Everyone in Bramblewick knew that the hill was bare.

Children rolled down its grassy slope in spring, peaceful animals wandered over it in summer, and in winter the same people who rolled down it during summer were found sledding across its steep slope. No one built on it. No one dug there. It was a sacred place for children to play and enjoy their childhood. That was simply how it had always been.

Lisa discovered the door by tripping over it.

Later, she would insist that this detail mattered.

It was early morning, the kind where the world almost feels unfinished. A thick mist hovered over the ground, and the sun hadn’t yet decided to rise. Lisa was already halfway up the hill, playfully chasing after an oddly colored rabbit that was far from home, when suddenly the earth beneath her foot rang - like a hollow plate of metal struck with a stone.

She froze.

Carefully, she brushed away the dirt and moss that concealed the object underneath. Beneath it lay a narrow door that was set directly into the hillside, its surface dark and smooth, etched with faint symbols that shifted when she tried to focus on them. There was no handle. No lock. Just a shallow mark shaped like an open hand.

Lisa’s pulse quickened.

The sensible thing would have been to cover it back up and tell someone that was older. Someone that was wiser.

She did neither.

Instead, she pressed her palm against the dark mark.

The hill breathed.

That was the only way she could describe it - a deep, slow exhale that trembled through the ground. The door offered her hand a warm sensation, almost welcoming her, and with the sound of a moving stone and a satisfying click, it opened inward.

Darkness waited beyond the door.

Not empty darkness, though. It shimmered, speckled with faint points of light, as if a night sky full of stars had been folded into a narrow space. Cool air spilled out, carrying the scent of rain, ash, and something old enough to have a name that no one remembered.

From somewhere far below, a voice spoke her name.

"Lisa."

Lisa pulled her hand back, her heart racing even faster.

She had never been a very special person. To her, she was just a girl standing on a quiet hill, staring into a mysterious door that should not even exist. But then she realized that she was special, and had a very important role to fill.

"Lisa."

Behind her, the village bells began to ring.

In front of her, the darkness shifted, like it was waiting for a response.

Waiting for a final decision to be made.

Lisa breathed deeply, took one step forward-

-and the hill closed behind her.