the five doors I

Amidst the serene grassy field, a young boy awakens, inhaling the cool early morning breeze. Having no knowledge of his identity and his location, he explores his surroundings with uncertainty and bewilderment. With every step he takes, plants emerge from the soil, later crowned with blooming flowers that blossom some sustenances above their colorful petals. The floating sustenances make Toto’s mouth watered. He reaches out for one, gulping reflexively. He tastes different never-been-felt-before sensations on his tongue. After savoring the food, he walks around.

What awaits him at the front is a huge clear jaded-green lake. He takes a few steps and gazes into it. Startled by fear, he jumps backward as he sees some movements on the water’s surface. From his observation, he realizes it’s his own reflection. His curiosity leads him to go into the lake. As he gets deeper, he loses control over his body and starts to suffocate and struggle for air. Despite this, he senses another presence above me. He is abruptly pulled out of the lake to the ground. He still cannot breathe well due to his incessant uncontrollable coughing.

When he opens his eyes, a huge lion stands gracefully in front of him. “Welcome to the universe, Toto,” says the lion. Then, he realizes that his name is Toto. While his mind is flooded with wonders, the lion leans backward to raor. As it roars, it glows and plants emerge and dry Toto with their leaves. Then, the shining lion walks toward Toto and gently touches his head with its paw saying, “It’s time to teach you how to fly.” It takes Toto on its wide back and flies in the sky until they reach to a high mountain. The lion tells Toto to relax and focus. In spite of the uncertainty, Toto jumps off the mountain. But, he is not flying but falling down forcefully. The lion saves him from the fall.

“Try again, Toto. This time, imagine the wind is lifting you up,” encourages the lion. Toto takes a deep breath and jumps again. He starts falling down again. But, feeling determined, he closes his eyes and fixates only on himself being lifted by the wind. Suddenly, he catches the breeze and with a heart full of wonder, he soars happily high in the endless sky. The lion joins Toto in the sky, leading the way. Along the way, Toto sees other young kids like him, flying with an animal in front of them. Toto and the lion stop when they get to the top of a mountain.

A green enigmatic door stands solitarily ahead of them. The door attaches to no entity or architectural structure, being a riddle of design and the lack of its purpose. As they make their way towards the enigmatic door, the lion instructs Toto in a serious tone to choose the door always painted in green. Toto turns the doorknob. The door leads to a grumpy tree-lined forest road in dim light.

They walk into the door together. After shutting the door, it magically disappears with a glow of light. While they make their way forward, unclear whispers of the towering trees fly into their ears. In a distance from Toto, a wilted flower bends forward in a dying manner. Toto runs towards it, hoping to get some food from it like before. But, it gives him nothing. As he picks the dying flower vigorously, the tall trees grow thorny branches, invading the space to the road. The lion immediately grabs Toto and flies off to the sky.