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Paige pressed her back against the wall and slid down to sit on the hard dirt. She drew her knees into her chest and buried her head.
After a few moments of pouting, she lifted her head and climbed to stand, brushing herself off. “No. No time for a pity party. I have to keep going.”
She retrieved the sword from the ground and balanced it in her hoodie’s kangaroo pocket before she scrambled up the wall again. She’d made it closer to the glowing center, but over half the journey still remained.
From her perch, she tried to scout a path. “Right, left, right, right, left, right…” She narrowed her eyes, squinting to see into the distance for another break in the wall. “No use. I’ll have to climb up again after those directions.”
She slid down the wall, repeating them to herself. She murmured the directions under her breath as she went right at the first opening, then left at the second. She flicked her gaze to the sky as she tried to recall where she was in her steps.
The directions flitted through her mind again as she froze, trying to determine which way to go next.
“Already did right, left, so now…” She swung her finger to the right. “Two rights, left, right.”
She finished the set of directions she’d spied earlier, finding herself faced with a long passageway with no openings. After a climb of the wall, she found no gaps.
“Oh, great!” Paige said, flinging her hands in the air. “Another dead end. Are you kidding?”
She leapt from the wall and landed on her feet below, tumbling onto her hands to steady herself. “Ouch, dang it!”
She kicked the wall in frustration after collecting herself.
“Ouch!” a voice called.
Paige’s heart skipped a beat, and she scanned the area. “Hello? Is someone there?”
“I ought not to answer you after you kicked me.”
Paige wrinkled her nose at the statement. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you. Where are you?”
Eyes opened in the wall and studied her. “Here. You kicked me. Do you often go about kicking doors?”
Paige stumbled back a step, drawing her chin back and widening her eyes as she studied the face in the wall. “Uh, no. Not usually. I’m just frustrated.”
“That does not give you the right to kick others.” The eyes traveled up and down her length. “At your age, you should know that.”
“Sorry. I didn’t… Where I come from, doors don’t talk. Or have feelings.”
“Oh? And how do you know? Have you spoken with many of them?”
“Well, no, but–“
“Then you don’t know. You probably ignore them completely. Walk past them without a word. Possibly even slam them.”
The door squeezed its eyes closed in horror.
“U-uh,” Paige stammered. “Look, I’m really sorry about the kick. I just– I need to find my way to the center of this labyrinth, and I’m stuck. And I really need to get back to my friend and get out of this place.”
The door focused on her again. With a sigh, it responded, “Oh, all right, I suppose I shall accept your apology. But do be careful next time, will you?”
“Of course.” Paige nodded. “So, umm, are there many of you doors in this place?”
“How should I know? I’m stuck here.”
“Oh, right,” Paige said, cocking her head. “Do you happen to lead closer to the center?”
“I don’t know that either. Though it cannot hurt to try.”
“If I don’t go through you, I’m stuck. So, I guess I’ll try it.”
