A Key To Another World

Chapter one

The streets were empty. No one was to be seen outside, except for a walking Michael. He felt as if he was wandering through a ghost town. But it was better that way. Michael didn't need people reminding him how pathetic he really was. As an outcast, he already knew it. It was quiet, just as it should be. The only sound heard was the raindrops splashing on the ground. It was raining lightly. The temperature was not cold, but not warm either. Michael liked cloudy and rainy weather. The rainy atmosphere gave him a pleasant chill. It also gave him a feeling of hope, but that quickly faded as he crossed a long wooden bridge. He stopped in the middle of the wooden bridge and stared down at the overfilled river. The flow of the river was certainly strong and swift, it was impossible to swim through. It also led to a small waterfall. Through the loud rush of water, he heard her words again. Words that he could not forget. Words that kept running through his head.

Jenny: "What a loser!!! You're a pathetic excuse for a human!!! A worthless piece of shit!!! Not even an alien would want to lay hands on you!!!"

She was right... I am worthless, capable of nothing but wasting oxygen.... I'm just a waste of space.... Maybe I should give up this pathetic life and end it once and for all. It's not like anyone would care.... No one would even notice!

Michael climbed up the wooden fence and stared at the dark gray water as if his eyes were fixed on it. The rain became heavier and lightning struck the water, followed by a loud bang and crackling sounds. He closed his eyes as tears escaped. Just as he was about to jump, an unknown female voice sounded in his head.

???: "There's still some hope for you, Michael. Just... don't give up yet."

Michael: "And what do you expect me to do, huh? Go home and have a big wank off session!?"

He roared in anger, but that strange voice didn't respond.

Michael: "Answer me, damn it!!!"

This time he got a response from a screeching crow that was struck by lightning. Its feathers formed a plume of smoke as it dropped down and landed behind him. Michael opened his eyes and looked back at the wooden bridge floor where the burned bird had landed. He spotted a string wrapped around one of the bird's legs with a mysterious blue key with a letter attached.

What the heck? This crow was carrying a key? There is also a letter attached to it.... Interesting...

Michael grabbed the key and ripped it off the string from the dead bird. He first examined the key before he began to read the letter. The letter said:

"The key to open any door with a lock. The key that leads to something else, to another gate. The key to escape the sad and depressing reality."

So... This letter tells me that this key would lead to another world. Yeah, yeah... Right, like I'm so damaged that I would believe this poorly written story that is probably just a silly prank.

Michael decided to take it anyway and continued on his way home instead of leaping to his death. As he walked, he thought about the strange voice that told him not to give up.

Maybe it had something to do with the key? I mean, this couldn't be coincidence.... Or could it?

After what felt like twenty minutes of walking, Michael arrived at his home. His parents were thankfully not home and he had the whole house to himself. Because of their "business trip" they wouldn't be back for a few weeks.

Good riddance....

Michael was not in the mood for his parents to be upset about how depressed he was acting. His parents tried so hard to make him happy by buying him a lot of things. They thought they could easily buy happiness for Michael. Even if he got great things, like a couch that could be turned into a bed, a nice big TV, a powerful gaming PC, or even a damn refrigerator, he still couldn't be happy because he didn't really want those things. The only thing Michael wanted was a real friend to talk to and spend time with.

Michael walked up the stairs and entered his messy room. He walked past his desk and saw some of the drawings he had done a year ago to relieve his boredom and depression. They all showed a white fox and a forest as a background. He used to watch videos on how to draw realistic foxes with a forest in the background. His pictures weren't as good as the ones in those videos, but they still looked good. Foxes had been his favorite animals since kindergarten. He would have continued to draw these kinds of pictures if only they had continued to act as medicine.

Michael walked over to his bed and sat on it. He took the blue, mysterious key out of his pocket and looked at it a little closer. He read the letter a few more times until an idea popped into his head. A silly idea, he thought. Michael locked himself in his room and tried to unlock it with his new key he had found today.

Why am I even trying. Surely this isn't going to work... Holy shit...

Michael was stunned and shocked. He couldn't say a single word. He couldn't move for five minutes. Words could not describe the beautiful sight he saw on the other side of the door. Instead of a hallway, there was a completely different world. A world with a big forest, but not a normal one. The trees were really wide and tall. There were completely different kinds of plants than in his world. Everything was so green that the color burned in his eyes. The sky was clear and bright. The fresh air and breeze felt so good and clean. The sun was really bright and the weather was hot. Michael could feel the warmth emanating from this portal.

It's like a paradise...

Michael could not believe his own eyes. He closed the door and opened it again, only to see a hallway again.

What!? But, h-how!? There was no way this was real. I'm probably on drugs or something. I'm probably dreaming right now. This can't be my imagination, or.... Could it be, because it looked and felt so... real?

Michael had never been so excited. For several years he had felt miserable, and now he had a chance to change that. He wanted to explore this strange and beautiful world he had just found. Michael had never had a real adventure before, but he would like to, and he knew that this would be one of the greatest adventures he could have. Michael was not stupid. He knew it could be very dangerous. Who knows, maybe death was waiting right under his nose. But in the end, he didn't care. He had nothing to lose, so why shouldn't he risk it?

No risk, no fun... Right?

But before he set out to explore this new, strange world, he had to pack a few things into his backpack. Things he needed to survive in the wilderness, like a survival tutorial book, some medikits in case he got hurt, a flashlight with spare batteries, his favorite pocket knife, a lighter, his own bow with some arrows, some snacks and drinks, powerbanks to charge his smartphone and his earphones to listen to music.

Back when Michael was in third grade at school, his father didn't work that much. They both spent several hours a day in the woods and his father taught him the basics of wilderness survival. His father taught him how to make fire, he taught him how to make spears with a pocket knife, and he taught him how to skin small animals like squirrels and rabbits. In fifth grade, Michael also learned how to properly use a bow. Those were the good times Michael would love to return to, but life kept forcing him further and further away.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to come home again, but screw it! I've finally found meaning in my depressed life, and I'm going to take the chance I've been given. Goodbye old world.... I hope I never have to come back to you again.

Then he unlocked the door with the blue key again and stepped through the portal, a portal to another world and a new, different life.