Unlocking the Unknown

It had been raining that day. I remember the downpour of rain swallowing the sounds around me and for reasons I can’t recall I had decided to walk to class that morning. I suppose the day had started out a beautiful spring day, but I should have known for all my years living in the northeast that the weather was a fickle creature.

Foolishly, I never bothered to check the weather in the morning and midway through my walk home the heavens opened and rain flooded the streets. Normally a little rain wouldn’t bother me, but this was no normal rain. It plummeted around me obstructing my vision and making it impossible to see more than even ten feet in front of me.

Fortunately, I had been walking through the center of town and was surrounded by shops that could offer shelter. I decided to duck into the nearest shop when I felt the rain soak through to my socks. There was no worse feeling than wet socks.

It was a shop I must have walked by a thousand times as I walked through town on my way to class, but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you what its name was. It was one of those shops that you paid no mind to as you walked by, its front contained nothing memorable except an empty shop window and a sign similar to the ones that hung on most other shops on the street.

A bell rang above me as I stepped into the small store and a musty scent struck my nose as I looked around waiting for my eyes to adjust to the lighting change. As dark as it was outside, it was far darker inside the shop. When I could finally make out my surroundings, I could see the store was lined with shelves of what looked like novelty gifts. The rack in front of me was filled with mugs that read ‘#1 Dad’ or ‘#1 Mom’ and from what I could see the rest of the shelves in the store held items of similar taste.

I wasn’t interested in buying anything, but I could still hear the rain pounding on the rooftop and I figured it couldn’t hurt to look around. As I browsed, I noticed a fine layer of dust coating the shelves suggesting that no one had shopped here in quite some time. I passed an aisle of stuffed animals that could have once been cute, but now looked worn with age. Picking up a bunny, I examined the fur that was a sickly gray. I would have bet that fur was white when it was made. Its eyes had sunken into its face as the stuffing had lost its fluff over time giving it a look that seemed to silently scream ‘Help me!’.

“Good choice my dear,” came a nasally voice from behind me causing me to nearly jump out of my skin and drop the plush on the floor. My heart pounded in my chest as I turned to face the source. I hadn’t seen anyone when I walked in and somehow hadn’t heard anyone walk up behind me, but the rational part of my brain said that of course someone was here, this was a store and stores had employees.

The voice had come from an elderly woman who had taken it upon herself to stand uncomfortably close to me. She picked the plush up from the floor with a gnarled hand and gave it back to me. At first glance she looked like a normal elderly lady who could be your grandmother, but the longer you looked at her, the longer something felt off. Like her smile was too wide, her hair just a little too perfect, or her nails just a little too long. An uncomfortable rock settled in the bottom of my stomach and no matter how hard I tried to reason with it, it would not go away.

“If you like that, I have something else you’ll like,” she crooned motioning for me to follow her.

I nodded hesitantly and followed her as she wound her way through the maze of cheap trinkets to the back of the store where a spinning wire rack held an array of necklaces. A skeleton key necklace was front and center at the top of the display nestled in a row of pendant necklaces. I oohed and aahed appropriately, not wanting to insult the collection this woman seemed so proud of. As I perused, I found my eyes kept drifting back to the key necklace. It was pretty in a rustic kind of way, the key itself was bronze in color and the handle was adorned with beautiful filigree. I hadn’t planned on buying anything, but I figured what could it hurt?

“I’ll take that one,” I said pointing at the key necklace.

“Yes, yes, that suits you quite well.” The old woman smiled revealing teeth that were slightly too white.

Rain continued to thunder down onto the roof of the store as the woman rang up my purchase. The uneasy feeling in my stomach hadn’t dissipated and at that point I had resolved to take my chances with the rain rather than spend any more time in that store. I quickly ushered my thanks and the unblinking smile the old woman gave me as I left only reinforced my decision.

My apartment was only a few blocks from the center, and I got home about 15 minutes later. At some point on the walk the feeling of uneasiness had lifted and I had time to run through what I needed to get done that night. I figured I had about 3 hours of homework to do and would just heat up a microwave dinner while I worked. With the rest of my night, I could catch up on my shows. Just like every other night. I couldn’t remember a time when that wasn’t my routine except for every other night when I took a break to video chat my sister.

It had never been easy for me to make friends; I was shy and extremely introverted. In my teens I clung to my sister, who was a grade above me and would graciously included me in her plans. We had some great times. Now that I was over 3 hours away and in college, I missed her. She had stayed home to follow her dream of owning a hair salon and while the video chats during the week helped, it wasn’t the same.

At around 10pm I finally decided to give up, the psych paper I was working on had started to swirl in front of my eyes and I knew I needed a break. I was contemplating which show to watch as I put my laptop back in my backpack when my hand brushed against the paper bag the old woman had put the necklace in.

The key sparkled mesmerizingly in the dim light of my living room as I took it out of its bag. Intricate lines and whorls encircled the handle and I hadn’t noticed in the shop, but little symbols decorated the bit. It looked like it could have been some kind of writing, but it was nothing that I recognized.

Carefully I put the necklace on, struggling with the clasp, and went to look at myself in the mirror. I liked it. The necklace was just the right length to wear with any outfit and the bronze of the key complemented my long auburn hair nicely. I smiled at my reflection and as I did so, something caught my eye in the mirror behind me. A keyhole in the closet door. Had that been there before? I hadn’t lived in the apartment for all that long but as far as I could remember none of the doors had skeleton key locks.

I looked at the key around my neck and all of a sudden a wave of curiosity stuck me. Almost as if I was on autopilot, I felt myself turn and walk to the closet door, entranced by the key in my hand. It felt heavy as I slipped it off my neck and brought it to the keyhole. I knew there was no way that a key I had just bought that afternoon would fit into a door in my apartment, that would be crazy. And yet…

Click. The key slipped easily into the keyhole. My heartbeat thundered in my ears. For some reason I felt nervous, like something terrible would happen if this key really worked. I stood frozen with my hand on the key for what felt like hours, trying to convince myself to both turn the key and to take the key out and forget the whole thing. To at least do something!

Curiosity won out in the end and I applied the slightest pressure to the key, expecting to be met with resistance. Instead, the key turned in the lock with a loud clunk that echoed through my small apartment like a gong.

The world dissolved into slow motion as I turned the knob to the door. It must just have been a fluke, the key was probably a very common skeleton key design, I tried to reassure myself.

A blast of warm air hit me as the door opened and the coat rack and vacuum I had expected to see were gone, replaced with lush trees and exotic flowers that framed the view of the most magnificent waterfall I had ever seen.

What in the world?

Quickly, I shut the door and stepped back, thinking I had lost my mind and was seeing things now. But it felt so real. I had felt the warm air on my skin and heard the roar of the waterfall. No, impossible. Shaking my head in an attempt to snap myself back to reality, I looked around. I was still in my apartment and everything looked exactly as it always had. I really was losing it.

With a short, self-deprecating laugh I opened the closet door again to confirm I had imagined everything; but there it was, the waterfall. Mist coated my face as I stood in the doorway in awe. My mother would have probably told me to close my mouth or I’d start catching flies, but pure wonderment caused me to lose all motor function.

I thought I must have been dreaming, only in my dreams was I able to visit a place like this, it’s beauty only something I had seen in pictures. Another thought occurred to me; so what if this was a dream, why not embrace this experice? I hesitated for only a second before stepping through the doorframe.

My eyes couldn’t pick a spot to focus on, every new area I looked held something even more amazing than the last. Wild animals skittered through the trees, flowers of every kind and color dotted the scenery, and that waterfall. Words could not describe the magnificence of the waterfall. Sunlight beamed down into the clearing where the waterfall cascaded down into a small pool at its base, causing the water droplets in the air to shine like diamonds. It was all so surreal.

Making my way to the waterfall, my bare feet padded along the dirt of the jungle floor. It didn’t matter that I had no shoes or that branches snagged my leggings causing them to tear. All that mattered was the waterfall.

As I drew nearer, I realized I didn’t even know if I had a way home. I looked back in the direction I came from and sure enough I could see a rectangular patch of my living room floating in the air. The plainness of it looked so out of place surrounded by the beauty of the jungle.

Satisfied that I wouldn’t be stranded there, I closed the distance to the pool and waded in. The water was pleasantly warm to the touch. I found a rock to sit on and just watched the waterfall, letting the sights and the sounds soothe my soul. I could have died happy right then and there.

I sat there for hours soaking it all in, but when the excitement died down from an earthquake to a rumble, I felt just how tired I was and decided it was time to head back. Tearing myself away from such an amazing place was no easy feat even though I knew I couldn’t sleep there. I resolved I would come back tomorrow, one day of missed classes wouldn’t hurt.

Closing the door, I clutched the key to my chest and vowed to never let it leave my sight.

The next day, I woke up groggy as my 8:30am alarm went off. I immediately reached for the key where I had made room for it on my nightstand and panicked when my hand met nothing but table. I shot up from bed faster than I had ever moved in my life, afraid the jungle really had been nothing but a dream, but exhaled a sigh of relief when I spotted the key on the other side of the stand. Weird, I could have sworn I put it on the side closest to me.

Wasting no time, I got out of bed and got ready for the day, throwing on whichever leggings and shirt I found first in my closet, eager to get back to the waterfall again. My shoes couldn’t get on my feet fast enough and I practically sprinted the five steps to the closet where the keyhole had appeared.

The key fit perfectly, just as it had before. I yanked open the door and stopped dead in my tracks. The waterfall was gone.

In its place was a vast expanse of plains with snow capped mountains in the distance, equally magnificent to the jungle in its own way.

Confused, I closed the door on the plains. Where had the jungle gone? Would it be a different place every time I opened the door with the key? To test my theory I removed my key from the lock and waited thirty seconds before returning the key to the door and opening it.

Well, I could officially rule out that theory. I had opened the door to the exact same plains as before. The rustling grass made such an inviting sound I decided not to let the disappointment of not seeing the waterfall ruin another amazing opportunity.

Beelining for the kitchen, I scooped up my backpack as a plan formed in my mind. I packed enough food and water to last the day and then some just in case. Familiar excitement thrummed through my veins as I traded out sneakers for my sturdier hiking boots.

There had been some bluffs not too far off that looked like they’d make for good exploring. The trek up to the lowest peak took a fair amount of time but was not as treacherous as I had thought it would be. It offered the perfect spot for a picnic and I decided that this was as good a spot as any to set up camp. I spent the rest of the day taking in the beauty that surrounded me. As the sun set a pack of wild horses ran across the plains and I wished that I had any sort of artistic talent because that scene would have made for a beautiful painting. Warm wind caressed my face and I lifted my head to meet it. In that moment I truly felt free, a feeling I didn’t know I had been searching for my entire life.

The only hiccup of the day happened when I was getting ready to leave. I had packed up my containers and was set to head back to the door when I felt for the key around my neck and realized it wasn’t there. I felt silly when I remembered that I had put it down next to my backpack but a quick scan of the ground returned no results. Dread took over as I emptied the contents of the backpack on the ground. Still no key.

A quick flash about 5 feet away from where I had made camp caught in a ray of the sunset and I prayed that it was the key. My prayers were answered as I scrambled over to the rock and snatched the key from where it lay, just happy to have it in my possession again, all questions of how it got there forgotten.

The next couple weeks I fell into a routine of waking up, getting ready, and then off to explore whatever wonders the key would take me to that day. I had watched dolphins on a tropical beach, hiked through a rich green forest, even explored ancient ruins in a jungle. I had seen so many amazing things that I never would have thought to be possible, and I was quickly becoming addicted.

There was seemingly no rhyme or reason to where the key took me and it seemed to change with each day. I found the key worked with any door but always took me back to where I started. It could even open doors where there were none. Once, when the key took me to some sea cliffs, a particularly strong gust of wind had shut the door behind me and left me in a panic until I saw a tiny keyhole just floating in midair.

One day I was getting ready to see where my next destination would be when I heard a knock on my door. That was strange, I didn’t have any friends in the area, let alone anyone that would show up at my apartment.

The knocking persisted and I could see the silhouette of someone outside the window. Whoever this was was angry and that was the last thing I wanted to deal with. I ducked into my kitchen, placing my key down softly on the counter, hoping that whoever it was would eventually give up and go away until I heard a familiar voice call out.

“Jessica, you better open this door right now!”

Annie? What on earth was she doing here?

My sister continued her pounding and it was clear she would not leave until I answered. Slowly, I opened the door to one very agitated Annie. I hadn’t even gotten the door halfway open before she barged right in and turned on me.

“Jessica, where the hell have you been?!”

Seeing my confusion she continued, “No one’s heard from you for weeks! You’ve missed all our video chats, and then the school calls… We thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere!”

I almost rolled my eyes, she was always one for theatrics. Still, guilt crept up on me forming a large knot in my throat.

“Annie, I’m sorry I’ve just been really busy…” I trailed off as I followed her line of sight. Dirty dishes lined the countertops and table, clothes were haphazardly strewn along any and all furniture, and my schoolwork sat untouched on the floor where I had left it after cleaning out my backpack to take on one of my adventures. It wasn’t looking good for me. In all of my excitement I had let all other responsibilities fall by the wayside.

When Annie turned back to me concern lined her face and I couldn’t blame her, my apartment was not reflective of a healthy living. She gathered my hands into her own and looked deep into my eyes.

“Are you ok? Are you in trouble? Dad and I can help you no matter what –“

“I’m fine,” I cut her off. “I’ve just been busy! Honestly.” I held my hands up in what was meant to be a sign of surrender.

“Then why haven’t you answered your phone?” she asked, still on the attack.

My phone, I had completely forgotten about it. I looked around me trying to locate the device. I couldn’t remember where I had last seen it. On the counter maybe? I started rummaging through empty bottles and containers.

“What’s this?” I looked over to see Annie picking up a bronze necklace from the table in my dining room. Instantly my blood ran cold. How did she get the key? I looked to the spot on the counter where I thought I had left it and saw only old food wrappers. Frantically, I felt around trying to find the object I already knew was in her hand.

“It’s pretty.” She made to put the necklace on and I sprinted to her with speed I never knew I possessed.

“NO!” I ripped the necklace from her hand and in the process knocked my sister to the ground. There was a loud thud as she hit the floor, but all of my focus was on my key. MY key. My key that she had almost stolen from me. Anger bubbled inside me as I thought about how she touched my key like it was hers.

“What is wrong with you?” she yelled as she scrambled back to her feet, backing feet away from me in the process. “What would mom have thought? It would break her heart to see you like this. Let me help you.”

That got my attention.

“How dare you mention her!” I whipped around to face my sister. The anger had boiled over and I couldn’t stop myself as I screamed at her, “Get out of my house! Get out of my sight!”

A look of fear I had never seen her make before darkened her eyes and she backed further away from me. Guilt cut through the anger, sobering me to reality. She was making that face at me, because of me.

“Annie, wait I –“

It was too late, she was already gone.

I couldn’t believe it. I had hurt the one person that actually cared about me. The person who had driven over three hours to check on me and make sure I was ok. I couldn’t handle it, the guilt was eating me alive so I did the one thing I had become so good at doing, I escaped.

I still hadn’t let go of the key and at that moment it felt like it was the last good thing I had left. Without even bothering to pack anything for the day I shoved the key into the door, ready for a distraction from what had just transpired.

It opened into a gorgeous cave with a pool lit by bioluminescent algae that glowed a glorious blue color, giving the cave an ethereal look. If any place could calm my nerves it was this one.

Eagerly, I stepped through the door and set about exploring. I spent hours wandering the caves until all the guilt had waned to a mere nagging at the back of my mind. Since there was no sun it was impossible to tell what time it was and as I started to make my way back to the door, I noticed the water seemed to be a bit higher. Realization dawned on me, high tide was coming in. I needed to hurry and get back before the caves were fully submerged.

With each step it seemed like the water grew higher. I wasn’t even halfway back and it was already above my waist. A wave slapped against my chest spraying water in my face. I was never going to make it. I was going to die here. I’d never get to say goodbye to my dad or make amends with my sister. The thought brought a sob I had been holding in all day out of me.

I had one option left, the key. If I could get it to create a new keyhole I could still get home. I wasn’t sure if it would work but I had to try. My hands shook, both from cold and from nerves, and as I lifted the key from my neck I fumbled and dropped the key into the water.

Immediately, I reached for the key where it fell but was met with only water. Even with the glow of the algae I could see that it was gone. My heart dropped. Where did it go? That key had been my only hope and it was gone. I really was going to die. It had played with me, showing me these beautiful things only to leave me to die at the last second. How cruel.

The water had risen dramatically leaving only a foot of air and I knew it would be over soon. I had given up all hope when I saw it, a black outline against the glow of the water about fifty feet away from me. All my hope flooded back. I was a good swimmer; I could get the key.

Taking one last big gulp of air I dove under the water towards the key. It was farther than I had originally thought. Worry began to creep back up as I dived deeper and deeper, the key always seemingly just out of reach. The edges of my vision had started to darken when my hand finally brushed against the key. Internally I rejoiced.

I knew I only had precious few seconds left and I prayed to the key to give me a door. My lungs were begging me for oxygen and every additional second was a fight to stay awake; but I managed to look around me in the water, searching for the door that could save my life. I finally found it after what felt like an eternity of searching, the anxiety and oxygen deprivation dragging each second out unbearably. I jammed the key into the hole a yanked open the door. With my last ounce of strength, I managed to pull myself through and flopped down onto my living room floor.

As I sat there soaking my rug and gasping for breath, I decided it was time to get some answers.

I had decided to wait until the next day to visit the shop and I must have looked like a lunatic as I sprinted through the town center. I threw open the door to the shop, ignoring the dirty looks from passersby on the street. Stepping inside I paused, was this the same shop? It had been so dirty and unkempt before, but now it looked like a completely new shop. The store was bright and cheery, the shelves clean, and the stuffed animals on the wall looked plump and new. It was nothing like how I remembered, but this had to be the same shop.

“Welcome back,” the old woman’s voice called out.

I looked for the voice and found her staring at me from behind the counter with that same too wide smile, except it wasn’t the same. She looked younger, impossibly younger. The wrinkles that had lined her face were all but gone and her hair was now more brown than gray.

“What is this?” I demanded as I held up the key, thrusting it towards her.

“Don’t you like my gift?” she cocked her head in the same manner a dog would, her smile widening to an unnatural size.

“I almost died!” The want for answers overrode my instincts to get as far away from her as possible. “What is this? Why did you give it me? And why did it try to kill me?”

She laughed as she stepped out from behind the counter, the sound sending chills up my spine. “My dear child, haven’t you figured it out? That key will take you to places you could only dream of, BUT every time you put it down it moves farther and farther away from you until poof!” She made a bursting motion with her hand. No, her claw? She took another step.

“But why?” I asked.

“Because my dear, your emotions are so delicious.” She drew closer still, licking her lips, her features morphing into things nightmares are made of. Every hair on my body was standing on end. I knew I needed to get away from her and fast, but she was blocking my path to the exit.

“Especially your fear.” She cackled and lunged, her claws swiping the air in front of me. I turned and sprinted towards the back of the store, her laugh following me as I ran down the aisles. I spotted what must have been a janitors closet at the end of one of the aisles and knew I had two options; either stay here and let her kill me or take my chances with the key.

I chose option two. I managed to close the door behind me just as she slammed into it with a bang. The force of her body hitting the door caused me to stumble and the key slipped from my hand. It was that moment I knew I had been doomed either way. Neither her nor the key were going to let me live.

Heat choked me as I looked around to see where I had ended up. Miles of arid, unforgiving desert stretched out in all directions. The key was nowhere to be seen. Even in the few seconds I was there the wind had buried it under the sand making it impossible to find. I could spend a lifetime looking for it and probably never find it.

I dropped to my knees in defeat. Engulfed in the desert's parched silence, I was nothing but another grain of sand in the wind.