Surprising Doorways

By Johanna Rothman

Would you like the chance to visit another world? Maybe see a glimpse of an alternative reality?

 

In this genre-spanning short story collection, Johanna Rothman brings you five original short stories. Each story offers you a chance to visit another place. She set some of these stories in places she's visited. She set other stories in places she'd like to visit—maybe with protection.

 

Read stories about people who persevere, even if they're confused for the moment. No fools and plenty of smarts to figure out what to do next.

And they enjoy themselves along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: QSW Publishing
• Release date: Mar 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393791140

Johanna Rothman

Johanna Rothman, known as the “Pragmatic Manager,” provides frank advice for your tough problems. She helps leaders and teams see problems and resolve risks and manage their product development. Johanna is the author of more than ten books and hundreds of articles. Find her two blogs at jrothman.com and createadaptablelife.com.

Book preview

Surprising Doorways

Surprising Doorways

A Portal Short Story Collection

Johanna Rothman

QSW Publishing

Contents

Introduction

Life Is Good

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

From the Dark Into the Light

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Decisions at the Hideaway

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

What’s Missing in Unity

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Risk Management

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

About Johanna

Also by Johanna Rothman

Introduction

I love the idea of a full gas tank, ready to drive me (almost) anywhere I want to go. And the places I went here? All portals—entries to another dimension. Sometimes, another world.

Regardless of where we travel—even if we only travel in our minds—we often learn along the way. We learn about ourselves. We might learn about new worlds or ideas. And if we’re really lucky, we learn about others.

Which is why I chose to write five original short stories about portals. What better way to examine all these possibilities?

I went for diversity, not sticking to one genre. Why? I had too much gas in my writing tank. So I spanned genres. While I was at it, I traveled to a variety of locations I’d visited before—and some I would love to visit. I’d like to meet all these characters in real life. Okay, maybe just most of them. Or all of them if I had protection.

I hope you enjoy these stories. I had fun writing them.

Johanna Rothman

Life Is Good

Prologue

Under a bright sunny sky, the late spring sun low enough that she had to lean her head back a little, Mandy Stone drove her small electric SUV deftly down Route 128 in Waltham, Massachusetts. Bopping along to the radio, singing the words to Celebration as loudly as she could.

The highway was icy from the earlier snowfall, but now, the sun was out and she was in heaven.

She felt proud of herself. She’d just closed her biggest deal ever, as a salesperson. She could almost taste the zeros that would be in her checking account in just a couple of weeks, when the service team installed the product.

She’d worn her lucky deep maroon pinstripe suit with a silky white shirt and her low black boots. Those boots never showed the salt—which was good, because she’d had to brush off the salt on her slacks from the client’s sidewalks before she’d started to drive.

When she’d first started out as a salesperson, she’d worn her old ski jacket. Now, she wore a much warmer long navy blue coat with a hood. No need for a hat and the inevitable hat head.

Mandy was a great salesperson and if she had to use her looks to get a sale? That was fine with her. She wore her sleek black hair either gathered in a long tail or in a put-together bun. Today, she wore the pony tail. She wasn’t above using her big blue eyes and eyelashes to bring a client to the sale.

She only had to use her brain with this client. Which meant life was very good.

No. Life was great.

She saw a double truck-trailer ahead of her, the rear of the double swinging a little from side to side. She stopped singing and frowned. Why would anyone in any mind try to drive a double trailer on this part of 128? Especially on a day like today? With snow?

She was pretty sure they were supposed to park in various places outside this stretch of highway. She remembered one such place on the Mass Pike.

Well, that was fine. She’d just slow down a little and see when she could safely pull out. She eased off the gas. Her SUV shimmied a little.

Must be black ice. Given the rate of the temperature dropping, she wasn’t surprised.

The sun went behind a cloud.

She actually felt the temperature drop inside the car.

That’s when Mandy felt a hard push from behind. She glanced in her mirror—a black truck was pushing her forward.

Her SUV jerked forward, her foot pushing the gas pedal.

The double-trailer fishtailed.

She was headed straight to its side.

She didn’t have a chance to hit the brakes. Or have time for regrets.

Chapter 1

Four wooden armchairs sat against each of three walls with a few inches of space between each chair. The fourth wall, to her right, had a lectern with a low lamp on it.

Although, she wasn’t sure why there was a lamp on the lectern. There was plenty of light from the recessed ceiling lights. The lights were steady and bright—no flickering.

She’d been in too many corporate settings where the recessed lights did flicker. Or where someone turned them down. Or something.

She smelled a lovely scent of pine. That reminded her of Cape Cod.

Which was strange, because hadn’t she been in Waltham earlier? There was a big difference between the Cape and Waltham. And she didn’t see any windows.

This wasn’t a doctor’s office, although it had the waiting-room feel of a doctor’s office. No tables with magazines—just the chairs. And those wacko motivational posters on the walls.

The one opposite her read Dare You to Change: Too Late Now, Sucker. On the left was, Your Soul Belongs to Me, with a red sarcastic smiley face. On the right side of the change poster was The Future: Not for You.

Sort of depressing. To be honest, better than the real motivational posters she saw at her clients’ offices.

Mandy fixed a smile on her face. She was still wearing her lucky suit and her fabulous boots. No coat, so she must have hung it somewhere. She’d have to find it before she left.

An older man with white hair and a long white beard wearing a short-sleeve tie-dye t-shirt, faded blue jeans, with the telltale squeak of sandals walked up to the lectern. He pulled out a clipboard with a paper on it.

She thought he looked like an aging hippie. She hadn’t seen the door he walked through—it was almost as if he just appeared/

He looked at a piece of paper on a clipboard, and asked, Ms. Stone? He had a lovely baritone voice.

She looked around. She was still the only one in the room.

That’s me, she said.

Excellent, I’m Peter, he said. Please walk up to the lectern.

She stood up and took one step forward. Right here? Is this where you want me?

Yes.

She shivered, even though the room wasn’t cold. Why did she have to stand in front of the lectern? A little creepy.

So far, none of this made sense to her.

Ms. Stone, I regret to inform you that you are dead.

I am not! I’m standing here, very much alive!

He sighed. I really wish everyone would go through a debrief before I get them, he said in an undertone. No Ms. Stone, you are dead. You died in an accident on the highway earlier today.

Mandy looked down at herself. Then she looked up. I appear to be all here, she said. Did you check your records? Are you sure I’m dead? My clothes look fine. I’m not bleeding anywhere. I appear to be all put together. What makes you think I’m dead?

You’re on my list, he intoned.

Please check your list again, she said.

Let me see, he said. Seeger, Simon, Stone. Yes, there you are.

Mandy Stone?

Uh, he said and paused. Miriam Stone.

She smiled. You’ve got the wrong Ms. Stone, then. You can ship me back and not worry about a thing. You can bring Miriam Stone here, wherever we are. Mandy prided herself on her problem-solving sales conversations.

Not really, he said. Once we have you, you have to stay here.

Really? There’s no going backwards to rectify a mistake? Only going forward?

He smiled at her, a smile that made her shiver a little more.

She took a step backward.

Please, he said. Stay right here.

She took a deep breath in and walked