The morning sun's rays pierced through the curtains. Stella turned her back against the window and yawned. Her second day in Oppidula had arrived. She grabbed her clothes, took a shower, and proceeded downstairs for breakfast. Celestine had just woken up.

"Awake already? It is just five!" she exclaimed.

"In Rome, I usually wake up at six," Stella explained.

"You are just like your mama then. She likes to wake up early," Celestine said.

Served for breakfast were two cups of hot black coffee and a large plate full of sweet brioches. From the first bite, the brioche became Stella's favorite breakfast food, replacing the croissant. The coffee, however, was too strong for her taste. Celestine anticipated that and had prepared some milk beforehand. After breakfast, Stella brushed her teeth and filled her tumbler with cold water. Her sling bag had all that she needed: her wallet, lip balm, hand sanitizer, and other essentials. All she needed was Celestine's permission. She found her in the living room.

"Zia, may I go and explore the town? I will be back before noon like what you said yesterday," Stella asked.

"Sure," Celestine replied, "just be careful."

"Thank you!"

Stella kissed her aunt goodbye and walked out of the house. She looked back every minute or less, retracing her steps to make sure she would not get lost. Not far from her aunt's house was a row of cafés and little shops, and a little further from there was a large piazza. Stella strolled down the street, her right hand swinging freely and her left hand resting on her sling bag.

Tug. Her right wrist jerked violently to the right as if someone suddenly grabbed her arm. She glanced to her side. Nobody. What was that? Stella stood still for a moment, waiting for any weird movement to reoccur, but nothing happened. I hope I was imagining it, she thought before brushing it off and continuing her walk.

Tug. It happened again! This time it was much more forceful. Stella glanced to her right and saw nobody beside her. What was going on? She dove her right hand into her pocket and continued walking. Maybe it would stop if she would not let her hand swing freely.

It seemed to work. She had been strolling through the town for almost an hour and her right hand had remained in her pocket. Stella turned around and began her return to her aunt's house. She passed by a few buildings and was about to turn right... wait, did she go that way? Or did she come from the left? She looked both ways. The streets seemed too similar for her to distinguish.  I will just go left, Stella thought, and if it is wrong then I will go to the right.

She turned left. For a few moments, it felt like she made the right decision. The buildings looked more and more familiar the further she walked. If she remembered correctly, she should walk straight for another fifteen minutes before turning left after the trattoria. She smiled as she strolled, and then stopped.

The path led her directly to a forest. She swore there was supposed to be a long line of small houses. She was probably wrong. Stella put one foot behind her and began turning around.

Tug! Her right arm shot out of her pocket and dragged her towards the forest. "AAAH!" she screamed. An unnatural force dragged her body through the forest like a fishing rod reeling in a weak fish. The town quickly disappeared from her view as trees suddenly surrounded her. She tried to dig her feet into the ground only to end up scraping it. She grabbed the nearest branch only for it to snap. "Aiuto!" she shouted, but it fell on no ears. Her attempts at resistance were futile.

Thud. She was dropped to the ground like a heavy sack. Stella slowly stood up, brushing the dust off her clothes, and took a glimpse of her surroundings. In front of her was the forest and, though the gaps between the trees were rather wide, she could not see the town at all. Who knew how far she had gone?

No, she could not afford to be stranded in the middle of nowhere. There must be a way to go back! Stella sprinted into the forest and toward the town—

The same force grabbed her by the right wrist and tossed her out of the woods once more. She landed on her back this time, in the same place where she was dropped off earlier.

Stella pushed herself off the ground again. Her hands massaged her temples as she tried to calm her breathing. The forest was blocked. What about another path to town? She faced the other direction. Her eyes spotted a nearby coast, with small ships docking at a nearby port. There should be people there who could help, but she was not even sure if it was safe. And it was far away too—who knows how long it would take to reach there by foot? And what if something happened to her on the way?

Her eyes moistened. She only wanted to go around, not be dragged into whatever was happening. The thought of never returning home threatened tears into trickling out. There must be a way, there must be a way...

Her aunt. She could help! Stella reached into her bag and fumbled for her phone.

There was no phone. Her heart was pounding. Where is it? Did I drop it? Did I lose it in the forest? A thousand thoughts whirled in her mind. It then occurred to her that she was charging it at her aunt's house. "Mannaggia!" she cursed. What started as a morning filled with happiness and wonder turned into a day filled with panic and frustration. She looked down at her right wrist and glared at the bracelet. She promised not to take it off, but she did not care. She searched for the clasp, but it was nowhere to be found. She tried pulling at the bracelet, but it would not come off.

"AAAH!" someone screamed.

Stella turned her attention to the woods. A male figure was flung out of the forest before collapsing in front of her. Judging by the looks, he seemed to be a foreigner: his short hair was colored caramel blond; his sharp, almond-shaped, dark turquoise eyes stood out from his pale face; his slim, straight nose was sculpted above his thin, pinkish lips; and though he was much taller than her, he did not seem much older.

The young man got up, muttering to himself, and though she could not understand him she could tell he was panicking too—the trembling tone in his voice and wide eyes gave it away. It took a while before he noticed her, and when he did, he briefly froze.

"Euh... Buongiorno?" he said awkwardly.

"Buongiorno," she said just as awkwardly.

"How long were you standing there?"

"Ehm, just a minute."

"So you saw me being, euh, 'pulled'?" He gesticulated, simulating a pulling motion.

"Yes. I was, uh, also 'pulled' here."

"You too!" he exclaimed, then he put his hands to the sides of his face. "So it's not just me going crazy. Euh, alright, were you also pulled from Oppidula or from somewhere else—"

"I came from there." Stella pointed in the forest's direction.

"Ah, like me." He put his hands on his hips. He glanced at the forest. "I tried going back, but something kept on pulling me back here."

"Maybe if we go together, then we will get out."

He raised an eyebrow. "Do you think that'll work?"

"We can try."

She began walking into the forest. He followed her. Nothing unusual happened at first. One step, two steps, three steps... tug! An unnatural force lifted them off their feet and threw them back to where they were. The two of them got back up, brushed the dust off their clothes, and stared at the forest.

"We're stuck here," the boy sighed.

"Wait, I think my aunt can help us," Stella said. "Do you have a phone?"

"It has no signal. I tried."

"Maybe we can try again. Can I borrow your phone?"

He gave her a look. "Euh, sure," he hesitated. "I doubt it'll work though."

He pulled out his phone from his pocket. To her surprise, it was one of the newest phones at that time. The fact that it had a touchscreen instead of physical buttons meant that it was far more expensive than what she owned. He unlocked his smartphone and tapped on the screen before briefly giving it to her. Stella dialed her aunt's phone number and tried calling her. After a while, she shook her head and returned it to him.

"No signal."

He exhaled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "So we really are stuck here."

The two of them stood in silence. They peered at the forest, unsure of what to do next. She glanced at him. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Euh, my name is Edmond," he replied. "And you?"

"I'm Stella," she said. She held out her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

They briefly shook hands. She almost shuddered upon grasping his hand; it was rather cold. After that, she asked him, "And where are you from? British?"

"No. French," he told her, "and you are...?"

"Italian."

"Ah. So are you from Oppidula, or..."

"I'm from Rome, not here."

"I see."

They heard a rustling sound coming from the woods. A figure emerged from the forest, flying as fast as a bullet before dropping right in front of them. It was a boy: short, messy, chocolate brown hair; wide, youthful, coffee brown eyes that matched his round and tan face; and though he was not standing up, Stella could see that he was barely taller than her.

"Jon!"

"Edmond?" the boy exclaimed.

"You know each other?" Stella asked the two, surprised.

"We met last week in Milan," Edmond replied. He held Jon's hand and helped him stand up. He went on, "Jon, this is Stella. Stella, meet Jon."

"Nice to meet you, Jon."

"Nice to meet you too," he said. They shook hands briefly. He then asked, "Did you see someone dragging me when I was flying here?"

"No. I was also dragged here by something," Edmond replied.

"Me too," Stella said.

The three of them exchanged looks. Why on Earth would they be brought to the middle of nowhere? Was there something—or someone—hiding nearby?

"Okay, so all three of us were dragged here to the middle of nowhere. And—I don't know if you've tried yet Jon—we can't get out through the way we came in. I think something's trying to lead us to something," Edmond said.

"But to what? There's nothing here but trees and..." Jon almost uttered something, but paused.

"And?" he urged him to continue. Jon said nothing. He pointed at something behind Edmond and Stella.

It was a derelict building. It was colored off-white, with light green plants crawling up its columns and cracks appearing in its cement walls. The three of them edged closer to the old building. A stained sign, barely holding onto its rusting chains, revealed its name.

Old Port Warehouse

Stella stared at the sign for a while. Had she encountered that name before?

"Should we go in?" Stella asked.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Edmond replied.

"But we're here for a reason, no? I go first," Jon said. He walked several steps ahead of them before he paused, turned around, and walked back to them. "Never mind, you go first."

The trio walked past the pillars. The front gates of the building were bolted shut and boarded up. There was no way they would be able to pass through there. They walked towards the left side and found a much smaller metal door. To their surprise, it was unlocked. They hesitantly walked inside the building. One of them searched for the light switch and flicked it. The lamps switched on one by one; they weren't bright, but they weren't too dim. There was nothing but metal crates and box-like structures draped in white sheets. The walls had cracks and peeling paint. The three looked around, trying to figure out why they were led to the building.

"Look." Jon pointed at two flights of stairs. The one that led to the upper floors was boarded up. The other one remained unblocked but led downstairs into a dark room. He then said, "We're not going down there, no? It must be very dark."

"I don't want to go down there," Edmond said.

"But we can't go out of the forest," Stella reminded him. "Maybe we have to, ehm, go down first and find whatever the force wants us to find."

He sighed. "You two can go ahead."

Jon and Stella exchanged looks. Jon gestured to the stairs with his head. With reluctance, Stella led the way. Jon followed her downstairs while Edmond trailed behind the two of them, glancing over his shoulder every now and then. Once they reached the basement, the latter ran his hand up the wall, searching for a light switch, and then flipped it. The lights switched on. The basement looked exactly like the ground floor, except that it was much emptier. The three continued walking and saw a white sheet covering something on the wall. Jon lifted it and gasped.

"What is it?" asked Stella.

"I think it's a door," Jon said slowly. He pulled the white sheet away to reveal what he found.

What stood before them was a strange wooden structure that had alien symbols carved into it. Though it had no knob, handle, or any clear way to open it, they could tell that it was an entrance of some kind. A charcoal-black handprint was imprinted on the center, and carved above it was a word. Stella read the word in her mind to reveal the name of a place.

Otrâlmondé

"What a door," Stella muttered.

"How do you open it?"

"Should we open it?" Edmond asked. He glimpsed the rest of the room. "Maybe the force just wants us to find the door, and now that we've found it, let's try to go home now."

He turned on his heel and began making his way to the stairwell when a force dragged him back to the door, pulling him by the hem of his shirt. He looked back at the door. "We have to open it."

"Maybe push it," said Jon, as he began pushing against the door. It did not move a single bit.

"Let me help," Edmond said, as he and Jon pushed the door together. It still did not move. "Maybe if we push from one side then it will rotate," he then suggested, placing his hands on the right side of the door. It still refused to open. It did not matter how much force they applied or which side they pushed. It simply would not budge.

"Maybe we can pull it."

"But there's no handle," she said, "just a handprint."

"What handprint?" the two boys asked her simultaneously. Stella stared at the center of the door.

"That handprint," she answered them, as she placed her right hand on it.

The door opened wide and a blinding light shone from the other side.

✧ ✧ ✧

Question Time! What do you think lies on the other side of the door?

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