Chapter One: The Cracks in Reality
"The world is too boring to stay here
Maybe someday we'll find a place there
Where nobody rules over anyone
And everyone lives as equal as one "
The world outside Ethan’s window was gray, cold, and broken just like everything inside his
small, crumbling house.
Downstairs, the sound of shouting slammed through the thin walls again. His father’s slurred voice, thick with anger and drink, roared at his mother.
Another fight , the third this week. Ethan stopped tightening the last bolt on his broken
mechanical bird and clenched his fists, wishing he could drown out the noise.
"If you didn’t waste all your time whining, maybe we’d have some money!" his father yelled,
followed by the heavy crash of a chair tipping over.
Ethan knew it is better to stay in his room . Because His father would be drunk, furious, and looking for someone to blame.
He looked down at the twisted mess of wires and gears in front of him.
"Maybe it's not the bird that's broken," Ethan thought bitterly. "Maybe it?'s the whole world that's broken and no one’s trying to fix it."
Ever since his father had lost everything to gambling , the house, the savings, even the car , life had
been a battlefield. Poverty was their daily reality now: ripped shoes, secondhand clothes, empty plates.
And school was no escape either
.
Kids like Victor Hunt made sure of that.
Victor, with his perfect shoes, his shiny new phone, and his endless gang of rich friends, loved finding new ways to humiliate Ethan.
"In a world built for the rich, kids like me are just reminders of what they want to forget," Ethan thought, bitterness curling in his chest.
But tonight, something changed.
As he tightened another screw on the mechanical bird, he overheard his mother’s voice, soft and trembling through the cracks in the wall:
"Sometimes... I wish I could just escape it all. Find a place where I’m free, where no one can hurt us."
Ethan froze.
"Some fathers build dreams for their children," Ethan thought. "Mine just tears them apart."
His eyes drifted to the blueprint pinned above his desk , a map of a world he had only half-dared to imagine. A place where the broken stayed broken no more.
"Maybe... maybe we don’t have to keep wishing," Ethan whispered into the darkness. "Maybe I can build a world where we don’t have to wish anymore."
A slow, burning smile spread across his face , not the smile of a boy, but the smile of a creator.
"They broke this world," Ethan thought, fire rising in his chest. "But they won't break mine."
Ethan stared at the broken world around him one last time, then turned to his mechanical bird
If no one else would build a new world... he would.
And this time, he wouldn’t just escape reality.
He would rewrite it.
Somewhere deep inside him, a door had opened ,and something had stepped through.
Not fear.
Not hope.
Rebellion.
Chapter Two: ESCAPE IN SHADOWS
"They always bully me for who iam
Yet blame beasts for being cruel
But if they could see the beasts in their eyes
They'd bow their heads low,ashamed of lies"
The hallways of rosewood Middle school smelled like old textbooks and cold metal.
Heads turned as he passed. Whispers floated behind him like smoke.
"That's the kid whose dad lost everything."
"His shoes are literally falling apart."
"Loser."
Ethan kept his head down, clutching his backpack tighter. Every step echoed like a gunshot against the lockers.
Waiting for him at the end of the hallway, like vultures circling a dying animal, were Victor and Zoe .
Victor leaned casually against a locker, the expensive watch on his wrist gleaming under the flickering lights. Zoe stood next to him, arms folded, a smirk playing on her lips.
"Hey, Scrap Boy," Victor called out, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Lose another bolt on your way here?"
Zoe laughed ... a sharp, cold sound that made Ethan’s skin prickle. "Careful, Victor," she teased.
"He might build a trash robot to attack us."
A few kids snickered. Ethan felt the heat rise to his face but forced himself to stay calm. He had learned the hard way: reacting only made things worse.
Instead, he smiled , the small, dangerous smile he had been practicing lately.
"Yeah," Ethan said lightly. "You'd better watch out. You might end up with a better personality.
The crowd gasped. Victor’s face darkened instantly, but before he could lunge, Ethan had already moved.
He ducked into a side hallway, weaving through students like a fish in a raging river. He knew these halls better than anyone ,every shortcut, every hiding place.
Victor and Zoe shouted behind him, but Ethan was already pulling a trick from his backpack: a tiny, hand-built smoke bomb made from stolen science lab chemicals and spare parts.
With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it into a trash can just as he rounded the corner.
BOOM.
A puff of harmless, chalky smoke erupted, sending kids coughing and scattering.
By the time Victor and Zoe reached the spot, Ethan was gone , slipping into the maintenance tunnels behind the gym, a place only the janitor and a few troublemakers knew about.
He crouched in the shadows, grinning to himself.
"Let them chase smoke," Ethan thought, heart pounding with excitement. "I’ve got better places to be."
Ethan crouched behind a row of old pipes, listening as Victor and Zoe stormed past, coughing and swearing.
He let out a slow breath, the thud of his heartbeat finally slowing.
"You always know how to make an exit," a voice whispered behind him.
Ethan turned , there stood Sophie, arms crossed, grinning.
Evan popped up beside her, laughing and dusting soot from his jacket.
"You sure know how to make them cough," Evan said with a wheeze,
"One day you’ll send them to their knees!"
Ethan chuckled, tugging his backpack higher.
"Maybe next time, I’ll set them on fire," he joked.
Sophie rolled her eyes but smiled.
"One day, Ethan, you’ll blow up the school,
And we'll still be stuck with you .
Ethan pulled out the battered blueprint, unfolding it with care.
The paper glowed faintly under the flickering maintenance lights.
"What’s that?" Evan asked, craning his neck to see.
"A map to a place where we’re finally free," Ethan said softly.
Sophie’s brow furrowed as she peered at the lines.
"A world of your own? Without walls, without signs?"
Ethan nodded, fire in his voice.
"Let them build their towers of stone,
I’ll build a kingdom all my own.
No bullies, no battles, no lies, no pain
Just endless skies after endless rain."
Sophie and Evan looked at each other and then smiled at ethan clueleesly
"They bully the poor and favor the strong,
But I'll build a world where all belong.
No riches, no ranks, no cruel, bitter rule
Just hearts that are equal, and kindness the tool."
Chapter no 3 :GHOSTED HOUSE
"Some doors are locked for a reason
Some are just waiting to be unlocked."
The world blurred past Ethan as he ran, feet pounding the broken sidewalks.
Sophie and Evan raced alongside him, shouting, laughing, daring each other to go faster.
It had started as a simple game ,a race to the edge of the playground, then to the fence, then beyond.
None of them noticed how far they had gone, until the neat rows of houses gave way to fields of tangled weeds and crumbling stone walls.
The city was behind them now. Ahead... only open land and the skeletons of forgotten buildings.
"Hey!" Evan called, skidding to a halt. "Look!"
At first Ethan thought it was just a shadow ,but then he saw it: a house hunched low against the horizon, broken and blackened like something the earth itself had tried to bury.
Sophie caught up, panting.
Her face went pale when she saw the house.
"No way," she breathed. "That's the haunted house ".
"The what?" Ethan asked.
Evan grinned, but there was a nervous edge to it.
"Haunted house. They say it’s haunted. People say if you go in... weird stuff happens. Bad stuff."
"Like cursed," Sophie said, whispering now. "No one's lived there for decades. Not even animals go near it."
Ethan stared at the house, heart thudding.
The broken windows seemed to stare back.
(Haunted or not... it called to him.)
"We should check it out," he said, taking a step forward.
"No way!" Sophie grabbed his arm. "It's getting dark. We have to go back."
"Yeah," Evan agreed quickly, glancing at the long shadows stretching over the fields. "Not a good idea at night."
Reluctantly, Ethan let them pull him away.
They turned and ran back toward the city, laughter a little more forced now, glancing over their shoulders as the house faded into the gloom.
But Ethan’s mind didn’t leave it.
That night, lying on his thin mattress, staring up at the cracked ceiling, he couldn’t sleep.
The image of the house burned in his mind ,the sagging roof, the empty windows, and everything about that house seems different
Ethan didn’t believe in ghosts.
He thinks that, Fairy tales and scary stories were for those kids who needed something to blame when the world get dark.
To him ,real monsters were the humans itself .
Still... something about that house pulled at him.
Not fear but curiosity.
"If there are no ghosts," Ethan thought, "then what’s hiding there?"
If not ghosts then maybe a secret.A forgotten piece of the world no one dared to touch.
He clenched his fists in the curiosity .
Then decided to uncover the truth behind the locked doors which no one else dared to touch ,and maybe it wouod be the first crack in the walls of reality
And Ethan had never been good at leaving things .
" In a world full of locked doors,Ethan has decided : he would be the key."
Chapter 4: truth behind locked door
Ethan pulled on his worn-out school shirt, tied his laces, and slung his bag over his shoulder .
but school was the last place on his mind.
“I’m heading out,” he called.
His mother, already busy with a cold breakfast and a colder stare, only nodded.
He stepped outside, closing the door behind him, heart pounding not with the fear of exams...
but with the thrill of breaking rules.
Last night, sleep never came.
Not a second of rest only that house haunting his thoughts.
That broken door, those empty windows, and the question that wouldn't leave his mind:
What was really behind it?
He didn’t turn left toward the school.
He turned right toward the fields, the forgotten edge of the city, and the Ghosted House.
The walk felt longer without his friends.
Quieter.
But Ethan liked it that way today.
He slipped past the crumbling gate into the yard, weeds brushing against his legs like whispers.
The air around the house was even colder now. Still. Heavy.
Ethan reached the door.
Tried the handle. Locked.
He pushed. Pulled. Slammed.
Still locked.
But he didn’t come this far to give up.
FINALLY.
The lock gave way.
The door creaked open with a groan that sounded too much like a warning.
But He stepped inside.
Darkness swallowed him.
It wrapped around every corner, thick and unmoving, like the house itself was holding its breath.
Curtains long, dusty, and untouched for years clung to the windows, blocking out every trace of sunlight.
The house was silent…
But not dead.
It felt like it was watching.
Ethan moved slowly, his heartbeat echoing louder than his footsteps.
He reached for the curtain nearest to him , the fabric crumbled slightly at his touch. With one hard pull, he tore it open.
Light flooded in.
For a moment, the room was alive.
Peeling wallpaper, broken furniture, scattered papers, and strange shapes beneath white cloths came into view ,like forgotten relics frozen in time.
But it wasn’t just an old house anymore.
There was something here.
Something left behind.
And Ethan knew...
This was more than a house.
This was a secret waiting to be found.
Ethan stepped deeper into the silence.
As his eyes adjusted, he began to notice the details ,small things most people would miss.
A broken cup still sitting on a crooked table.
An old coat hung neatly on a wall hook, covered in dust but not decay.
A mattress on the floor, flat and worn . but once slept on.
Books stacked in the corner, their pages yellow but still readable.
Someone had lived here.
Not just for a night or two…
For a long time.
There were even scratch marks on the wooden floor trails from furniture being dragged.
A kettle still sat on the old stove, as if waiting to be used again.
But everything had been left behind.
Quickly.
Almost like they were in a hurry to leave… or had no choice.
Ethan’s curiosity burned hotter.
Who lived here?
Why did they leave?
And what were they running from?
Ethan’s curiosity burned hotter.
He began searching everywhere , pulling open drawers, peeking behind old furniture, lifting dusty blankets from forgotten shapes.
Every corner of the house whispered stories.
But it wasn’t enough.
Then he noticed a narrow door tucked behind a shelf, almost hidden old, wooden, and slightly open.
His heart skipped.
The basement.
He reached for the handle, hesitated for just a second… then pulled it open.
A cold gust of air rushed up the steps like the house exhaled its secrets.
Ethan took a deep breath and descended the stairs.
The deeper he went, the darker it got.
His shoes crunched on shattered glass.
The air grew heavier… and darker
Ethan’s curiosity burned hotter.
The air turned heavy as he descended, cold with the weight of time.
Each step moaned beneath his feet, as though warning him to turn back.
But he didn’t.
He reached the basement floor and felt along the wall until his fingers found a switch.
Click.
A single
anging bulb flickered on, dim and yellow barely enough light to see.
But what it revealed made Ethan freeze.
In the center of the room stood a colossal machine, half-buried in dust and silence.
Wires draped like vines. Gears rested mid-turn.
A large central chamber stood open empty, waiting.
On one side, a strange console blinked once… then went still again.
The machine wasn’t active.
It wasn’t abandoned.
It was… unfinished.
And on the wall behind it, scrawled in faded white chalk, were the words:
"Incomplete until the right hands finish what we began."
Ethan stepped closer, heart racing.
He reached toward the console ,
but it didn’t respond.
Not yet.
Then he noticed something carved into the base of the machine, almost hidden beneath grime:
“Phase One: Initiated. Awaiting Key.”
A key?
Phase One? What was this thing for? Who built it?
Ethan couldn’t stop staring.
He didn’t fully understand it…
But he could feel it deep in his bones:
This machine was made to change something.
And maybe… just maybe… it was waiting for him to finish it
Ethan’s hands moved on instinct , excitement rising in his chest like a storm.
He traced the tangled wires from the base of the machine to a dusty, metal box in the corner. It looked like an ancient computer bulky, covered in rust, and silent.
He plugged the wires back in.
The screen blinked.
Then flickered.
Then, with a low electric hum, it powered on.
A black terminal opened. Lines of code scrolled rapidly in a strange language Ethan didn’t fully understand a mix of programming and… something else. Symbols like glyphs, glowing faintly, embedded into the script.
His eyes darted across the commands. Something about coordinates… simulations… links.
The computer chimed once and froze on a blinking green cursor, as if waiting for input.
That’s when he noticed the shelf beside the machine filled with old, leather-bound journals and heavy notebooks, their pages yellowed and brittle with age.
Ethan pulled the first one open.
The handwriting was wild, despete as if written in a hurry. Page after page was filled with sketches of the machine, diagrams, lines of code… and long notes written in the margin.
One line jumped out at him:
"This isn’t just a machine. It’s a doorway. A virtual portal designed to construct and access a parallel world born from the mind, shaped by imagination, stabilized by code."
Ethan’s hands trembled.
Each book revealed more about the creator, a man who believed the real world was beyond saving. So he built this machine as an escape a place where thought could become reality.
But the final journal was incomplete.
The last page ended mid-sentence:
“If anyone finds this… the machine still needs a Dreamer. Someone with vision. Someone who can…”
The ink trailed off. The page was torn
.
Ethan closed the book slowly.
He turned back to the machine.
The cursor on the screen still blinked.
"A portal to another world…"
And now, it was in his hands.
Ethan flipped through the brittle pages, heart pounding.
One of the journals was filled not with diagrams ,but code.
Lines and lines of it.
Some written in clean blocks, others scribbled in the margins like rushed thoughts.
He squinted, trying to make sense of the commands on the computer screen and the matching ones in the book.
There were variables… sequences… commands labeled "Link, Project, Render, Launch".
But then,
a section was missing.
Just blank space. No notes. No script.
“It’s not finished,” Ethan whispered.
“Someone needs to complete the code…”
His mind raced. He knew someone who could read this in seconds ,
Evan.
Evan had taught himself every programming language from Python to C++ by the time they were twelve. While other kids played games, Evan broke them, rewired them, even created his own. His brain worked like a machine itself.
And Sophie :she was brilliant at figuring out patterns, solving logic puzzles, catching things everyone else missed.
Ethan closed the book slowly, realization dawning.
“I can’t do this alone,” he thought. “But maybe… we can
Maybe the three of them, together, could figure it out , complete the code, find the missing part,
And bring the machine to life.
A small smile tugged at Ethan’s lips.
He grabbed the journals, shut down the machine for now, and slipped back up the stairs , heart thudding not with fear, but with purpose.
Chapter five : unity is strenght.
Ethan couldn’t keep it to himself anymore.
What he had found the massive machine, the glowing computer, and the strange journal whispering secrets of another world was too important to carry alone.
He needed help.
And he knew exactly who to turn to.
By the time school ended, he had already pulled Evan aside, away from the crowds, behind the old brick wall near the science lab.
“You won’t believe what I found,” Ethan said, his voice low but burning with excitement.
Evan raised an eyebrow. “This better not be about skipping class again.”
“No, it’s bigger than that. I went back to the house.”
Evan’s eyes widened. “Alone?”
Ethan nodded. “Yeah. I had to. It wouldn’t leave my mind. And in the basement… there’s a machine. A huge one. Connected to an old computer. I turned it on.”
“You what?!”
“Not just that. There were journals. Code. The guy who built it was trying to create a virtual world like a portal. But it’s unfinished. Some parts are missing. Some code too.”
Evan’s curiosity flared to life. “You’re serious? A working portal code?”
“Sort of. But I don’t understand it. That’s why I need you.”
Ethan looked around, then lowered his voice even more.
“And we’re going to need Sophie too.”
“But… she doesn’t know about any of this,” Evan said.
“Not yet,” Ethan replied. “But I’m going to tell her. We need her. She’s the only one who can figure out the stuff neither of us can.”
Ethan looked up at the sky, where the sun was beginning to dip behind the clouds.
“Whatever this is... it’s not meant to be done alone.”
And for the first time, Evan didn’t argue. Then they went there and evan saw it himself .
Later that evening, they found Sophie sitting beneath the tall tree near the edge of the park , the place she always went when she wanted to think. Her sketchbook rested on her lap, half-filled with drawings of strange machines, wild creatures, and dreamlike cities.
Ethan and Evan exchanged a look. This was it.
“Sophie,” Ethan began, “we need to tell you something. And you have to promise not to freak out.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That’s not exactly comforting.”
“I found something,” Ethan said. “In the haunted house. A machine , a real one. Massive. And it wasn’t just abandoned junk. It was working. Almost like it’s waiting for something.”
Sophie blinked. “You what?”
“It’s true,” Evan jumped in. “I saw it too. There’s a computer hooked up to it, full of strange code. And journals from the guy who built it. He was trying to create… a portal. To another world.”
Sophie stared at them for a long moment.
“You two have officially lost your minds.”
“No,” Ethan said, stepping closer. “We’re serious. This isn’t a game. I think… it’s real. But we need help. Your help. You're the only one who can figure out what we can’t.”
Sophie looked away, her fingers tightening around her sketchbook.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “It sounds dangerous. What if it’s cursed or unstable or...."
“Some doors are locked for a reason,” Ethan said quietly, echoing the words that had first
drawn him in. “But some are just waiting to be unlocked.”
Sophie looked up at him. His eyes weren’t wild with mischief this time , they were steady. Serious.
She let out a breath, slow and uncertain.
“Okay. I’ll come. But only because I don’t trust either of you not to blow something up without me.”
Evan grinned. Ethan nodded.
Together, they stood beneath the fading sunlight, three friends on the edge of something much bigger than they could have imagined.
And as they walked toward the mystery waiting behind locked doors, one thing was certain:
Alone, they were curious.
Together, they were
Just as they were about to head off, Sophie paused.
“Wait,” she said, glancing up at the darkening sky. “It’s already late.”
Ethan and Evan looked at each other, realizing she was right.
“If we go now and don’t come back before dinner, our parents will flip,” Sophie added.
“Especially mine.”
“We can be quick,” Evan suggested.
But Sophie shook her head. “No. If this is really as big as you say it is, we can’t rush it. We need time and a plan.”
Ethan sighed. He was eager, almost burning with curiosity to return. But Sophie’s words made sense.
“We go tomorrow,” she said firmly. “Right after school. No one will suspect anything. We’ll have enough time. And we’ll go together.”
Ethan nodded slowly. “Alright. Tomorrow.”
“Be ready,” Sophie said, her voice calm but steady. “Because once we step back into that house, there’s no turning back.
”
They all exchanged a look , half nervous, half excited. Something had shifted between them.
The mystery was no longer just Ethan’s.
Now, it belonged to all three of them
The next afternoon couldn’t come fast enough.
As the final bell rang at school, Ethan, Evan, and Sophie slipped out through the back gate, hearts pounding with a mix of thrill and nerves. They biked in silence toward the edge of the city , past the empty lots, broken fences, and forgotten roads ,until the old ghosted house came into view.
Its cracked windows reflected the fading sun, and the crooked door still hung ajar, just as Ethan had left it.
Sophie hesitated for a moment at the gate. But then, curiosity overtook caution.
She stepped in.
As she walked through the dusty hallway and into the basement, her breath caught in her throat. The massive machine stood like a sleeping beast in the middle of the room, cables winding across the floor, screens cold and dark, and books stacked like ancient secrets.
“This is real…” she whispered, eyes wide. “This is actually real.”
Ethan smiled. “Told you.”
From that day on, the haunted house wasn’t haunted anymore , it became their workshop, their lab, their secret. Every afternoon, right after school, the trio would sneak away and return to the basement.
Ethan began decoding the strange instructions and code lines on the ancient computer , lines written in a language somewhere between logic and imagination. Slowly, with Evan’s help, he started to understand what each piece did. The machine wasn’t just a portal , it was unfinished, missing parts and a final key that could trigger it.
That’s where Sophie came in.
She took the measurements from a strange, key-shaped slot on the side of the main console and began crafting something to fit it. Every night, she’d work at her desk, sketching and shaping pieces by hand — making prototypes out of metal scraps, wires, and even clay.
But materials weren’t free.
So they got clever. They started tutoring other students in coding ,something Evan was naturally brilliant at. They even sold small hand-made toys, tiny mechanical gadgets that Sophie and Ethan designed together , spinning tops, puzzle boxes, blinking bots.
A few coins at a time, they collected what they needed. Wire. Screws. A soldering kit. A used processor.
Weeks passed.
The house became their second home , scattered with notes, blueprints taped to the walls, and a chalkboard covered in calculations and diagrams.
And through it all, something magical grew between them: trust, friendship, and belief in a world beyond the one they were given.
The machine was slowly coming to life.
But what none of them knew… was that the machine was watching them too.
Waiting.
After several failures evan had finally done the coding part,now they were waiting for key which was still in progresssion.
Sophie how much time do you need for that to complete said ,Ethan .
Sophie : there is this little part which is becoming difficult to build .
Ethan was good at repairing things ,so he helped sophie to build a key which were exactly of the same size as to be fitted in the key hole .
Finally .
The wait is complete
Chapter 6: Exploring the new world
That Friday afternoon, the air in the ghosted house felt heavier, as if even time was holding its breath.
Sophie tightened the final bolt on the metallic key, her fingers stained with grease and determination. Ethan wiped his hands nervously on his jeans, while Evan paced in circles, barely able to stay still.
“This is it,” Sophie whispered.
Ethan took the key from her gently. “Let’s see what happens.”
They all gathered around the main console. The key ,sleek, metallic, and etched with strange symbols fit perfectly into the slot.
Ethan looked at the others.
“Ready?”
“No,” Sophie muttered. “But do it anyway.”
Ethan turned the key.
Click.
In an instant, the room trembled. A deep, humming sound rose from beneath their feet , like a heartbeat made of electricity. The ancient computer flickered to life, its dark screen glowing blue, lines of strange code racing across it faster than they could read.
And then
BOOM.
A sudden flash of blinding white light exploded across the basement. The walls shook. Sparks flew from the console. The very air cracked with energy.
The trio stumbled back, shielding their eyes.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Then they slowly opened their eyes.
Where the back wall of the basement had once stood, now shimmered a swirling, glowing portal , circular, pulsing with soft light and color, like a dream made solid.
The edges rippled with a wind that didn’t belong to this world. And through it, they could see something impossible , a landscape unlike anything on Earth.floating mountains, glowing rivers and skies that shifted in color
Sophie gasped. “Is that… another world?”
Evan’s jaw dropped. “We actually did it.”
Ethan stepped forward slowly, his voice quiet but certain.
“This… this is where everything changes.”
The portal glowed in front of them like a magical mirror. It felt strange to stand near it — as if it was calling them.
For a few seconds, no one moved. The air around them felt different — full of energy.
Ethan took a step forward.
“I’m going in,” he said. “We didn’t come all this way to stop now.”
Sophie grabbed his sleeve. “Wait ,what if it’s dangerous?”
Evan gave a nervous smile. “Well, then it’ll be an adventure.”
Without saying anything more, Ethan stepped into the portal.
Sophie and Evan followed right behind him.
It felt like they were floating through warm water for a moment. Everything was quiet.
Then ,
They landed on soft, glowing grass.
The sky above them was not blue , it was full of soft purple and golden colors. The trees were tall and shiny, with glowing leaves that made gentle music in the wind.
Strange creatures flew through the air , some looked like birds, others like fish. The whole place felt like a dream.
Sophie looked around with wide eyes. “This... this can’t be real.”
“But it is,” Ethan said softly, turning around in wonder. “This is what that machine was made for.”
They saw floating islands in the sky, rivers flowing upward, and animals watching them from a distance ,but none of them seemed scary.
The air smelled sweet, like flowers and fresh rain.
“This world…” Evan said slowly. “It’s even better than we imagined.”
They didn’t know where they were.
They didn’t know who made this place.
But one thing was sure:
They were in a new world now.
They walked deeper into the strange, glowing world , laughing, pointing, and wondering what secrets this place held. Everything was peaceful, like a dream that had come alive.
But Ethan, as always, had something on his mind.
Suddenly, he stopped walking.
“I have an idea,” he said. “What if we could change things in this world… by changing the code back on the computer?
Sophie frowned. “You mean,like edit the world through programming?”
Ethan nodded. “Exactly. The computer connects to this world, right? So maybe if we change something in the code… it will change here too.”
Evan’s eyes lit up. “That would be insane! We have to try it!”
They rushed back through the portal and returned to the haunted house.
Ethan sat down at the old computer and started typing. He smiled to himself and said,
“Let’s do something small first.”
He typed a line of code:
Plant ice cream trees near the glowing river.
They held their breath and stepped back into the portal again.
When they reached the glowing river…
They couldn’t believe their eyes.
Huge, colorful trees had grown by the riverbank , but instead of fruits, they had cones of ice cream hanging from the branches. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mint , all kinds!
Evan shouted, “No way!” and grabbed a scoop of chocolate from a branch.
“It’s real! It’s actually real!”
Sophie laughed as she bit into a vanilla swirl. “This is crazy! We’re… we’re literally shaping this world!”
Ethan’s eyes were wide with excitement.
“This world doesn’t just exist… it listens to us. We can create anything here.”
They sat under the ice cream trees, full of wonder and joy, dreaming of everything they could make next.
A new world wasn’t just waiting for them anymore
They were building it.
Chapter 7: Dreamy life
After that day, everything changed.
Now, after school, Ethan, Sophie, and Evan had a secret routine. They would walk past the busy streets, through the empty field, and enter the old ghosted house. Inside, the glowing machine and computer waited for them , like a doorway to magic.
Every day, they added something new.
A treehouse in the clouds.
A river made of lemonade.
Hills that bounced like trampolines.
Even friendly animals that could talk.
Whatever they typed into the computer... it appeared in the other world.
Each visit was full of laughter, surprises, and dreams coming true. It became their perfect escape , a place where no one judged them, no one bullied them, and everything was under their control.
Weeks passed like this. The three of them grew closer than ever, working together, dreaming together, and building a world that felt more real than the one they had left behind.
They thought nothing could go wrong.
But some worlds ,even perfect ones , hide secrets of their own...
Day by day, their new world began to grow , not just with trees or sweets, but with dreams turned real.
Ethan coded vast green fields where they could run forever. Evan created robots that danced, cooked, cleaned, and even played pranks. Sophie, with her usual flair, designed a glowing crystal castle with floating staircases and talking paintings.
They added game arenas, sky swings, music that played from the air itself, and a shimmering lake that reflected not just light, but thoughts.
Everything they once wished for in the real world , peace, freedom, fun, and magic . now lived in this one.
It wasn’t just another world anymore.
It was their world.
A place where no one ruled, no one bullied, and every dream could be built with a few lines of code and a little imagination.
But as perfect as it seemed, there was one thing they all came to realize:
Nothing from this world could ever be brought back.
No matter how hard they tried , copying, downloading, even building portals within the portal , everything belonged only to that magical place.
The robot butlers, the castles, the candy trees… all stayed behind the screen.
It was a dream they could enter , but never carry home.
Still, for three kids who had longed to escape the real world, that was enough.
For now.
Days passed. Then weeks.
At first, the portal world was everything they had ever wanted , fun, freedom, and endless imagination. But even in paradise, routine begins to grow dull.
Ethan stared at the ice cream trees that once made them jump with joy. Now, they just… were.
Sophie wandered her castle halls with a sigh, her paintbrush dry. Evan tossed a glowing frisbee into the sky , it looped and returned, again and again, but the laughter was gone.
“I think…” Evan finally said, breaking the silence, “we need more”
“More of what?” Ethan asked.
“Not what,” Evan replied. “Who.”
Sophie frowned. “You mean… invite someone else?”
“Yeah,” Evan nodded. “We built a whole world. Why not let someone else in? New faces, new ideas, new fun. We’re not the only ones who feel stuck in the real world.”
Ethan and Sophie looked at each other, hesitant.
“What if they ruin it?” Sophie whispered.
“What if they make it better?” Evan answered.
And just like that, a new idea was born , one that would test everything they had built, and everything they believed.
Chapter 8: The Business idea
They had built a world beyond imagination — a place where dreams bloomed like flowers and rules bent to their will.
There were rainbow fields and chocolate rivers, floating gardens and sky-zoos. A castle for Sophie, game zones for Evan, and secret tech-labs for Ethan. And yet… something felt incomplete.
They could change things in the portal.
But they couldn’t bring any of it back.
Not the inventions.
Not the magic.
Not even a single candy from the sky.
One afternoon, as Ethan sat beside the portal gate scribbling notes, a thought sparked like lightning in his brain.
“Wait…” he muttered. “If we can’t bring things out, what if we bring people in?”
Evan raised an eyebrow. “that is exactly what i was trying to say"
“I mean it!” Ethan’s voice grew faster with excitement. “What if we charge people to visit this world? Let them escape their boring lives for a while — just like we did. It’ll be like... a secret paradise!”
Sophie looked unsure. “You mean… like a business?”
“Exactly!” Ethan grinned. “We create dream vacations, sell access to the portal — and earn enough money to be free in the real world too!”
Evan’s eyes lit up. “That could actually work. We could fix our families' problems. No more struggling.”
“But…” Sophie hesitated. “It’s our place. What if letting others in changes it? What if they don’t treat it the way we do?”
There was a long pause.
Ethan looked at his friends. “We can control the rules. We have the machine, the code, the power. If we’re careful — we can change lives. And ours too.”
The idea danced in the air — dangerous, tempting, powerful.
And none of them realized…
That some dreams, once sold, can never be taken back.
Soon, the three friends put their plan into action.
They began to search for people , people who were tired of their lives, just like they once were. People who dreamed of escaping, of doing the impossible. And slowly, they found them.
A lonely old man who had always wanted to ride a horse that could talk.
A girl who dreamed of flying with butterflies larger than kites.
A boy who wished to live in a candy house that never melted.
Another who wanted to swim with glowing fish in the clouds.
One by one, they came.
Ethan would explain the rules. Sophie would help guide their imagination. Evan would make them feel welcome. And in return, they took a small fee , just enough to keep their secret world running… and make their own lives better in the real one.
They charged money , not too much, but not too little. People were ready to pay anything for even a few hours inside the magical world.
And once they stepped through the portal, they lived their true dreams.
Horse riding where the horses whispered secrets.
Talking trees that shared stories.
Rivers that sang lullabies at night.
It became a secret paradise for those who had nowhere else to go.
Ethan, Sophie, and Evan felt powerful , like they were giving people happiness. They watched joy bloom in the eyes of people who had forgotten how to smile.
But slowly, quietly they didn’t notice the line they had crossed.
The world was no longer just theirs.
And somewhere deep inside the portal the magic was beginning to shift.
Chapter 9 :fall of everything
At first, everything was perfect.
The portal world had turned into a dreamland, designed by the kids and shaped by wishes. Fields full of games, robots that served meals, a crystal mansion for Ethan, and a glowing castle where Sophie ruled like a queen.
Anything they typed into the computer… became real on the other side.
But soon, word spread.
More people wanted in. Some paid happily.
But others weren’t so lucky.
People began taking loans just to afford a few hours in the dream world. They sold their belongings. They borrowed from neighbors. Parents gave up savings for their children’s wishes. Some even lied, cheated, or stole , all for a taste of something better.
And when they came back to the real world…
It felt empty.
Gray.
Dead.
Reality became unbearable.
Some people cried. Others got angry.
And many just… stopped caring about the real world altogether.
Shops were left empty.
Schools had fewer students.
Families argued more than ever.
The line between reality and dream began to blur , and break.
The world outside the portal… was falling apart.
And Ethan, Sophie, and Evan , the three dreamers ,stood at the center of a storm they never saw coming.
But things weren’t just falling apart because of the people entering the dream world.
Someone else had found out about the portal.
Victor : the arrogant, cunning boy who always tried to outsmart Ethan had been watching them. Along with his group of mischief-makers, he’d been waiting for the perfect moment to strike. And now, he had it.
He overheard whispers about the portal. Followed them in secret. And when he saw what the kids had built… he didn’t dream of using it wisely.
He saw power.
He saw control.
And he wanted it all.
While Ethan and his friends were busy managing the crowd and trying to keep the world balanced, Victor and his gang sneaked into the portal and began their own twisted experiment.
They brought in people not to fulfill dreams… but to trap them.
They created dark zones in the dream world , areas filled with fake promises, where people lost themselves and couldn’t escape. They spread corrupted codes that made strange, dangerous things happen. Some parts of the world started glitching skies that rained upside-down, animals turning wild, even time freezing for hours.
The dream world was no longer safe.
And for the first time, Ethan realized…
they weren’t just playing anymore.
They had opened a door not just to dreams ,
but to nightmares.
Ethan managed to stop Victor , for now.
He and his friends rewrote some of the main codes, locking Victor and his team out of the most important parts of the portal. The dark zones were slowly removed, and people trapped inside were brought back safely. It took days of hard work, but Ethan, Sophie, and Evan did it.
But just as they were catching their breath…
another storm began to rise.
It wasn’t just Victor anymore.
It was the people.
More and more wanted to leave the real world behind. They begged to stay longer inside the portal, some even refusing to return home. Many started selling their things, borrowing money, or disappearing without telling anyone , all just to live in the perfect world Ethan and his friends had created.
The dream world was no longer a fun escape ,it had become an addiction.
And then… the machine started to break down.
At first, the computer began showing strange glitches. The codes began to change themselves. One day, a tree meant to grow candy started growing giant metal spikes. Another day, the sky flickered between day and night every few seconds. Sophie tried to fix it, but the bugs kept coming.
“We pushed it too far,” she whispered one evening.
“The system was never meant to hold this many people. It’s breaking.”
One afternoon, a huge black crack split open across the portal’s sky. Wind roared through the dream world, tearing apart buildings and fields. People screamed and ran as the peaceful place they loved turned dangerous and unpredictable.
Ethan stood frozen.
They had created paradise…
but now, it was falling apart.
And this time, even he didn’t know how to fix it.
Chapter 10 : realization hit hard
The once-beautiful dream world was now filled with chaos. Glitches spread like cracks in glass. The sky blinked like a broken screen, strange creatures appeared from nowhere, and buildings collapsed without warning. People were scared, confused, and trapped in something that once felt like heaven.
Ethan, Sophie, and Evan stood at the center of it all , helpless.
“We created this…” Ethan said quietly, his voice heavy.
Sophie looked down at her trembling hands. “We gave people hope. But now it’s hurting them.”
Evan, who had always smiled in the face of trouble, said nothing. Even he knew… this was the end.
They went back to the machine. The computer screen glitched wildly. Codes were rewriting themselves. The world was no longer listening to them.
“We have no other choice,” Sophie whispered.
“We have to shut it down. For good.”
Ethan didn’t speak. His heart felt heavy. This place had given them happiness — had made their dreams real. He had always wanted to escape the real world, and now, he was about to destroy the only place where he ever felt free.
Together, they unplugged the wires.
Tears filled Evan’s eyes as he smashed the control panel.
Sophie slowly removed the key .
And Ethan pressed the last shutdown button,and completely destroyed the machine so no one could ever fix it up again.
A final flash of light lit up the room.
And then, darkness.
Complete silence.
The dream world was gone.
They stood there for a long time, not saying a word.
Half broken.
Half brave.
Because even though their hearts ached, they knew they had done the right thing.
The dream world was gone.
The glow had faded. The machine was silent. And the three of them stood there , in the stillness of the ruined basement , with nothing but the echo of memories.
None of them spoke at first.
There were no words strong enough to hold the weight of what they had just done.
Sophie looked at the broken screen, then at Ethan and Evan.
“I guess… dreams aren’t always meant to be lived forever,” she whispered.
Evan gave a sad smile. “Or maybe… some dreams are meant to wake us up.”
Ethan stayed quiet for a long time. His eyes were fixed on the machine that once gave them everything joy, magic, escape.
But now he understood something deeper. Something real.
“We created that world,” he said slowly, “to run away from our problems. But we weren’t the only ones.”
They all remembered the people who came through the portal , smiling, laughing, hoping ,only to end up lost in the illusion.
And then Ethan said something that none of them would ever forget:
“Everyone in this world has problems. Not even a single person is truly free. But the best way to live… is not to run from them , it’s to face them. Bravely.”
Sophie nodded, tears in her eyes.
Evan placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.
The three friends stepped out of the haunted house , not with magic behind them, but with a quiet strength growing inside.
And though the dream was over,
the lesson stayed with them forever.
Years passed.
The haunted house slowly faded into dust and memory, but the story it held lived on — not in machines or portals, but in the hearts of the three kids who once dared to dream beyond the realm.
Ethan, Evan, and Sophie grew up.
They faced their own challenges, their own storms. But this time, they didn’t run.
They faced them bravely.
Ethan, with his bold vision, became the CEO of one of the most successful robotic companies in the world , creating real machines to help people, not escape from life, but improve it.
Evan stood by his side, the genius coder who could bend systems to his will.
Sophie, with her creativity and fierce intellect, became the chief designer, building technologies that once only existed in dreams.
Their friendship never broke.
They built their future on trust, courage, and lessons learned the hard way.
And though they never returned to that other world,
they carried its memory with them not as a regret,
but as a reminder.
A reminder that:
“Everyone has problems. No one is truly free from them. But the best life is the one where you face those problems , with courage, with hope, and with the people who stand beside you.”
And that is how their story ends.
But maybe, just maybe,
it’s where yours begins.
So hand in hand, through dark or bright,
We’ll face the storm, we’ll choose the fight.
Not to escape, but to ignite
The courage born from doing right .
