”

While waiting for his roommate, Mican continued appraising the portal. Upon a closer inspection, he noticed that the ends of the portal seemed to be fizzling out, akin to water evaporating under a harsh heat, slowly shrinking the portal inward.

“Mican, what’s going on? What do you mean by a portal? If anything serious is happening please just leave, it’s not worth the risk staying there by yourself, it could be dangerous. I’m coming back right now so just wait for me.”

Gerald knew that Mican wasn’t the type of person to joke about serious matters. With his trust in Mican he believed the man in full.

“I meant exactly that, there seems to be some sort of green portal or doorway that’s right inside of your room. I could just be paranoid, but it seems to have opened specifically for you, and it also seems to be slowly closing. At the rate it’s going I expect it to be gone in fifteen minutes at maximum.”

“I should be back in ten, maybe a bit longer at the latest. Are you safe? Are you sure it’s a portal? Have you touched it or anything? Please be safe Mican.”

“I’m fine Gerald. How old do you think I am? I’m not sure if it’s a portal but it kind of looks like one. I haven’t touched it yet, but…”

“Mican! Stop that line of thought right there. Please, just let it close if it’s going to close. Prioritize your safety over anything strange that’s happening. Can you call the authorities right now? Are you certain it’s not something you ate? Those eggs were pretty old.”

After hearing Gerald express his doubts, Mican blinked his eyes repeatedly and took another view of the portal. It was still green, humming, and fizzling. Nothing had changed.

“I don’t think this is a problem of health Gerald, I can feel my head hurting if I look at it for too long. This is interesting, what is it? Where does it lead? I have a ton of questions.”

“Wait for me Mican, I’ll be back soon. I’m gonna pick up speed now so I can’t talk, but I’ll stay on the line. Please just listen to me and don’t go near it. Shout if anything is happening and I’ll hear.”

Deciding to wait for his friend, Mican sat down near the doorway and put down the cup in his hands. He decided to search on the internet for any related phenomenon happening in the world while he waited.

Many thoughts went through his mind, and the most prominent emotion he was feeling was curiosity. In all his years of life, he had never experienced or even heard about a situation like this one. It aroused his thoughts and emotions like never before. The young man pondered upon the nature of the portal.

Was this portal safe for entry? This was the most important question to Mican, and he deemed the answer as a hesitant probably. Considering death to be the worst outcome, to kill Gerald would be a menial task in comparison to this. The main question he had in this train of thought was, what would be waiting on the other side? Considering there was another side.

Having ten minutes to think gave Mican the room to calm down and think properly. There was not much to do while watching the portal but wait impatiently for Gerald to arrive back. As his thoughts and emotions calmed down, they began to stray.

When was the last time something as interesting as this happened in his entire life? He could hardly remember. Perhaps when he first began travelling outside his home country, but even that got boring quickly.

The portal had relit emotions Mican had nearly forgotten about, and he could not help but look at it in a different light.

Perhaps it was a doorway, both physically and metaphorically, to the thing he desired most in the world, meaning.

Maybe it would lead him to lands nobody has ventured to before, or experiences he would truly value. Or maybe it would just lead him to death, of this he was well aware.

“Mican, are you alright? Is there anything new happening?”

A voice sounded out from the phone in Mican’s hand, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Nothing new has happened so far. It was emitting a light before, but it seems to be fading, and the humming that came with it also seems to be quieter. It still hurts my head if I look at it for too long though.”

“That’s great news. Hopefully at this rate it’ll close after a while, and we can call the authorities about it afterwards.”

“Hm... Yes, close...” Mican frowned.

“Mican? What’s with that tone of yours? You’re not thinking anything rash are you?”

Gerald’s questions kept coming, but Mican was too lost in thought to hear him. The portal would indeed soon close at this rate, within ten minutes at the longest. Soon after this event, he would be able to return to his mundane life once again.

Returning back to his normal life. As Mican thought about it, his mood turned for the worse. His thoughts drifted to the razor in the bathroom.

There was not much to think about, just one question he had to ask himself.

Was he really living?

Standing back up, Mican picked the cup up off the ground, and tossed its contents into the portal. The partially melted ice and water seemed to almost phase through the ground, disappearing into the green void.

Directly after the last ice-cube entered, the portal expanded and contracted violently, blasting out a wave of air that blew Mican off his feet, blowing the phone out of his hands, and knocking him into the wall opposite the doorway with a loud thud.

Mican landed directly onto his knees; the air knocked out of his lungs. His vision blurred and he gasped for air, but years of exercise made these simply insignificant problems. He quickly shook off the trauma and collected himself, steadying his thoughts.

The young man supported himself with one arm and raised his head back up to look at the portal. The green doorway was fizzling intensely, closing inward at a rate multiple fold faster than before. At this rate, it would be gone in merely half a minute or so.

“Mican?! Mican! What happened? What was that loud noise I just heard? Answer me if you’re alright!”

Gerald’s panicked voice rang out from the phone on the ground to Mican’s direct left, blown a few feet away. Panting heavily, Mican got up and grabbed the phone. The screen was badly cracked, and the device seemed to be heavily damaged. Holding the phone up to his ear, Mican scrambled back to the portal, watching it shrink before his eyes.

“I tossed some ice in to see if it was safe, but the portal started shrinking insanely fast.”

Catching his breath, Mican made his decision swiftly, and decisively.

“Gerald, I just want you to know that you are the only person I consider my true family. Take care of yourself and I hope to see you again one day.”

“Mican?! Mican, wait, please! I’m almost there, just give me a few more minutes!”

“Bye Gerald, you can have all my stuff, and don’t worry about me.”

With those parting words, Mican jumped into the portal.

. . .

A few minutes later, a boy in his late teens rushed through the door of the house and sprinted up the stairs, shoes and all. He violently swung open the door to his room, his eyes leaving no stone unturned, but he noticed nothing out of place.

The only sign that someone had been there was a cracked and damaged phone, laying on the ground in the darkness.