I was always very inquisitive as a child and I had a wild imagination at times. In the local park there was a long, high wall covered in ivy. It was far too tall for me to see over and the only way to see what was on the other side was to climb the old oak tree nearby or to somehow get through the small door in the middle of the wall. The door was mossy green ancient-looking, but very solid and despite many attempts to open the door, we never managed to pick the lock, even though it always looked so easy in the films.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="213"] Secret Garden © Ben O'Bryan[/caption]
We often wondered what could be on the other side of the door and tried on many occasions to climb the tree but the first branch was out of reach and standing on each other's shoulders never really seemed to work.
Since we couldn't see what was over the wall, we had to let our imaginations fill in the gaps. Between us, we created a range of possibilities. Tales of witches and goblins were not uncommon amongst my friends and we thought that maybe there was a lake with a castle in the middle and that strange little people lived there which explained why the door was so small (about two thirds the size of a normal door, but small enough to fuel our imaginations).
The park gardener said he knew what was on the other side of the door and he also knew that we really did want to know. He used to tell us that there was a haunted house in a dark forest and that nobody had seen the family who lived there in many years. He always smiled when he told us this and so we were never frightened.
I don't remember ever seeing over that wall or seeing that door open even though I visited the park well into my teenage years. I think perhaps the memory of what might have been through that door was too precious to shatter with the view of a vegetable patch or an old greenhouse.
I suspect that if you think hard, maybe not too hard, that there will be a door from your early years that had a big impact on you for one reason or another. Doors protect the mystery of what lies beneath and the appearance of a door can stir a wild imagination.