It is autumn. The air is crisp and cold. The trees are nearly bare, but the ground is not. It is covered in leaves -- orange, yellow, and brown.
That is why I am bundling up to head outside. Mom has asked that I rake up the leaves and get them put into the yard waste bin to be picked up tomorrow. Normally, I would love this chore. The sound of the leaves crackling as they are piled up into giant mounds waiting to be jumped into is one of the great joys of the season. Not today though. It rained last night, so the leaves are wet and clumpy.
Our yard is big. This is going to take awhile. I walk to the far end to get started, even though I am tempted to start in the middle. "Be systematic," my Dad always says.
I'm getting hot and sweaty under my jacket, but I'm nearly done. I just need to get the area underneath the biggest tree. As I unenthusiastically move my rake over the ground at the base of the tree, wishing the leaves would just clean themselves up, one of the tines gets stuck on something. A root perhaps?
I tug. No luck. I try to lift the rake up; but it is still stuck, so I pull harder.
CLANK!
The noise was so loud that I jumped. I look around. All up and down the street, everything is quiet. I turn back to the task of retrieving the rake. Again I give it a yank.
It moves slightly, and I hear a creak. I don't think my rake is caught on a root! It has to be something else.
I drop the rake handle and walk over to where the tine is caught. A metal ring! I try to pick it up and discover it is attached to something. I pull. An area of the ground begins to lift and open up, dirt and all!
A door!
What happens next?
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