Deception: Kensei Soegijono (Second Prize

written by Kensei Soegijono, Year 9

Iwalked through the lonely, desolate street, shuddering as I pulled my coat closer to me. I sought the next oasis of light from overhead fluorescents as they fought to keep the choking waves of darkness away. I clutched my coffee in both hands as if my sanity depended on it and shivered. I wished I had brought a warmer coat to protect me from the icy winds. The hoot of an owl, hunting in the vast domain of night, scared me and I flinched, spilling my holy coffee. Cursing at my cowardice, I continued trudging along the cobbled street, one step, two steps. I looked up as I left the light, and entered the dark unknown when I saw... doors?

A wall seemed to appear in front of me with doors on them, each one with words written on it with what seemed like blood. ‘Not scary at all’, ‘Scary’, ‘Very scary’. My heart pounded as I stared at the doors, my feet rooted to the ground. Thousands of thoughts ran through my head. Was that a faint hiss I could hear? The clatter of claws on a hard surface? The crunch of bones being gnawed on? As these thoughts ran through my head, I tried to dismiss them. “Nonsense” I muttered to myself, but even my own voice seemed to echo ominously.

I stayed there for what seemed like forever, wondering which door I should pick. Were the signs telling the truth? Were they tricking me? Did I even need to pick a door? I turned around and froze. More doors? I turned my head from side to side, more frantic with each turn. I was surrounded by doors, and reality hit me. I was stuck unless I picked a door. My stomach churned and my heart seemed to be trying to pound out of my chest as sweat beaded down my face. What was I going to do? My wife, my son and my daughter were waiting at home and my phone had run out of battery.

I looked up at the sky and the stars twinkled cheerfully above me, seemingly oblivious to my problem below. It was a simple choice to choose a door, yet my feet refused to move and my muscles turned to jelly. Why wasn’t anyone nearby? I cried out for help in a futile attempt, yet my calls remained unanswered echoing through the narrow streets, almost like I was talking to myself. I fought back the tears that were threatening to flood my face with despair. “It’s alway doors,” I muttered angrily and threw my hands up in exasperation. Primary school was writing about “the door”. Middle school was writing about a picture with doors on it.

I clenched my fists and scrunched my eyes close. I was going to do it. I was going to open a door. I didn’t care what was behind the doors but I would rather face what was behind the doors than slowly go insane and die of hunger and thirst. What else was I supposed to do? One step at a time, my breath getting faster and faster, my heart beating so fast, I felt like a rock band was playing “The final countdown” in my chest. Three steps, two steps, one more step,

as if I was in a trance, my hand moved from my side and grasped the cold brass doorknob. ‘Very scary’ was written on it and my knees nearly buckled under me in fear. I licked my parched lips and I could already feel the exhaustion setting in.

“I can do this, I can do this” I muttered to myself over and over again as I gripped the doorknob, my knuckles turning white. Was the signs on the doors all a trick? Was I making the wrong choice? I could easily turn back. But maybe that’s what the doors were trying to make me do. Maybe they were trying to mess with my head and trick me into doing nothing. “Nonsense” I scoffed to myself, “Why would doors be trying to trick me?” I shook my head as these thoughts echoed through my head, making me unsure and feel so small. I knew that if I kept waiting, the choice would be harder. So I did it. I turned the now warm doorknob, took a deep breath, the last of many, and walked forward with my eyes shut, praying that there wasn’t anabomination waiting for me on the other side.

I stumbled into an empty, grey, monochromatic room and as my hand unclenched on the doorknob, the door closed with a loud BANG. I screamed in fear, expecting something to come lunging out of the darkness and take my head off in one swipe. I cracked an eye and was about to relax when I saw... god damn it, another door! Another scream let loose from my lips and my exhaustion was replaced with anger. Who was doing this? Was this some sort of sick prank? I looked around the empty room and my eyes fell on a piece of paper in the middle of the room. Was this some sort of game? Was this like a movie set I accidentally walked onto? Is someone trying to deceive me into walking to my own death? I slowly approached the note and reached for it with caution expecting it to bite my hand off. The door did say very scary after all.

I grabbed the note and read it. “Congratulations! You totally picked the best door to pick! Now all you need to do is go through the next door and try to survive and handle whatever is in there. Try not to die!! The clue to what it is is ‘It is man’s most loyal and loved soldier.’” Man’s most loyal and loved soldier? Was it this guy’s sons? Maybe this guy was a general in the army and was going to pick one of his soldiers! I racked my brain trying to think what it could be but drew a blank. No sense crying over spilt milk I thought. I was already here and there wasn’t anything I could do to change that fact.

I felt a sense of deja vu as I trudged to the next door and grabbed the doorknob. I was probably going to hate doors after this, I smirked and twisted the door. That’s when I froze. I heard a low growl from the other side of the door and the sound of paws padding on the ground. Was it a tiger or jackal? Maybe some “frankenstein” creation that this person made? Fear overcame me again, a feeling I was now well acquainted with and my stomach churned. Was this some sort of trick? What was happening? I didn’t do anything!

Tears rolled down my face and the world became a blur. This was going to be the end. I had always been a coward and never took responsibility for my actions. I knew that if I was going to die, I would do it my way, opening the door and facing whatever was in front of me. My choice.

My will. My responsibility. I took a deep breath and walked forward for maybe the last time and to face whatever insidious creation that was waiting for me. If I ever get out of this, I’m going to have a phobia of doors I told myself.

As I walked through the door, a sense of calm and peace overcame me, surprising me. Maybe I knew this was going to be the end. The door opened fully and I walked through, fists raised when a huge body slammed into me. I shut my eyes in fear and squealed like a baby. Maybe I wasn’t as calm and collected as I thought and I felt the hot breath of whatever was on me. I slowly opened my eyes and came face to face with a huge, slobbery, SCARY ... dog? I struggled up and I saw a St. Bernard leaning over me, its tail wagging as it licked me playfully. I let out a laugh as I realised that all this time, the growl, the pad of paws, was just this huge St Bernard. I stared into his warm brown eyes and as I looked behind him, I saw an open door, leading to the street in front of my house. What was happening? How was this possible? I had somehow made it to my house by crossing through 2 rooms! Was I drugged?

I struggled up and tried to get the dog to follow me. My kids had always wanted a dog but I always told them no. This would be a great surprise I thought as I imagined the smiles on their faces. What else was I supposed to do with this dog? I walked out of the room with the St Bernard and the room disappeared behind me. Good riddance, I thought to myself as I approached the door to my house. I stared at the door, my heart beating as I imagined how my wife would reprimand me about how late I had come home when I laughed out loud. What was I to be scared off? If I could open those doors, I definitely could open this door and handle what was on the other side.

I pushed through the door open and called “Honey I’m home!” She stormed down the stairs looking an angry look plastered on her face when she suddenly saw the dog behind me. “What were you doing!?” She asked me, a puzzled expression replacing the angry one on her face. “I got you guys a present.” I replied and called my kids down. When they saw the dog, they squealed and ran forward, caressing the huge dog’s long fur. The dog rolled over and the kids laughed. I smiled at my wife and she smiled at me. Looks like I was forgiven, I thought when she came forward and punched my arm. “I was so worried about you! I thought you had been mugged! After all, we all know how bad you are at everything!” She said and I realised that she was angry because she was worried about me. “Hey!” I laughed and put my hand over her shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll always be here. I’ll be fine.” I whispered and she looked at me again and smiled at me as she whispered “I know you old donkey.”

“How did you get the dog dad?” my son asked me, interrupting the moment. “Well, let’s just say I found it on the streets,” I replied, laughing. That was sort of the truth, I told myself and looked at my family smiling, laughing, and generally being happy. That was the last thing I saw as I lay on the sofa, collapsed with exhaustion and let the warm embrace of sleep engulf me. As I slipped into unconsciousness, I heard a faint voice. Another man’s voice that seemed to be coming from outside. “Looks like my brother fell for it, what an idiot.” the voice said. The voice continued with a sinister note of amusement, “The job is done. We got the ‘dog’ in. It’s time. As Jim Sanborn said, ‘Deception is everywhere’...” Wait what?