The Three Doors- By Katie Cookson – Illustration by Julian Dumont

Three friends called Frederick, Matilda and Sampson who, probably like you and your friends, go on many adventures, these adventures were unusual, magical, exciting and above all the best fun they could ever have.

This adventure happened one summer when they visited Samson’s aunt, who lived by the sea. The aunt lived in a glistening old train carriage painted green; there wasn’t a bit of rust in sight. Part of the converted train carriage was a cafe where she had tables and chairs with red and white chequered tablecloths, a selection of teapots and tea cups of all different colours, ample cakes to sell, and a whole shelf of different types of tea. She had peppermint, English tea, Earl Grey, ginger, and lemon. You name it; she had it. People came from miles to come and try her tea and her cakes. One particular sunny summer’s day, the cafe was bustling, and the three children were tapping their fingers and getting in the way of all the customers. Samson’s aunt and workers were rushing backwards and forward from the kitchen. In the end, Aunt turned around and said to them, “Why didn’t you go down the beach? You’re getting in our way. “

 

There was no hesitation, and the three ran out the door and towards the Ocean. Like the cafe, the beach was bustling, and the three friends only wanted to be around some people. So, they wandered along the coast, dragging their sticks, making marks in the wet sand, and heading towards the old oak tree that marks the beach’s end and the forest’s beginning. There’s lots of shade there, and most people prefer to be in the sun. So, no one was there. As they approached the big old oak tree, they noticed a small wooden boat washed up on the shore. They started to walk around it, jumping over it and playing pirates. 

“Give me all your gold,” shouted Sampson, jumping up and down on the boat. 

 Suddenly, Frederick Stopped jumping and turned to the others.  

“You know what? I think this boat might sail, you know. Should we give it a go?”

Samson looked at Matilda; Matilda looked at Frederick, then back at Samson. And they all began to smile without another thought. They jumped off the boat, gathered at one end, and pushed it into the sea. Matilda held on to the rope, so it didn’t float away. And they watched as it bobbed up and down, up and down. Up and down.  

“Yep, I think it’s gonna be okay,” said Samson as he jumped up and down as hard as he could. 

As soon as he said this, the other two ran ankle-deep through the water and jumped into the boat individually.

And the adventure of the Ocean and its three doors had begun. 

The sail was up, and the wind was blowing very gently. Samson was looking through the eyeglasses. He spotted a seagull in the sea, but it wasn’t moving as you would have thought; he was making a terrible noise and stretching one of its wings out. 

Matilda pointed to the Seagull.

“Quick, we must go to him; there’s something wrong.”

So they steered the boat towards the bird, and as they got closer, it became clear that the bird had hurt its wings. 

 Just as they got to the Seagull, they appeared to go through what seemed like a giant bubble; as they pierced their way through it, a popping noise happened. All three looked at each other, held their breaths and then a slight laugh before putting their attention back on the Seagull. 

“Well, what you are waiting for, getting me in that boat. I thought I would never be rescued.” Came from the Seagull.

 “Did…?” Matlida began. 

“Yes…. Yes…it did.” Replied Frederick.

In no time, the children had scooped up the Seagull and placed him on the boat’s deck. They all gathered around him open-mouthed.

“Well, what are you staring at.” He cried,

“We have never seen a talking seagull before.” Samson blurted out. 

“Well, you have now.?”

The three children sat down with the Seagull, listening to him and telling them he had been caught up in the ship’s sail and couldn’t get out, and that was how he had hurt his wing. Then, as they all sat on the boat, the waves began to get bigger, and a strange noise could be heard—a moaning noise.

Samson ran to the side of the boat and saw a giant dark patch in the sea; the others ran to join him.

They looked at each other and froze. Was this the end of the three friends and their Ocean adventure?

 

“Oh, I don’t like this, Samson; whatever is under our boat is bigger than us.” Matilda cried while holding her head as if it would pop if she let go.

Samson looked at her wide-eyed, while his face seemed to turn to a rather funny pale complexion with a hint of green. He placed his hand over his mouth, ran to the other side of the boat, threw half his body over the side, and began throwing up the delicious cake he had not long before eaten at his aunt’s cafe. Although, it didn’t look delicious any more.

As he looked at the cherry and almond pieces floating on the chopping waves, the dark shadow beneath the surface started to get bigger and bigger; he squeezed his eyes and could make out that the great big dark shadow had a huge set of eyes. They were getting closer and closer. Samson opened his mouth, but no noise came out, and the boat began to shake, throwing the three friends side to side of the boat; standing proved too tricky, and the friends fell to the floor, rolling along like pins being knocked over on a bowling alley. Suddenly, the rocking stopped, and the children fell against the boat’s side, sprawled on each other.

“Get off me”, cried Frederick, whose face was squashed against the deck. They all slowly climbed back up and looked out towards the sea.

“Where has all the sea gone? “Samson noticed.

The view was white as far as the eye could see the whole way around. The three of them walked towards the edge of the boat and appeared down towards where the sea should be when they realised that the dark shadow under the boat was a giant whale. And their boat had now been marooned on top of him. The seagull half jumps and half flies with his good wing to the whale. It makes a lot of weird crying noises, which the whales answer with more weird screeching noises before the seagull then half jumps and half flies back onto the boat.

 

“The whale got a terrible pain in his chest; it started after he had lunch.” The seagull announced.

 

“What do you think it is?” Samson responds.

 

Frederick just shrugged his shoulders and continued to gaze at the whale below them.

 

“Perhaps we should be more concerned about how we will get off here?” Frederick adds to his shrugging shoulders.

 

Matilda paced for a while, pondering what could be wrong with the whale; she suddenly stood still and threw her right arm into the air.

 

“I know what it is; my dad always gets it; he’s got indigestion!”

 

The two boys looked at each other and made very peculiar expressions to one another.   

“INDEGESTION!” said the boys together.

“Yes, listen, boys, he had something to eat, and then he starts having pain in his chest; that’s just like my dad. the only thing is he takes this special stuff, and we haven’t got any of that,”

The three sat down, crossed legs and with the seagull sitting on Fredericks’s head. At the same time, they all thought about how they would help the whale and get their boat back into the ocean. Time passed, the sun moved across the sky, and the whale groans got louder and louder.

It was just as the sun began to fall, and you could see a glimpse of the face of the moon. Samson stood up, turned toward the boat’s edge and ran flat out towards the side. Then, before anyone could stop him, Samson jumped out of the boat onto the back of the whale and towards the head of the whale.

“Open your mouth, whale, open your mouth.”

With that, the whale opened his mouth, and Samson took a running jump into it;

Frederick began to pace the boat while Matilda kept watch of the whale. Finally, after what had felt like hours but had only been a matter of minutes, the whale began to move, and out of his blowhole, first shot a huge fish bone, then a spray of water that Samson was sitting on, bouncing up and down laughing.

“Hey, look at me, this is amaziiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnngggggg!”

As Samson got back into the boat, the whale slowly lowered himself under the water, and the three of them, along with the seagull, watched him swim away. But the friends were now stuck in the middle of the ocean; it was dark, and they were starving.

Their only light was the moon, which kept hiding behind clouds, yet the children could see a shape floating on the top of the water in the distance. It wasn’t the shape of a boat or an animal; what was most magical was that it glowed around the edges—a bright green glow.

Then, as the three stared at what they believed was some floating island, a school of fish, with thousands and thousands of them, came swimming right past, jumping in and out of the water. Some even landed in the boat. The three would quickly throw them back in the water, while the seagull would try to eat them by swallowing each one he caught in a big gulp.

 

Not long after spotting the mysterious island-like shape, the three set sail, following the school of fish and heading towards the island.

The crew arrived at the island, and the light shining from it became mesmerising; with the sea calm and still, their boat drifted slightly up and onto the side of the island easily and without sound. There was silence as the three looked at one another before slowly gliding onto the island.

Wondering along the island, the ground below them appeared to glimmer. It was made up of the roots of the trees that stood tall on top of the island. The gaps moved gently, splashing against the roots.

 The light of the moon directed them to a big pile of fruit. Oranges, bananas, peaches and nectarines.

Laughter replaced the broken silence and sounds of gulping and squelching while the soft fruit was eaten, each coming up for breath. When the last banana had been eaten, they laid back and watched the stars.

“I have had fun but miss home, don’t you, Frederick?”

“Yeah, and it would be great to have some of Samson’ aunts’ chocolate cake to finish off with.”

Samson half smiled.

“Yes…If only we knew the way back home.”

As the three wondered about the possibility of returning home, a sudden light flashed from the sky like a bolt of lightning. Smoke surrounded where the light had struck. The friends coughed and swapped at the smoke while getting to their feet.

The smoke cleared before them, and three solid oak doors greeted them. The doors were beautiful old-fashioned craved frames, with red timber doors. While most doors would have straight frames, this one wiggled around like ocean waves.   Seeing three doors appear from nowhere was odd, yet they were not attached to anything or led anywhere. You could see their front and back as they stood before the three. Before anyone could say anything, a voice bellowed.

“Here stands your way back home, but choose with determination and wisely, as it will not be the same for each of you. Decide one by one, or else you may never return.”

Without hesitation, Samson jumped up and announced he would go first.

“See you all at home.” He turned, looked up at the three doors and announced.

“The right door; I choose the right door.” 

The door swung open, and Samson charged through it, the door slamming shut behind him. Then he was gone. 

Matilda and Frederick were unsure and waited to see if Samson returned, but the question seemed to have been answered as the door stood firmly closed.

“Frederick, you go next; I don’t want you here alone.”

“It’s ok, Matilda. I still have the seagull with me, and I haven’t decided yet which door to go through.”

Matilda raised her eyebrows and looked at Frederick and then at the doors. She hugged him, walked slowly towards the doors, sighed, and looked back at Frederick. Who nodded and smiled as the seagull landed on his shoulder.

“I choose the middle door.”

With that, the middle door lit up, smoke began to escape from the edges, and it slowly opened. Matilda walked towards it. As she stepped in, the door immediately started to close behind her. 

And then she was gone.

Frederick sat down; the island was starting to break up, and the boat could no longer be seen anywhere. But he just kept staring at the doors. Frederick could never make his mind up, and this time was no exception.

He looked at the doors and decided that because the others had chosen the right and then the middle door, it would make sense that he chose the left door.

With the seagull on his shoulder, Frederick stood up and said as loud as possible.

“The left door; I choose the left door.”

Nothing happened, and eventually, Frederick sat back down and stared at the three doors. He knew that time was running out, and his heart began to race while his hands were sweating uncontrollably. 

Frederick sits and thinks…thinks again, and then a little more. Maybe he should follow Matilda, so he stands up again and shouts the middle one.

Nothing happens. Now, Frederick was getting extremely worried. His foot slips, and he ends up with one leg in the water while the rest are on the island. The island would soon be gone. The seagull finally turns to him and speaks.

“Remember what was said…choose with determination and wisely. Frederick, what door do YOU choose.”

With that, he jumped up, smiled, and shouted….

“I choose the middle door…. the middle door.”

And then the door began to smoke and swing open like the others. Without hesitation, Frederick jumped through the opened door. He began to swirl around faster and faster. He noticed the door slam shut as he spun and spun faster and faster. Bright colours shot past him. Strange things appeared, spinning like Frederick. There was a man with six legs and six arms, a chicken with six legs and a man’s head and a rainbow colour robot. Suddenly, it stopped, and Frederick was thrown out of the door like a rocket and landed on the sand. He was home.

“Frederick…you’re here…I was so worried.” Matilda shouts as she wraps her arms around him; Samson pats him on the back.

“I must say, at one point, I thought I wasn’t ever getting back, but the thought of your aunt’s chocolate took over in me like a wave of a storm, and that was it!”

The three friends hugged with relief that their adventure was over and, while they had a magical time, agreed that, for the moment, they were happier on dry land. They also agreed that Samson’s aunt’s chocolate cake was just what they needed to help them feel like they were back home.