The Unexpected

I remember the relief. The overwhelming, tear-jerking sense of relief. It was bliss.

I was sitting in a back alley burger joint at the time. The place was neither packed nor empty, just sitting somewhere comfortably in the middle. Average. Yet another which made up the city. I was intently watching rain streak down the windows when a thick accent caught my attention. Here, the presence of tourists always begged the same question: Why would anyone visit Adelaide?

See, I had lived in the same city my whole life. I thought I knew everything there was to know about it, and according to me, there was nothing worth knowing. But this stranger knew something I didn’t; something impossible.

Their words pushed me out of the alleyway and onto Rundle Street. An icy chill had thinned the crowds. It infected my fingertips and sent my hair into the depths of frizzy hell. But I didn’t care. In fact, I didn’t even notice. For underneath a widespread shop window, hidden in plain sight, was a fairy door. It was just as the tourist described. The red paint was peeling like tree bark and grime clung to the stoop. Time had faded the colour, rusted the lock and still, it was beautiful. The very existence of this door astonished me. How could nobody know about this?

Delirious with awe, I ventured inside to quench my curiosity. The shop keeper explained to me the legend of the fairy doors, originally seven in total. Two were destroyed in construction, four forgotten over time. This lone relic was all that remained, it’s purpose a mystery, it’s maker unknown.

The relief coursed through me, a sudden hope that perhaps more treasures lay unbeknownst to me. To this day, I search for the remaining four, fuelled by the secrecy of them. Sometimes, the little red door beckons me, it’s presence a constant reminder that sometimes the best things lie in the most unlikely of places.

So, if you ever find yourself on the coin-dotted concrete of Rundle Street, pay a visit to the fairy door. Don’t let it become lost amongst the attraction of greater cities. And above all else, learn from my mistake. Don’t ever assume to know a place, not completely.