Once upon time there was a village called Wall, so named for the wall that ran alongside it. According to local lore, the wall held an extraordinary secret; an invisible town, said some, the portal to another realm, said others…as time wore on, more and more accepted that nothing lay beyond the wall and it was just that—a wall.
However, one young man, no matter what others said, was determined to learn the wall's secret. And that was how one night he found himself standing in front of the wizened old man guarding the only gap in the wall.
"I'm charged with guarding the portal to another realm and you're asking me to just….let you through?" the old man croaked incredulously.
The young man stared at the older one for a moment and then shrugged, "Yes…because, let's be honest, it's a field."
The younger man gestured to the emptiness on the other side of the barrier, "Do you see another realm out there? No, you see a field. Do you see anything magical? No… you know why?… Because it's a field!"
"This wall has been here for hundreds of years and for each one of those years, this gap has been under 24-hour guard," the old man said staunchly.
"Well—"
"One more word," the old guard said, wagging in finger in the younger man's face, "and I'll have you in front of the village council!"
The young man turned his eyes towards the ground, "Well…that sounds rather final…guess I'll just head home, then."
The old guard nodded and clapped his hand on the young man's shoulder, "Good night, then Rumanus. Give my best to your father."
Rumanus Gold nodded and began walking back towards the village as the old guard moved to his seat besides the gap in the wall—
Without warning, Rumanus turned round and made a running leap through the gap!
"STOP!" the old guard hollered after Rumanus as he ran across the field, ready to discover what lay beyond the wall.
Thoughts?
I got the name Rumanus from eleven19's "Ravenclaw House" (it's excellent, read it—just read everything she wrote, she's brilliant!)
