He slowly walked closer to it, gazing in wonderment. Then he stopped and looked quickly behind him, but no one was there. He had that eerie, prickly, watched feeling.

"Where would it lead?" he wondered. "If I stepped through would I just step to the other side of a shadow or would I be somewhere else? What if I stepped into Hell or somewhere as bad? But if it were bad, I could just step back through," he reasoned. "Would it make a difference which side I walked through? Jeesh, I've been reading too many books, this is impossible!" He stepped closer and tried to see anything beyond the light, but it was like trying to see into the center of a white-hot flame.

He pushed his fingers through his short, straight dark hair and puzzled over it for a minute. He was a tall, serious-looking boy who had no idea how attractive he was. In fact, he felt rather plain and was very shy.

He reached out and stuck the tip of his finger into the light. It disappeared completely and he snatched it back quickly. It seemed OK. He reached out again. This time he stuck his arm in up to his elbow. He waited but felt nothing out of the ordinary. He wanted to step through the portal but hesitated. Then, suddenly, something warm grabbed his arm and started to pull. He tried to brace himself but he was off-balance. He felt himself being yanked through! He screamed as he melded with the shimmering light...