The Passage

The world has been a very different place since the advent of teleportation. It was first discovered before I was born, but as far as I'm aware, it was almost sold as a novelty, as a way of sending each other real objects in real time. Almost everyone would have some sort of small teleportation device, often made to be concealed inside of something else, often inside of a small case. These teleports quickly developed the name 'Passages', which is now what they are known as. Of course, humans being humans, we always wanted to create a bigger and better Passage, and of course, we found a way.

As the Passages got bigger, so did the power that countries had over one another and only within a few years, the tragic incident known as 'The Sinking of Ikaria' took place. Ikaria was a small Greek Island before a Passage was used to transport it to the bottom of the ocean. After the disastrous event took place, all of the world's governments wouldn't take responsibility for what happened. It was eventually just mutually agreed upon that it was an accident, but that decision wasn't reached until after the war began.

As you can probably guess, an event as big as a whole Greek Island being sunk, would cause global pandemonium, which is what happened. The world went to war, for the fourth time. This time, however, the use of Passages made battles a lot less personal and the death toll began to climb. A weapon could be fired in one country and the fatality would occur in another. A bomb could be passed through a Passage and then detonated. The war was bloody, it was long, and many civilians lost their lives. I guess it is easier to kill innocent people when you can't actually see who you are shooting at, instead you are shooting into the large, black abyss of a Passage. The war raged for many years and just as 'The Sinking of Ikaria' started the war, 'The Separation of Europe' ended it.

I think everyone knew throughout the war that the world's militaries would try and outdo each other and create bigger and better Passages, but no one expected them to get that big. It took the world by surprise when the Passage opened up through the centre of Europe and teleported it to the other side of the world. This huge act of war then sparked what was the left of the world's governments to quickly reach an agreement and end the long, pointless war.

Even with the war ended, the world is still in chaos and the countless lives that were lost can never be replaced. The world has changed and there is no going back. Sure, all Passages are now monitored, meaning that nothing can be passed through them without first having to be cleared by a security team, but that doesn't reverse all of the causalities. Passages are now rarely used and are pretty only used now by the rich and by the powerful, but that doesn't mean you can't gain access to them, just not legally. The risk that you take though, gaining access to an illegal Passage, is death. That is the world that I now live in, one where the use of Passages can cost you your life. But, my story doesn't begin here, it truly began a few years ago, just before 'The Separation'.

Living in Europe at the time was incredibly volatile and you didn't know if you would survive the day. Walking down the street could cost you your life. There were countless stories of people walking down a quiet street when suddenly the dark opening of a passage would appear and a few bullet rounds would pass through, then the passage would disappear again, leaving behind a lifeless body.

It was these stories that prompted my mother to try and move across the continent and try and reach a safe destination. I think that she thought that a less populated country would mean a lower chance of falling victim to the war. So, we would constantly move from place to place, trying to avoid any battles and by always moving, we managed to avoid a lot of the horrors of the war.

Our journey began at the start of the war, and it began with my mother sitting me down, explaining that we needed to move away from our home. She looked me in the eyes, as I was sitting down in front of her, and as she was explaining the situation, I felt her warm hand grab onto mine. As she grabbed my hand, I felt something cold and metallic pass from her hand into mine. I looked down at what she had just placed into my palm, and I saw a small, golden heart-shaped locket. It was only the size of walnut, but it felt weighty inside of my small hand. As I looked down at the locket, I heard my mother's voice begin to say,

"If, on our journey, you ever need me, then this locket is the way to reach me. No matter what happens, the locket is a passage between me and you".

I didn't know exactly what the locket was for until after 'The Separation', which not only saw the separation of a whole continent, but also of me and my mother.

Our journey had led us through France, Belgium and we had reached Germany, without seeing too much bloodshed. We managed to sneak our way through the German countryside, and we actually thought we had found peace on the Germany/Poland border. We had discovered an abandoned farmhouse that my mother and I lived in for a few weeks. Life seemed to settle, we got to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine and I especially loved the red carnation flowers that grew in the paddock. I think we became too optimistic because we started to return to life as normal inside the farmhouse. We were away from the war and away from our worries.

It was a cold morning on the day that it happened. It was still early, and my mother had gotten up and went outside to the large paddock that sat directly behind the farmhouse. I remember waking up, looking out the farmhouse window, watching my mother standing in the paddock, eyes closed and breathing out the steam that is formed when warm breathe hits the cold air. My mother had her eyes closed and so she hadn't noticed me watching her and she definitely didn't notice the large, gaping black hole that opened up around her. The darkness of the abyss that opened up around my mother blocked out any other light that was previously there. The black was never ending, and it stretched out as far as I could see, both along the horizon and up into the sky. As quickly as the blackness appeared, it also went away, leaving behind nothing.

The paddock was now torn in half, a long stretch of cliff now lay where it had once been land. I could hear the sound of waves hitting the side of the cliff, which shouldn't be able to happen because we were supposed to be inland. That was no longer the case, the huge Passage that opened in front of me had taken everything, the land, the paddock and my mother.

I didn't know what had happened to her for a long time. I was forced to fend for myself from that moment on. It wasn't until about six months later that I even knew that my mother was alive. It was my birthday when I discovered that she had survived. I had completely forgotten it was even my birthday, maybe because I lost track of days or maybe I just didn't want to remember, but she did. It was around mid-afternoon when I felt the burning through my chest. At first, I didn't know what it was, but when I looked down and saw the heart-shaped locket, I knew that the heat was emanating from within the locket. It was beginning to slightly burn my chest and when I reached out and grabbed the locket, I felt the warmth spread to my fingers. I felt for the small clasp that held the locket closed, unclasped it and spread open the locket. Inside I saw the same darkness that I had seen swallow my mother, this time though, it was a lot smaller. It was a passage, only a small one, the same size as the locket. Before I could process what was happening, I saw something emerge from within the passage. A single, red carnation flower. My favourite.

I knew instantly who this was from. My mother. It was a sign that she was alive. She must have survived 'The Separation', and this was her way of showing me that she was safe. My smile was bright, and I felt a tear slide down my face as I stared at the red flower that was in my hand. My smile faded quickly though, as I remembered the dangers of using a Passage. I knew that since 'The Separation', any use of an illegal Passage was now forbidden and could cost you your life. I quickly shut the still warm locket and stuffed it back inside of my shirt, looked around to make sure no one had seen me with it, and breathed a sigh of relief when I realised that no was around. I just hoped that my mother had been careful. She was always cautious, so I just had to believe that she had kept herself safe while using it.

It wasn't until the next year, when I felt the locket start to heat up once again that I knew that my mother had remained safe. I checked to make sure no one else was around, got out the locket, opened it and just as I did, another red carnation appeared from within the dark Passage. This tradition continued for another few years. Every year I would be reminded that it was my birthday from the warmth and heat that I felt through my chest and every year I would receive the same thing. A red carnation. It was a sign that my mother was still alive. I didn't know whether or not I would ever see her again, but her yearly presents always gave me hope that she was safe.

It was on the sixth year of these gifts that I felt the heat once more and so opened the heart-shaped locket. I waited for the flower to emerge from within. I waited a while, the dark abyss staring at me as I stared at it, waiting for it to spit out a red flower. I waited and waited and I as I gave up hope, I dropped the locket back onto my chest. Just as I did, I saw the bullet emerge from the Passage. At first, I thought I had been shot and the bullet had gone straight through me. It was when the pain didn't ever arrive that I knew where it had come from.

I was just about to close the locket, to try and stop anything else coming through, when I saw the dark hole slowly shrink and then disappear entirely. That was the last time that I ever saw the Passage.

I don't really know what happened to my mother that day, I don't think I wanted to know, but I could only guess that she wasn't so careful that year. I do miss the warmth of the locket on my birthday, I wish to feel it one more time, but I just know that it is a feeling I won't feel again. The Passage has never reopened and I don't think it ever will. Instead, inside of the heart-shaped locket, sits a red carnation. A constant reminder of my mother.