The Door to Tomorrow

Flashbacks

The second hallway was shorter and more narrow than the previous one. It was also a bit darker, and a locked steel door kept us from entering the room. I noticed that the door had the word "Pantry" written next to it on one of those nameplates. Marina attempted to open it, but the door stayed put. I was extremely annoyed that it was locked since that was obviously where all the food was. I hadn't noticed how hungry I was until I realized that the food was out of reach. With every second that passed, I became more and more irritated.

"Narrator, why is this door locked?" Marina was much more relaxed than I was.

"The Pantry's locked until the next scenario, which is tomorrow. Oh, that's where all the food is, by the way. Guess you're not eating today. Ha!" Narrator teased.

I couldn't take it. I snapped. "Excuse you?" I yelled. "Do you realize how cruel this is?" I haven't eaten in a week, at least. I'm sure these children are starving, too!"

"Ah, you sound shocked."

"Of course I'm fuckin' shocked!" I crossed my arms in an attempt to calm my sick stomach. "Whatever..." I gave up. Everyone had their eyes on me. Especially Shiloh, who seemed to be reading me like an open book.

Narrator dropped out of the argument, too. Once we realized that my yelling wasn't going to get us anywhere, we all entered Hallway 3. The third corridor was longer, and the ceiling was curved. The lighting in the hall was soft and inviting, and at the end was a curved doorway without a door. When I first saw Hallway 3, I really liked it. I felt at home seeing the dozens of framed photos covering the walls. The pictures came in different shapes and sizes, and I took my time admiring them at first. All of the pictures seemed to be for decorative purposes only, that was until Trevor found something unsettling.

"Wait...what is this?" He shuddered. "I mean. I know what this is, but why is it here?"

Everyone walked up to Trevor, curious about what he saw. It was a big, tall picture of Trevor and some woman. Both of their smiles seemed genuine, and the picture was of professional quality. Robin mentioned that the lady was Trevor's sister, Laura, whom he had met after Trevor's disappearance. Right, they're neighbors, I remembered.

"Someone took this from my attic." Trevor groaned.

Shiloh found something she recognized soon after. "Damn it, they got me too." She scratched her head, then twirled her jet black hair. "My cousin painted this recently..." She trailed off.

Then we heard Marina saying "This is so creepy" near the entrance. She brought the picture to show us. The picture was of her, Robin, and a slightly older looking girl with little pink twintails. She stood up while Robin and Marina sat at a small table. The grinning girl was apparently having a birthday party at the time, according to the kids. Upset Marina rushed to the spot near the entrance again, and put the photo back.

In the middle of Hallway 3, both Robin and I found our photos in the same spot. They sat right next to each other. It really felt like someone did it to spite me. There was no doubt in my mind that Mr. Peterson knew about the whole affair thing, and he wasn't afraid to let me know.

"Are they your parents?" I asked Robin, pretending not to recognize Allen.

"Yeah. They live on this island, and I got to meet them. My dad...hates me for some reason. He's mean to my mom, too."

"I-I'm so sorry." I panicked. I had never kept a secret that big before and I was beginning to melt under pressure. It didn't help that I couldn't think straight due to my empty stomach.

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault."

"Right. I mean. That must be tough." I was able to make a recovery from that last impulsive statement.

I observed my own picture next. That picture was a sight I hadn't seen in years. It was of myself as a child walking next to my tall dad. We both looked upbeat as we strolled down a sidewalk during the sunset. My dad's long ponytail floated in the gentle breeze.

"How did they find this, and...when?" I evaluated. "This is such a personal picture. I was sure I hid it away, but here it is." It seriously baffled me. I thought I'd stuffed the photo away in a box after an intense argument with him. I turned around for a moment. "Since the rest of you talked about your pictures, I'll talk about mine. This was taken when I was eleven. The guy walking next to me is my dad. My parents were getting a divorce around that time, so we were all stressed out. But then we have this one moment where we look so happy." I fidgeted. "We were on our way home from the park when my mom decided to take this photo. It wasn't the last time I ever saw him, but he stopped talking to us when I was about thirteen or so. I dunno where he is now, and I'm not sure if I care."

I frowned slightly at the thought of my dad. I didn't hate him, but I didn't love him as much as I did before the divorce and its drama. Once I saw how full of shit he was, I decided to throw this picture into a box, where someone apparently found it.

Every now and then I would think about contacting my dad for financial reasons. I never actually called or wrote, but there were times when I felt like I might not have had another option. There was no guarantee it would've worked, though, since he didn't care about my mom's health issues at all.

I vividly remember him saying something along the lines of, "I hope you realize I've only stayed with you all these years because I feel sorry for you, Claire. I should've left you years ago. I should've tried to find someone more interesting. Someone who doesn't just waste all my money". Dad would verbally attack me, too. He would usually get on my case while he was drunk, and he'd call me all kinds of names.

One time it got physical, and I fought back. I punched and kicked him as hard as I could. He had bruises all over the next day. I don't even remember why he got mad at me. It was probably over something stupid like eating his leftovers or sitting in his spot on the couch. I started to stand up for myself after that, and he hated that. I think I was the reason he finally moved out. That's always been fine with me.

After remembering my failure of a father, I came back to my senses and asked Hina where her photo was.

"I think I see it over here," Hina pointed to a frame close to the doorway.

We all gazed at the picture, which was of the small Kobayashi household.

"These two are my parents," Hina said nervously. "Mommy's nice, but Daddy is kind of...um. When we were posing for this picture, he would hit me every time I posed wrong-"

"Hina, that's enough. You don't have to tell them if you don't want to." I interrupted, putting my hand on top of her small head. It was times like these that made me realize I didn't quite hate this girl with all my heart. We had something in common, after all. Sure, Hina was whiny, but she meant well.

"I want to go home, but only if Dad is gone!" She wrapped her arms around me. "I wish I lived with you." So, apparently, Hina and I weren't alone. Robin had been abused, too, even if it was for a short time.

We put all that behind us for a while as we walked into the gigantic Library.