Why would God play such a cruel joke on her?
It didn’t make sense—-
And it shouldn’t.
She swallowed. It was stupid and unfair to blame God for her mental lapse. She was probably too hungry, too sleep-deprived, and too stressed – the combination of it had proved too much that for one moment, she had snapped.
But at least now she was back to her senses, Ever thought numbly.
She wasn’t crazy.
She was still alive.
“Yippee.” It should have come out cheerful and celebratory, but instead it spilled tonelessly past her lips. The weight of her existence bore down on Ever, and it was almost like a physical burden that her back actually started to bend—-
Her hands slammed flat on the carpeted floor, Ever actually needing to keep herself from falling down.
Her fingers curled hard, turning gray with dust.
You’re wasting your time here, she told herself. It was time to get up, take the books she needed, and get on with the rest of her life.
Ever started to push herself up, her hands sliding forward on the dusty carpet, and that was when she felt it. Something hard and solid, like—-
Tightening her fingers around the object, she brought it up to her gaze.
Oh.
It was a crystal key, literally and figuratively, small enough to fit the palm of her hand. It was made entirely of glass, with the head shaped like a heart.
What kind of key was this, she wondered.
Standing up with the key in hand, she dusted herself off and cast one last glance around her. It would have been nice if it had been real, she thought wistfully. But maybe, that moment was enough. To have but a taste of what it was like to hope, to dream—-
Her eyes narrowed.
Was that light coming from the very end of the room, behind the rows of shelves?
Here we go again, Ever.
She rubbed her eyes, told herself to stop dreaming, and glanced at it again.
The streak of light on the floor was still there, and it almost seemed like it was moving, with the rays of light moving across the walls, to the ceiling, to the shelves, and then back on the floor again.
Here we go again indeed, she thought with a nearly hysterical laugh, and yet her feet had already begun to move on its own. Her legs trembled as she walked, and even though she kept telling herself it wasn’t real, her heart was once again beating hard while goosebumps pumped all over her skin.
When will you ever learn, Ever?
She stopped right before the last shelf. Behind it was less than two feet of empty space and the wall, and yet—-
That seemed where the light was coming from.
Ever took a deep breath.
She placed one foot in front of her, and as her shoe landed on the sliver of light on the carpeted floor, the crystal key in her hand began to tingle, causing her to gasp.
What was happening?
The crystal key was vibrating so hard against her hand, it was almost like it was itching to free itself from her grasp.
Something was really happening now, Ever thought dazedly.
She took another step forward and turned towards where the light was coming from.
Oh!
A door, its edges ablaze with light, was outlined in the shadows.
She looked down on the crystal key and everything almost made crazy sense.
Ever took a step closer.
Oh!
She could hear it again. That music—-
Ever took another step closer.
The music became more defined, and now she could even hear the sound of guests laughing and dancing.
Another step closer—-
Oh, oh, this time she could actually smell the sweet scent of a mild winter breeze, and her knees shook hard because today was the first day of May, and England was deep in spring.
One last step, and this time she was close enough to see the black knob, almost invisible as it shared the same shade with the rest of the door.
Ever swallowed.
If the crystal key worked –
Where it would lead?
Would there be a way to come back?
This is dangerous, Ever.
But—-
What if...what if God had heard her prayers and this was the doorway to the Underworld?
What was there to lose?
Ever raised a trembling hand. She held her breath as she slowly tried sliding the key into place.
Oh!
It fit perfectly, the two teeth at the end of locking into place inside the knob.
She turned the key, and there was a clicking sound as the door was unlocked.
Ever opened the door, and the rising notes of Edvard Grieg’s masterpiece danced about her, gloriously and incandescently beautiful.
She began to cry.
Whether this was real or unreal—-
Whether she was crazy or not—-
It no longer mattered.
Ever stepped into the door—-
And she began to fall.
Hades and Persephone
In the underworld, no other structure could rival the breathtaking magnificence of the lord’s castle. Situated on top of the realm’s tallest mountain, it had been built to naturally accommodate the rugged outline of the land. Hanging gardens were built next to small natural waterfalls while giant branches of ancient trees had been turned into shelves in the library and in the grand courtyard, where children were allowed to play, swings had been suspended from the trees’ mighty arms.