Just over twenty-four hours ago, I was alone cutting vegetables in my kitchen when I heard one of the early morning news shows on the TV in the living room. I picked up the remote and changed the channel to the one I was listening to. The show had reporters in front of the building where I worked. That's when I heard the news.
''There have been a remarkable set of events which have led scientists to announce this moment that they have been able to open what they are calling a portal to another 'Earth' in another 'universe.' They have observed this other 'Earth' for a few years and have concluded that there is actually life there. And, like here, that life evolves on this planet in an identical way. We don't yet know if there is intelligent life on this planet , however, they say that they have already been in contact with one of the beings there who looks exactly like a human from our world.''
The camera then showed a close up of the being who was being interviewed. With an excited voice the reporter continued. ''It is very hard to believe that what is being shown is not a form of advanced technology, but something much more incredible. Simply put, this is not a hoax, but an actual portal into another dimension. Incredible. And we will show you this person here, live, on the other side of this portal. I will try and get some live response from him for you as well.''
The camera closed in on the person who was standing there in front of the gate-like portal. And sure enough, it was him. My late, beloved husband.
His responses to the reporter's questions were rather dull and boring. His physics background was totally useless in trying to explain the portal to the average person. He just kept repeating that it was used by the scientists to study the other side and the incredible coincidence that the two worlds were so closely alike.
As for me, the announcement had knocked me off my feet. I was totally speechless. I even forgot about breakfast. I sat there, staring, spellbound at the TV, while I became more and more anxious, what would come next.
My moment of real happiness came after a few moments when the reporter asked the person to come over to the portal and look through it. His excitement was clearly evident and his response was that it was something he really wanted to do. And so, in front of the TV cameras, I watched him wrap his arms around my husband and step through the portal. A few moments later, the camera switched itself off and the video ended. As the TV studio came to a stop, the reporter discussed the next few days of preparations, leading up to the opening of the portal on the other side.
My heart sank. It was now much too late to stop what was about to happen. I was now going to be forced to live with my late husband in the world I had always loved. I didn't know what the first few days would bring, but I was sure that he would not take it well.
And so, I did the only thing I could think of. Through the portal, I made my plea for help. I wished I knew how to contact the other side, but any help would be much appreciated. I definitely didn't want to be on my own in this new world.
I sat and waited for more news for the next couple of hours. But nothing important came on the news. Sometime late in the morning, the phone rang. I was sitting on the couch, still watching TV. My initial reaction was not to answer, but then I realized that my husband might call me. And the truth was, even if I didn't want to answer the phone, I had to. After all it would be nice to talk to him again. And so, as I answered the phone I was hopeful. Only it wasn't my husband. It was the girl across the hall. She had just received a call from her sister who had told her about the portal discovery. Of course, she told her about the news. She seemed to be happy about it.
I admitted that I hadn't really watched the news. And at the time, my husband was on the other side of the portal. I told her that I didn't really care about him going through the portal, I did care about having someone to talk to. She told me that she didn't know how one would go about getting to the other side. She had to go, but she might go back to visit sometime later.
I played around, doing chores around the apartment, but I was not able to let go of the news. I knew that more information was going to come out in the next day or two, but I couldn't wait for that. I wished I had someone to talk to. That was when it finally hit me. I went to my room and made my dialing. I dialled the number and began to wait. I needed it to work now.
My stepfather, Mr. Clause, was a nice man. I grew up with him as I was not a natural child. I knew him pretty well. And when I told him that my husband had come back to life and was visiting Earth from the other side... I could hear him gasp at the other end. He was completely shocked and promised that he would help me as much as he could. At first, he said he would try and get me a visa to the other side. He would do everything he could to help me.
However, he was really not able to do that at the moment. He told me that he would help in any way he could, but he was a scientist and didn't have access to the records, that he needed to open the portal.
I was hesitant to tell him that I was a human too. I didn't want to be seen as a freak and I didn't want him to think that I needed special treatment. But then I decided that it was that or be alone. I knew that he was trustworthy. I told him about the news and my discovery of the other world and asked him if he would bring me through the portal.
He wanted me to remain calm, but that didn't work for me. I kept asking him what could happen to me if I went through. He kept repeating that there would be changes and that I might not be able to return to my normal life. But, I reassured him that I didn't care whether I came back or not. I was much more concerned about how my husband would live, if I didn't go.
He tried to give me an idea to calm down. He said he had no phone in his actual lab, but that he could give me a call from the top of the elevator. He said that if I was there, he would try and open the portal for me. He asked if that was okay with me.
I was supposed to meet him in the lab at about four in the afternoon and he told me that he would let me know what was going to happen at that time. He promised me that he would call me that day and that I shouldn't worry. I asked him if he would leave explicit instructions on how to open the portal for me. He told me he would let me know how to do it. But, at the time, I was too occupied with other stuff and didn't think that much of it.
Well, I didn't want to be in the house alone so I walked to the lab before four. I still wasn't sure what was going to happen. We have a lab on the ground floor and he had controlled the elevator in his lab. It moved along a wide corridor that was in the basement and I knew exactly where the lab was.
As I was getting close to the elevator, I started to hear some strange beeping noise. It was coming through the elevator. I thought that it was strange, but I remembered that he had told me that the elevator was controlled by something that was in his lab, which seemed to be in a separate building. I was unsure about that, but I didn't think much of it.
When I got there, I entered the elevator. To my surprise, as I entered the elevator, the doors started to close, and it began to move up. The panel of the elevator asked me to select my destination. I had to select a floor to go to. It asked me what I wanted. I selected the lab. After a while, the elevator stopped on the top floor. I wasn't sure what it was. The panel seemed to ask me, if that was where I wanted to go. I said 'yes'. The elevator started to move again. It was moving much faster than I had ever experienced. The elevator went through a number of different levels. It finally stopped on a silent floor. The panel asked me to take out my key and someone would open the elevator for me to access the lab.
As I took out my key, this time, there was no beeping. It seemed as if a door had opened. I pulled the key out and then entered the elevator with the panel. When the doors opened, I was astonished. There was a lavish marble floor. To my right I could see other elevator doors. I looked to my left and I saw that there was still a ceiling.
I was still a little freaked out at the strange procedures, but I didn't think much of it. I was just too excited about everything. I entered the lab.