Behind the Open Door

Chapter 6 Cassie awoke with a start, "Patrik? Patrik?” "Cassie, open the door. Put me in the tree. Put me with a crystal in the tree. Close the door." Cassie sat up and scanned her room. It was still night. The room was dark and when she looked out the window, the backyard was dark also. "Patrik? Are you here?" "Cassie, open the door. Put me in the tree. Put me with a crystal in the tree. Close the door." "Where is the door? Patrik, where is the door?" "Follow the magic, Cassie." Cassie blinked as she tried to become more awake and absorb her surroundings. She listened again and tried to understand what she had just heard. Reaching under her pillow, she grabbed the crystal rock that lay safely underneath it. It was warm, and Cassie brought it up to her chest. Where is the door? she wished quietly. Show me the door. The crystal began to glow brightly in her hands and cast a beam into the bedroom. Cassie got out of bed, and as she did, the light expanded out into the hallway. Cassie followed the light. As she walked, each step seemed to increase the length of the light ahead of her and extinguish the light behind her. She followed the trail to the front stairs where the beam shifted downward. Cassie took a deep breath and grabbed the railing with one hand. She kept the crystal tight in the other, and slowly proceeded down the stairs. The light turned to the right and into the living room. Cassie walked forward, mesmerized by the Christmas tree and decorations shimmering in the crystal light. Show me the door, she mind wished again. The light guided her toward the big window. "Ah!” Cassie cried out kneeling on the rug and reaching out to touch the roof of the potting shed dollhouse. The crystal dropped to the floor and continued to illuminate all of it. "Patrik? Are you here?” The dollhouse was mounted on a large board that had been painted to contain a garden area. Two miniature gnome statues stood outside the front doors of the potting shed on stone steps. Cassie lifted the front of the roof and pulled on a knob that moved the whole front over to one side. Inside, two small figures sat on chairs at a table. She picked them up and realized they looked like her and Poppy. A fireplace was built in the corner and a small door was in the back of the room that opened when she lifted the metal rod. She then saw that a large tree branch was mounted on the board behind the house. Cassie placed her ‘Cassie doll’ back inside the shed and moved it through the small door to the stairs. She then crawled around the board, so she was at the back of the shed, and walked her Cassie doll down the mounted stone steps. “Patrik!” she shrieked embracing the dog figurine in front to the tree. "Cassie, open the door. Put me in the tree. Put me with a crystal in the tree. Close the door." Cassie opened the little door in the front of the tree branch and placed her Patrik doll inside, then reached around the shed to pick up the crystal from the living room floor. The crystal glowed brighter in Cassie’s hands and sent a beam to the magic tree. Cassie brought the crystal to her chest, Please bring Patrik home, she mind wished again. The crystal fit snugly in the tree with Patrik. She closed the door and closed her eyes. “Tree of Life, Worlds Unite; Tree of Life, Worlds Unite, Tree of Life, Worlds Unite,” she said aloud. When Cassie opened her eyes the crystal light was no longer shining from inside the tree and the living room was dark. “Cassie?” Daddy said, coming across the room. “It's not Christmas morning yet, honey.” “I did what Patrik asked me to do, but he hasn’t come back yet.” “What did you do?” “I opened the door. I put him in the tree. I put a crystal in the tree. I shut the door.” “Patrik asked you to do all those things?” “Yes. And now I’m waiting.” “Can you wait in your bed?” “I guess so.” “Cassie, you told me Patrik has been travelling. Someplace far away.” “Lemuria,” Cassie said softly. “It’s going to take him a long while to get back, don’t you think?” “He’s been coming for a while. He just needed more crystal energy to get back.” “Well, I think we should give him some more time. Remember what you said about time? We can create the time we want. Why don’t you go back to bed and create some time for Patrik if you think he needs more time.” “Patrik and I can shorten time too, Daddy.” “So, it could go faster?” “Yes.” “This night is getting shorter even as we speak. Let’s go back to bed and wait for morning, please.” “Okay. Patrik can come through my closet too.” “Amen to that! You’ll be in bed and know right off. Up we go.” Daddy followed Cassie up the stairs to her room and tucked her into bed again. “Okay, you have Merton and Elroy right here,” Daddy said bringing the pair back up under Cassie’s arm. Are you all set now?” “Can you open the closet door?” “Yup, last thing, Cassie,” Daddy said as he walked over and opened the door. “Sleep well now.” “Daddy, will you tell Patrik to come home please?” Daddy took a deep breath and walked over to sit on Cassie’s bed again. “Patrik,” he said calmly. “We miss you. Cassie misses you very much. Please come home.” “Thank you, Daddy.” “Goodnight, Sunshine. See you in the morning.”