The Ill-mannered Door (humorous sci-fi)

33.2: Homecoming

I must have fallen about ten meters or so before the rope went taut and I swung under the bottom of the ship. The keel! I think that is what they called them on a BBC program I had watched at some point. Well, in any case, I swung up under that and then back down again as Derek began to let out more rope.

Now, being lowered on a rope from a ship floating several meters above one's home is a harrowing experience to say the least, especially after quite literally being pushed into it, so I cried out with great joy once I had finally reached terra firma.

Derek later claimed that I had cried out in fear the whole way down, but he has been known to exaggerate.

I rapidly freed myself from the rope and ran up the steps to my front door. It was locked!

Of course, it was locked, you ninny, I reminded myself. I had left through the door in my room, so the front door was still locked!

Thankfully, I remembered that I had a key hidden in--well, none of your business where it was hidden! You can take your nosiness elsewhere. Let's just say that I retrieved it from its hiding spot and opened the door.

"Isabella?" I called out, closing the front door behind me.

There was no response, which surely just meant that she had gone home after making it safely back through the door. Yes, surely.

I hurried about my home looking for any sign that Isabella had been there, and given that nothing was evidently cleaner, there was a good chance that she had in fact been there.

Once I reached my room, however, I was sure that she had been. The bed was made, and the sheets smelled wonderful! Yes, of course, I smelled them! And it's a good thing I did too, because that is when I noticed the note. It read:

Dear, Mr. John,

I wanted to inform you that I made it back safely through the door, but regret to say that I will need to take a leave of absence from my duties for an undetermined period of time starting immediately. When I return, we will discuss proper payment for the recent unusual travel and non-cleaning services performed.

Sincerely,

Isabella Maria Sanchez

She was alive!

I breathed a hearty sigh of relief before beginning to wonder what that whole leave of absence thing was about. I wasn't at all sure but didn't have much time to consider it as I heard Derek shouting down from the Bounty that I needed to move things along.

It also struck me at that moment that the door was still there, standing in the middle of the rug next to the bed! It was just as I had left it, except that it was closed. Its counterpart in the other world had been destroyed, but here on Earth, it was as if nothing had happened. I was thankful that there was no sign of an explosion on this end, but I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I were to open it? Could it even be opened when its counterpart was now little more than charred toothpicks, and if so, where would it lead? Back to the grassy hillside atop the island again, or to somewhere else entirely? Reaching for the door handle, my mind raced as I imagined the possibilities.

Any further thoughts on the matter would have to be immediately postponed, however, as a loud, decidedly angry burble suddenly marched from one end of my bowels to the other. Clearly, I had some pressing matters to attend to in the loo, so off I hurried. The prolonged holiday, completely lacking in anything remotely approximating adequate facilities, had finally caught up with me with a vengeance and it wouldn't wait even a moment longer.

Right then, we'll just skip on to the next bit and say that with that taken care of, I felt nearly human again. I then hurriedly removed that horrible pink dressing-gown and changed into some of my own comfortable clothing. Next, I began to pack some essentials into a small rolling luggage. I'd had quite enough of gallivanting about other planets in my dressing-gown, or someone else's for that matter, and wanted to be sure I was packed and ready for whatever might happen next.