Doorway to Eden

Doorway to Eden

"Good morning. Do you realize you've been asleep for fifty years?"

The young woman blinked several times and looked around to get her bearings, only to find that she was lying on a soft bed in an all-white hospital room. Finally, her eyes landed on the nurse standing beside her. "I have?"

"Oh, yes," the nurse said, patting her arm. "According to Jack, one of our co-directors, you were hit by a bus fifty years ago and were admitted to Eden in a coma. The doctors at the time felt you had a better chance of reviving later if they placed you in cryogenic sleep."

The woman nodded slowly, absorbing the news. "I...see."

"We waited until Eden's cryogenic recovery technology was operating at a hundred percent, and now we have revived you. But don't worry, dear, we've taken good care of you. You can trust us. Now, do you remember your name?"

The woman stared at the wall for a second before answering, "Mary."

The nurse smiled. "I'm sure Jack will assign you to a region when he arrives, Mary. How are you feeling?"

"I...I think I'm okay," Mary answered. "To be honest, I'm a little confused."

"I'm not surprised," the nurse said. "Don't worry, Mary, Jack will explain everything. The one thing you need to know is that you can trust us. We will never harm you. You are safe with us...if you cooperate and give us a chance."

Mary's eyes narrowed at the statement, but before she could reply, a tall man with black hair appeared in the doorway. "Well, good morning to you both," he greeted them. "Nurse, how is our patient recovering from her long sleep?"

"Very well, Jack. She says her name is Mary. Mary, this is one of our co-directors, Jack."

He smiled at her. "Welcome to Eden, Mary. First thing we need to do is get you situated. I'm sure you have a number of questions about this place."

Mary nodded. "Yes, actually I do...."

"Of course you do, but that will have to wait until a more appropriate time. Right now we need to find out what types of activities you enjoy so we can assign you to a region of Eden."

She quickly closed her mouth at his interruption. "Well, I...I suppose I like cooking...."

"Then we'll assign you to the Orchard where all of our food preparation is done. Unfortunately, we already have a resident in the Orchard named Mary, but would you be happy with the name Marian?"

"But my name is..." she started, then stopped as he arched an eyebrow at her. "Yes, I like the name Marian."

"I'm glad to hear that," Jack replied. "Do you think you can stand?" Mary swung her legs over the side of the bed and rose on shaky legs. Jack grabbed her arm tightly in his hand to steady her.

"Thank you," she said.

He nodded curtly and placed his arm around her back, then whispered some directions to the nurse and led Mary into a colorful hallway. "I suppose you would like to know about Eden. We are an experimental utopia that was built many years ago to protect our inhabitants. We are completely sealed off from the outside."

"You don't have any contact with those in the world?"

He quickly shook his head. "None. We support ourselves and only ourselves."

Mary was about to say more but once again stopped herself as she saw a grim expression on Jack's face. Instead, she asked, "I was hit by a bus?"

His face relaxed. "Yes, you were brought here many years ago by a man named John. We placed you in cryogenic sleep until you could be safely revived."

"That's what the nurse said," Mary answered. After a pause she added, "John...he's my husband."

"Oh," Jack said. "You love your husband?"

She nodded. "Of course I do. I love him very much. I trust him. Is he...is he here?"

Jack looked away. "No. I'm sorry, Marian, he's not here. After he gave you to us, he left."

Mary's face fell. "Oh. Where is...?" she started, but Jack quickly interrupted.

"Anyway, Eden is divided into many different regions, each of which has a different function for the society. One region specializes in medicine, another in technology, and so on. The Orchard, where I've assigned you, specializes in food production and preparation. You may walk between regions as you desire; and, if you ever wish to move to another region, I can arrange it for you. Everything you will ever need has been provided for you in the Orchard. You can do anything you want. You will be of service to the rest of Eden, and you will never be unhappy." He placed an icy hand on her shoulder. "As the nurse told you, you must trust us, Marian. We will never do anything to harm you. Eden is a very successful utopia, and everyone is happy. Do you believe me?" Jack asked. He smiled again as she turned her face toward him.

"I'm not...." Her voice trailed off as she noticed something on the wall behind him. "What is...? Is this a door? What's on the other side?"

"I don't see a door," Jack answered.

"There's a door here." Mary broke away from him and ran a finger over a barely visible seam.

"Marian, I'm sorry, but that's not a door." When she didn't answer, he gripped her shoulder. "Please trust me, Marian, there is no door there."

She stared at the wall another moment, then at him. "But.... Very well."

"Good. Now, please, let's go to the Orchard."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A week later, Jack received a call from a security guard to report to the hallway where he and Mary had talked. When he arrived, he found her standing in the hallway, staring at the wall. "Marian?"

She turned to him with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I have to leave. You've left me no choice. I have to find my husband."

"But Marian, why? You can't be unhappy here, can you?"

"My name is Mary, not Marian, Jack."

He shook his head. "Very well, whatever you want. But why? Please don't leave."

"What is on the other side of this door?" she asked once again, pointing to the wall.

Jack sighed. "Absolutely nothing."

"So you admit that there is a door here?" she countered.

"Mary, there is not a door there."

She bit her lip, fighting back tears. "Why won't you answer my question?"

Jack stared at her incredulously. "Fine! Fine! Yes, there's a door there! Now please...don't."

Finally, a tear slipped down her cheek. "Why did you lie to me, Jack?"

Shaking his head, he said, "Mary, your family and friends are all dead. Your husband isn't here because he's dead. We saved your life by bringing you here. We are your family now. We will do anything for you; we will let you do anything. All we ask in return is that you do not go through this door. Why do you mistakenly believe you must do this one thing that we ask you not to do?"

Mary was taken aback by the explanation. She closed her eyes, then said, "But why did you lie to me about this door?"

Jack sighed again and rubbed his eyes. "I lied because there is nothing on the other side. The world around us was destroyed in a nuclear war fifty years ago and is now a wasteland. We at Eden are the last survivors on the planet. I told you there was no door here because I didn't want you to be sad about what happened to our world. Don't leave--we want you to stay. Trust me, if you stay you will grow to like it here. You must believe me!"

"How can I possibly believe you now?" she asked, her face pleading with him to satisfactorily answer her question. When he made no further reply, she looked down at the wedding ring on her left hand. "I can't be certain what you tell me about the world is true, Jack."

Jack closed his eyes. "You will die, Mary."

"I've given this a lot of thought, Jack, and I'm determined. Now please, open the door."

"You know that if I open that door for you, you can never come back in."

She brushed away a tear. "I understand that, Jack. While I would love this place under other circumstances, I simply cannot live in a place where I cannot trust. You must understand that. Please, open the door."

Jack sighed, his head sagging down on his chest. "Very well." He walked toward the door and removed a key from his pocket, then inserted it into a hidden hole in the wall. A second later the door opened a crack and Jack pleaded with her one last time, "You don't have to do this, Mary."

She placed a hand on his arm. "Yes, I do, Jack. Thank you."

"Good-bye, Mary," Jack said. He watched her another moment, then turned away before she could open the door any further.

Once he was gone, Mary opened the door. In a sudden burst of wind, she was pulled outside and the door slammed shut behind her. A quick glance back at the door revealed that it was sealed. Not a seam was visible. There was no readmittance to Eden. She took a deep breath and examined her surroundings.

On the horizon, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing.

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