Expecting it to suddenly leap out of his hands, he watched in horror as it tumbled on to the floor in front of him. Oh no! Why didn’t it shoot up into the air like last time!?
Picking it up, he glanced over at the glass wall, fully expecting to see someone come out of it. But there was only silence. And catching his reflection in the glass, he tried to recall what he’d done that day at the cottage. Where was I? I was in the attic. What was I doing? I was sitting on the floor. What did I do? I held up the box and said ‘open’ three times.
Sure that the only real difference was that he was sitting on a chair, he slipped off it and sat cross legged on the floor. He raised the box up again.
‘Open! Open! Open!’ he said, this time in an even more commanding voice.
A crushing silence fell upon the room.
‘I’m sorry. I don’t understand what’s happened, but I can’t make it open,’ he said.
‘Are you sure you remember everything that you did the first time?’ came the voice.
‘Yes,’ replied Arthur.
‘Are you definitely sure?’
‘Yes, I’m sure,’ he said, already feeling foolish.
The lights flickered back on, and the doctor emerged with his father and the General. There was no hiding the troubled expressions on each of their faces.
‘Okay, now let’s think, shall we,’ said the doctor. ‘Where were you when you opened it, what was around you, what you were doing, and so on?’
Arthur ran his hands slowly through his hair.
‘I…um… I was at the cottage, upstairs in the attic. The room doesn’t have anything special in it—a bed, a cupboard, a few windows, Aunty M’s painting stuff… I was sitting on the floor, and I said the word “open” three times, and it opened.’
‘And that’s all?’ asked the general.
‘Yes.’
The doctor and the general glanced at each other.
‘Doctor?’ prompted the general.
‘I mean, I suppose we could try to move this experiment to a higher floor—to a room with a window, for example. But I struggle to believe that it could be significant. You remember what happened that night on the train,’ said the doctor, mopping his brow again.
The general nodded and shook his head.
‘Wait!’ said Arthur, ‘I… um… I know this might sound strange, but my cat was also there with me at the time.’
‘Your cat?’ repeated the general, aghast.
‘Yes, he was there when it opened.’