Clove Pepper

Do you know the story of Pandora's Box? According to legend, it contained all the evils of the world. And once opened, Pandora unfortunately could not stuff it all back in, which is why the world is as it is today. (For whatever reason in these old stories it is always a woman who brings evil into the world...)

Why am I telling you this? It's about the green door, of course. You have overwhelmingly voted to open it. So it would be easy to blame it all on you. But in truth, of course, it was mainly my own curiosity that wouldn't let me rest. Last night, I just couldn't fall asleep. I only wanted to get a glass of water, but when I was in the kitchen, I knew that this was the perfect moment. I peeked over to the fireplace room to make sure the others were asleep. Suddenly, I felt my heartbeat pounding through my skull.

I had to push hard until the handle moved. With a far too loud noise, the door popped open a crack. The first thing that hit me was a smell - musty, sweetish, and somehow spicy in an exciting way. A bit like clove pepper. I had a flashlight at hand, but I didn't need it. A soft violet-blue glow illuminated something like a corridor, but after just a step or two it went no further. There was something blocking the way. Everything was covered with a branchy and squiggly network that emitted this violet glow. Behind it, structures and shapes could be guessed, but they seemed to be constantly changing, almost as if looking into the maw of a gigantic creature. I cautiously took a step inside. The floor was soft and slippery and the spicy smell enveloped me thick and heavy. Hesitantly, I reached out to the glowing, fleshy structure that overgrew the walls and grew so tight in front of me that it was impossible to move forward. It felt warm, moist and slimy. I shuddered, but forced myself not to avert my eyes. And suddenly I realized what it was. Mushrooms. Hundreds, if not thousands, large and small, sprawling in a vast tangle from the walls, the turquoise caps covered with those glowing purple squiggles. And I knew at once that I had seen such a mushroom before.

Panting, I slammed the door. Made sure the others were still sound asleep. Tore open the windows to get the musty smell out of the kitchen. Maybe some of you can't understand my reaction. Many are new here. If you want to understand, feel free to go mushroom hunting in our archives. Read what events were set in motion after the last time such a mushroom was seen in our house. Then you will understand why I didn't find any sleep that night.

Under no circumstances must Leo find out about it. And also with Till old wounds could break up again. The only problem is that the door is so green and so hard to keep a secret. And if I somehow hide or block it, I'll only draw more attention to it. Right now, the best option seems to be just to pretend that nothing happened and hope that the others continue to ignore the door. I do my best, but I have to admit that the whole thing makes me very nervous.