The Gate

Hannah Hadley

The trek was long, tough. Sweat poured off flushed faces and lips began to crack, but boots never stopped moving. Nails splintered, clothes ripped, dirt caked their cheeks, sweat flowed in trails through it like rivers through canyons. But still, one heavy boot fell in front of the other.

They didn’t know how far they’d gone or how long they’d traveled. They didn’t care. They only thought of the future, where they were headed. Their destination. The Gate.

They heard rumors. All different, of course. It was gold. No, it was silver. Then, they had heard from a fellow traveler that it was made from pearl, birthed from the sea like the mighty Venus.

The most recent rumor scared them.

The ancient traveler said she had made it to the Gate, and like them, heard the stories of fortune and riches beyond it, a life better than she had. After so many years of searching, she found herself in front of it. She thought it was pearl, like they all had heard, but upon further inspection recognized the splinter in a broken piece, the bulge of a knuckle, the sponge material in the center of a spoke.

Bone. It was made of bones. 

They looked at each other with concern.

But they went on, as they knew no other option, and they saw the bones piled high behind the Gate. They added their own to the pile, excited to be useful. Excited to be used.

Hannah Hadley is a graduate student studying creative writing at Eastern Illinois University, graduating in Spring of 2024. She will go on to get her MFA in creative writing with a specialization in fiction after her graduation this spring. She specializes in long-form and short-form fiction along with creative nonfiction with aspirations in poetry. Growing up in the Midwest, she always had a love for writing and reading so studying this art as an adult is a dream. One day, she hopes to become a creative writing professor and publish many creative works in the process.