The Portal - ebook

Prologue

The Magical journey

A bloodcurdling scream pierced the mystical air. "It's gone dark!" Bea cried, her wrinkled hands trembling over the suddenly lightless crystal ball. The mystical glow that once illuminated her weathered cottage had vanished without warning, leaving only shadows and a chill of unease. What dire prophecy or vision had the magical orb shown her? The mysterious creature known as Dreamweaver hovered close, its starry eyes narrowed, searching for answers amidst the now lifeless sphere.

They looked at the portal from the human world. It had been closed for 200 years but the darkness seeped slowly through the cracks of the closed portal, akin to poisonous smoke filling the air in the otherwise bright magical realm. Bea comprehended how this could have occurred, but now all that they cherished was threatened by the stale, suffocating shadow from the human world. Only one thing was certain—something dark and evil was on the other side, and no magic in this enchanted land could stop it now.

A piercing sound shattered the silence of the night as a blinding flash erupted, ripping open a portal into the dreaded human world. Bea's hand trembled around her wand, desperate to seal the gateway, but she froze at the sight of tears streaming down the faces crowded around her. What sadness was in the world of the humans? She had to know. Gripping her wand, Bea stepped through the portal into the unknown.

The Miracle

Chapter 1

The clock struck midnight and the last of the candles sputtered out, cloaking the parlor in darkness. Sara and Jonas found themselves entwined on the threadbare divan, their hands laced together, each finding a sanctuary in the other's grasp. The air around them was laden with an unvoiced sorrow, the sort that drills its way into one's being and adamantly declines departure.

"Yet another month," Sara breathed out, her voice barely more than a whisper as she nestled her head into Jonas' shoulder.

"Another wish... lost." Jonas responded by wrapping his arm around her, his desolation mirrored in the tight curve of his lips and creased furrow of his brows. "We'll dig up an answer," he whispered, his voice resonating with a hollow timbre. "We still have each other. That has to mean something, right?"

Before Sara could formulate a reply, the serene hush of the evening splintered as if it were delicate crystal. Sara’s heart pounding as she scanned the room. A cold gust of wind howled through the open window, sending the drapes billowing like phantoms.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered.

Jonas was already on his feet, his eyes narrowed. "Someone's here," he said under his breath.

They crept toward the window, pulses racing. That's when she appeared - a old women gliding in on the wind, her tattered white dress glowing in the moonlight.

The woman, seeming to straddle existence between two realms, hitched a ride on this peculiar wind into their reality. She slipped through the open aperture with an ethereal grace, seemingly borne by this singular zephyr that heralded her presence. The moonlight trailed behind her like a loyal follower, casting an enchanting aureole around her cascading silver tresses. Her eyes, sharp as shards of ice and blue as a winter sky, bore into them with such intensity it felt as though she was peering directly into their very souls.

"Who - what are you?" Jonas stuttered, scrambling to his feet, a cocktail of protective instincts and wonder swirling within him at the sight before his eyes.

"Bea is my name," the woman replied, her voice sounding like an ancient melody whispering secrets from times long past. "I am a guardian of destinies, a protector who ties this world to the next. They often call me a witch... but I prefer Bea".

Sara too rose from her seat, drawn in by the magnetic pull of Bea's presence. "Why have you come here?" she asked, her grief momentarily forgotten in the face of this surreal marvel.

"Your heartache echoes across realms," Bea responded as she glided closer until she stood before them, her form bathed in an ethereal blend of shadow and light. "You desire a child to call your own."

Jonas exchanged a careful glance with Sara, her eyes shimmering with a glimmer of hope, yet shadowed by the specter of potential disappointment. "Can you help us," he finally dared to ask?

"Indeed," was the mysterious response from Bea, her eyes a perplexing blend of icy indifference and fiery determination. "But remember, every gift bears a price."

At her veiled words, a shiver ran down Sara's spine, yet the yearning that filled her heart was so potent it couldn't be disregarded. Jonas squeezed her hand, an unspoken pact passing between them - a commitment to face whatever might come their way, as long as they faced it together.

"Tell us what we must do," said Sara, her voice steady despite the tremors dancing on her skin.

"If that is your wish, I shall reveal," replied Bea, her silver hair sparkling in anticipation as she prepared to unveil the path that would irrevocably alter their lives.

The air grew hushed as Bea extended her hands, palms upward as if proffering a gift. "Within my power lies the ability to give you not one, but two precious lives. Twins," she said, each word dropping like a stone into the silent room, resonating with an enigmatic echo.

Sara's breath hitched and Jonas' grip on her hand tightened. The witch's eyes, a color of eternal blue that mirrored the icy depths of a glacier, entrapped them with their intensity.

"Twins?" echoed Sara, her voice barely more than a whisper intertwined with disbelief and wonder.

"Indeed, but pay close attention to my utterances," continued Bea, her tone now grave and shrouded in secrecy, "one of these souls must return with me. To maintain balance in the realms I safeguard, one child must be nurtured in another world—in my world—under my protection."

Jonas furrowed his brows; his paternal instincts recoiling at the thought. "You want to take our child?" he questioned as warmth drained from his voice.

"Only one," clarified the witch, "and this child will experience love and magic beyond what your world can offer."

A stab of melancholy pierced Sara's heart; her maternal instinct already tethered to these unborn children. Yet the ache in her heart—the empty years of longing—also demanded attention. Despair and desire waged war within her—a silent storm brewing.

"Is there no other way?" she pleaded desperately seeking a loophole in Bea's proposition—a crack in this mysterious pact.

"That is the price for my aid," Bea’s gaze softened slightly revealing a hint of compassion amidst mystery.

Sara turned to look into Jonas' eyes—seeking solace within their depths—they were her sanctuary amidst this brewing tempest yet they too were filled with uncertainty.

They had dreamt, hoped and wept for a child; could they now part from one before even a first embrace?

"Consider the joy a child will bring us," Jonas whispered, his voice teetering on the edge of conviction and doubt, shrouded in an enigmatic aura.

"Yet the grief for the one we lose," Sara countered, her inner turmoil reflected in her eyes that sparkled like stars hiding secrets.

"Think of the laughter, the love we've yearned for," Jonas said painting an image of a life filled with pattering little feet, bedtime stories and morning cuddles - an image that danced in shadows yet to be revealed.

"Can we live with the price?" Sara asked, voicing an apprehension no one could dismiss.

"Can we live without trying?" retorted Jonas, picturing continued childless days as vast and desolate as a deserted mansion.

In the end it was the emptiness, the echo of a house devoid of children's joy that tipped their decision into uncertainty's lap. With a heavy heart brimming with hope and a soul preparing itself for inevitable hurt, Sara nodded.

"Grant us this miracle, Bea," she pleaded; her decision carrying the weight of destiny wrapped in riddles yet unsolved.

"I shall," Bea responded solemnly sealing their fates with a nod as grave as an eclipse shadowing the sun. "Prepare your hearts for both arrival and departure."

And so, in a dimly lit living room where despair once resided, they forged a pact shaping their future with both wonder and bittersweetness - each moment cloaked in layers of mystery waiting to be unravelled.

◆◆◆

The sterile scent of Saras Thompson's hospital room hung heavy in the air, mingling with a faint undertone of antiseptics as she lay leaning against the bed, her hands gently cradling her belly. Her breaths came in slow, measured pulls, each one like a secret whispered into the silence. Her face— a canvas of anticipation tinged with just a hint of apprehension— radiated a soft glow that seemed to defy the harsh fluorescent light overhead.

"Almost time," she murmured, more to herself than to Jonas standing by her side, his hand entwining hers with a strength that concealed his own inner tremor of excitement.

"Any second now," he replied, his voice soothing yet holding an undercurrent of suspense as if he too shared in Saras's cocktail of emotions.

Suddenly, a sharp contraction punctuated the room, slicing through the quietness like an unexpected plot twist. The pain etched on Saras's face was evident but her gaze remained locked with Jonas – her beacon amidst the gathering storm.

Then, with the abruptness of a summer tempest, the room erupted into existence. Twin cries pierced the silence, two new lives demanding to be heard. Tears welled in Sara's eyes, mirrored in Jonas' gaze as they exchanged glances pregnant with an ocean of unspoken words. In that singular, crystalline moment brimming with joy, months of anticipation, hope and dreams were washed away. They were parents now, their dual blessing filling their hearts and trickling down their cheeks.

"Angelina and Lina..." Sara spoke their names like a sacred chant, each syllable a vow of love and protection.

Jonas nodded in affirmation, his throat too thick with emotion for words. He leaned closer to Sara, whispering tender promises into her ear - each one a pledge to the tiny beings cradled in the nurses' arms.

The room seemed to hum with an unseen energy; an arcane magic that had nothing to do with the mundane beeps from monitors or clinical efficiency of hospital staff. It was as if the world itself held its breath, acknowledging life's miracle unfolding within these walls. Amidst this sterile hospital environment lurked a sense of wonder that touched everyone present through invisible threads of a story yet untold; a destiny not entirely revealed.

And so began Angelina and Lina's lives with soft cries and gentle touches - bound by love but shrouded in whispers of an enigma as ancient as time itself.

◆◆◆

The atmosphere of the room undulated, the walls themselves seemed to inhale and exhale with a rhythm as ancient as time itself when a trio of peculiar beings materialized beside Sara's hospital bed. They were garbed in costumes made from shimmering fabric that defied the normal color spectrum, their eyes holding wisdom as old as creation itself.

"Congratulations, Sara and Jonas," one of them intoned, his voice sounding like wind rustling through autumn leaves, "on the birth of your daughters."

"Thank you," Sara replied, her voice a soft echo of awe. She couldn't tear her gaze away from these entities radiating an aura both comforting and unnerving. Another being stepped forward, its features gentle yet solemn.

"We are here to remind you of the given pledge—a promise that binds you to these children's fates," it said while gesturing towards the twins.

Jonas nodded; he remembered the pact whispered in dreams. The promise of a child in exchange for a sacrifice they had never fully grasped until now.

"The time has come to honor that vow. Lina is chosen and must accompany us to our realm—a world filled with magic," stated the entity.

With hearts heavy as stone yet light as feathers, Sara and Jonas turned towards Lina, cradled in a nurse's arms oblivious to her supernatural visitors. Her tiny fingers stirred the air around her in circles. "Sweet Lina," whispered Sara, tears welling up in her brown eyes. She reached out her hand; her fingers gently caressed her daughter's cheek. "We love you more than words can express, and we will always hold you close in our hearts."

"May stars guide and protect you," added Jonas with a choked voice full of emotion and tear-filled eyes as he placed a tender kiss on her forehead.

The room fell silent except for muted breaths from those present and distant cries of newborns. The magical beings bowed their heads, offering a silent blessing before they dissipated into thin air, leaving only a faint trace of their presence, like the last note of a lullaby echoing in silence.

In that moment, under the watchful eye of an unseen world, Sara and Jonas bid farewell to Lina, surrendering her to a fate far beyond the reach of their loving arms. Their hearts filled with sorrow and mystery as they wondered what kind of life awaited their precious daughter in this otherworldly realm.

◆◆◆

The atmosphere in the hospital room seemed to vibrate with an ethereal light, as if it were seeping through the very fabric of reality itself. A gentle hum echoed throughout the space—a sound not heard but felt deep within the bones of those present. It was as though existence itself exhaled, a breath carrying the weight of ancient magic.

Sara, still cradling Angelina in her arms, felt a wave of love and warmth wash over her, tinged with an inexplicable sorrow rising from some forgotten wellspring within her.

"Isn't she beautiful?" she whispered, gazing down at Angelina, her voice heavy with a love so profound that it filled the room. Yet another part of her, a shadowy corner seemingly just out of reach, throbbed with a loss she couldn't quite grasp.

The memory of Lina had been erased by the magic saturating the room.

"Perfect," Jonas agreed, his own gaze locked on the infant's face—her tiny features reminiscent of something he should remember but couldn't.

The magic hummed louder now, enveloping them all as the walls flickered like candlelight against gravity's pull. The nurses and doctor moved as if underwater—their actions slow and strangely distant. They smiled at Sara and Jonas offering congratulations while their eyes held an elusive quality influenced by enchantment permeating the room.

"Your daughter will be a blessing," said the doctor; his words sounded strange—as if spoken from another realm entirely.

"Daughter," echoed Sara catching hold of that singular word—an image attempted to surface—two children intertwined cries—but it slipped away like a distant dream. Then silence fell upon the room—the humming faded leaving behind a quietude that seemed to persist for reasons none could fathom.

The light steadied, the world coalesced back into solidity, and the familiar sounds of hospital life resumed beyond the sealed gateway. Sara cradled Angelina closer, her maternal instincts radiating warmth and protection. Jonas leaned in, planting tender kisses on both his wife and daughter. Yet unbeknownst to them, their family was now one less, their memories of Lina dissolving like mist beneath the morning sun.

As hours ticked by, the enchantment completed its work, spinning a new reality where Lina had never existed in their world.

Sara and Jonas, encircled by friends and family, celebrated the arrival of their little girl; oblivious to a gap in their lives - an empty space where another tiny soul should have been. But somewhere deep within them, at a place untouched by magic's hand, lingered a sense of something amiss - a puzzle with one piece forever missing.

And in that realm of enchantment from which they were barred access to remember or even imagine about it began Lina's solitary journey - her own path yet eternally tethered to the sister she would never get to know. The air thickened with mystery as if hiding secrets only time could reveal.Ten years later

Chapter 2

From the fringe of the playground, Angelina Thompson perched, her wavy brown hair fluttering in the cool zephyr. Her emerald eyes, ordinarily a beacon of curiosity, now held an undercurrent of melancholy as she observed her classmates engaged in their mirthful play. They swirled around the jungle gym like leaves pirouetting in an autumn breeze, each child seamlessly blending into this whirlpool of games and camaraderie. The swing creaked rhythmically nearby, but Angelina remained motionless, her small hands clasped tightly in her lap.