Short story: The Portal of Dreams

It was an ordinary day in the city of Tsubasa, where a group of friends met every week to discuss their favorite anime and manga. Between laughter and heated debates, there were Leo, a shonen enthusiast; Ana, the shojo fanatic; Tomás, the isekais expert; Carla, a horror enthusiast; and Miguel, the joker of the group. Each had their own style and preferences, but what united them was their love for fantasy and stories that transported them to distant worlds.

One day, while exploring an antique store in search of rarities, they found an ancient book covered with dust in a dark corner. The store was full of curious objects: strange statues, clocks that seemed to stop time, and mirrors that reflected more than they should. Leo, always the most curious of the group, was the first to approach the book.

- Look at this! - Leo exclaimed excitedly as he carefully picked up the book. Its pages were yellowed and full of strange symbols.

- What is it? A grimoire? - Miguel joked, making gestures as if summoning a demon.

—I don't know, but it looks interesting," Anna replied, approaching curiously. His eyes sparkled as he saw the illustrations of fantastic creatures and brave warriors.

Tom turned the pages over carefully. - Guys! This is talking about portals to other worlds! - he said excitedly-. We could go on a real adventure!

Carla frowned. - What if we end up trapped in a scary place? I don't want to become the heroine of a horror story.

"Come on, Carla," Miguel said with a mocking smile. If something weird happens to you, just scream and we will come to save you.

Without thinking twice and leaving their doubts behind, they decided to cross the portal that was formed when opening the book. A luminous flash enveloped them and, in the blink of an eye, they found themselves in a vibrant and colorful forest. The air was permeated with sweet and fresh aromas, and distant laughter could be heard.

- Are we in an anime? - Thomas asked with sparkling eyes as he looked around.

- I wish! But I hope it's not one of those where everyone dies at the first episode — Carla said with a nervous smile.

Before them stood a glowing portal that seemed to pulsate with energy. Without further thought, they rushed towards him.

On the other side of the portal, everyone was transported to a different world based on their favorite series. Leo found himself in an epic battle arena, surrounded by legendary warriors fighting each other. Swords were clashing and screams were ringing like music to his ears.

- This is amazing! - Leo shouted as he dodged an attack aimed at him. Guys! I need help!

Meanwhile, Ana appeared in a charming village where love stories came to life. Flowers bloomed around her as two romantic characters discussed their impossible love in front of her.

- This is like a dream come true... - whispered Ana as she watched the scene with admiration-. Although I would like to be a part of history...

Tomás was taken to a kingdom where heroes had to overcome trials to save their world. He found himself in front of a large door guarded by a dragon that looked more comical than scary.

- Hello! I'm Tomás! What do I have to do to get through? - he asked confidently.

The dragon looked at him with disdain. —You must solve three puzzles about anime before you can cross.

Meanwhile, Carla screamed when a ghost appeared behind her in a dark castle full of eerie echoes.

- Don't scare me like that! - he exclaimed as he tried to hit the ghost with a pillow he found lying on the floor. This is not what I expected!

In another absurd dimension, Miguel was trying to convince a flying fish to give him advice about life.

"Come on, friend flying fish," Miguel was saying while making exaggerated gestures. Don't you have something useful to tell me? I'm stuck here!

The fish stared at him before answering: - Have you tried to laugh more? That always helps.

As they moved through these unique worlds, each faced challenges that reflected the storylines they loved so much. Leo had to learn to rely on his companions to defeat a formidable enemy: a dark warrior who threatened to destroy everything he knew.

— I can't do it alone! - Leo shouted as he fought the dark warrior.

From her romantic world, Ana shouted to him: -Trust us! Together we can beat it!

In the Enchanted Village, Ana realized that friendship was more important than any idealized romance when she helped two characters reconcile after a silly fight.

In the kingdom of the dragon, Tomás faced his greatest fear: loneliness. While solving riddles about *Naruto*, he realized that he couldn't do it without the help of his friends.

- This is more difficult without you! - he shouted in frustration while trying to remember details about secondary characters.

Carla was fighting scary ghosts but she began to realize that she was not alone; her friends were there to support her even from afar.

- Guys! I need help! These ghosts are very persistent! - Carla screamed as she tried to find a way out.

Miguel was still trapped in his absurd dimension but decided to make all the strange characters laugh with his bad jokes to distract them while he was looking for a way to escape.

After many exciting and challenging adventures, the group finally found a way to return to the real world. As they crossed the portal once more, they felt that something had changed in them; they were not only anime and manga fans but also stronger and closer friends.

—I can't believe I've fought ghosts and I'm still alive—" Carla said laughing as she fell down sitting on the grass of the forest where they had initially arrived.

"And I can't believe I had to solve riddles about *Naruto* to get out of there," Tomas complained as he shook the dust off his clothes.

Leo smiled broadly: - But we did it together. That's what matters.

Ana nodded enthusiastically: -Yes, we learned a lot about ourselves and how to work as a team.

Miguel made a comical grimace: -And now we know that real life can be as crazy as any anime... and that includes my jokes!

The group erupted into laughter as they slowly made their way back down the trail towards their town. Although they had left behind worlds full of fantasy and epic action, they knew that their true adventure was just beginning when they returned home.

The ancient book remained stored in the antique store, waiting for other dreamers who wanted to explore the worlds they loved so much. Leo, Ana, Tomás, Carla and Miguel continued their adventures together not only through anime and manga but also in their daily life.

One day, while they were discussing which series to watch next after school, Miguel said:

- What if we make our own anime? That would be epic!

Ana laughed:

- Only if you don't make me fight ghosts again.

Tom intervened:

- We could include difficult riddles... but also a lot of comic scenes to balance things out.

Carla smiled:

- And I could be the brave heroine... although maybe I'll just have time to scream a lot before I save the day.

With laughter and camaraderie among them, they knew that every challenge was an opportunity to grow and learn together. This was how they discovered not only the excitement of the anime world but also the unparalleled importance of true friendship in every adventure lived or to be lived.











Source of the images.
Image created with Starryai.