Silent Battles - Chapter 3 - The World of Doors

Liv sat in the middle of the room, staring at a door with teary eyes, trying to decipher the meaning of the signs above it.

Dr. Kovach tried to support her, even though she was unable to speak or make any clear indication. He told her that during her collapse, she had screamed the word “door”—that’s why he had come. According to him, it must have some meaning. Doors are powerful symbols: they can represent gateways to other worlds, departures, returns, or even tests. No one truly knows what they might mean.

Liv asked herself, “Then why do I see so many of them? What do those signs above them mean? Could one of them be a door to the home, too? Because I want to go there!”

But she received no answer.

The doctor held her hand tightly, observing for any movement in her eyes or even the smallest twitch. From the outside, it looked like she was inside some kind of simulation. Liv, however, felt a warmth radiating from her right hand—the one the doctor was holding. Through the gentle pressure of his grip, he tried to convey that he was there and that she didn’t need to be afraid.

Liv already knew he was there. She could hear him, even if he couldn’t hear her.

She smiled.

The doctor noticed and kept holding her hand, telling her he was glad to see a smile—one that seemed truly hers. Liv blushed when she realized her physical body had smiled along with her thoughts. She wiped away her tears and began to look around more carefully, sharpening her focus on the signs. And then she noticed a detail—a small one, perhaps—but one she had missed before due to her tears and overwhelming thoughts.

Yet it was an important one, one that might help her recognize the door meant for her.

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The Decision Room

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Liv reached a state where her body stopped responding—she couldn't speak, and after a while, she couldn't even turn her head. She could hear people, she could feel touch, but she couldn’t see them. Even when she stared out the window or straight ahead, it was as if they weren’t there. The one time she managed to turn her head toward the doctor with an expression of interest was considered a miracle. No one could accurately name her condition.

But Dr. Kovach had an answer immediately: this condition is known in psychology as Locked-in Syndrome.

Locked-in Syndrome is a rare neurological condition in which a person is fully conscious but completely paralyzed, able to communicate only through eye or eyelid movement.

Liv had withdrawn so deeply into herself that all the doors she saw represented some part of her life—especially the parts she had already lived through. They were all there: some doors that could bring her back, and others that would simply let her go.

It was the Hall of Doors—a space where each door served as a symbol of choice, memory, and journey. It did not determine direction, only offered a realm of possibilities.

According to the doctor, it was also the Hall of Decisions—a place where each door represented a choice: return, departure, stay, or change.

And only she could choose which door to open.