prologue

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edited: 23/01/2018


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"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." - Roald Dahl
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The waves were destructive as they fell onto the beach and then pulled themselves back, clutching at anything they could find on the sand: litter, sea shells, a key.

She was not listening to what her friend was saying. She was staring at the ocean, wondering what would happen if she were to run into it now, with her face to the sky so that she could feel every drop of rain on her skin. What would happen if she never came back? It was a silly thought, and she shook her head to dispel it.

A key.

She glanced back to the sand, just as the tide heaved backwards again. It was still there, untouched by the vigorous force of the ocean. She crouched to get a better look at it, uncaring that the water was splashing her jeans and causing them to stick uncomfortably to her skin. She picked it up.

It was black, the ends curling into infinite swirls, and there were strange line markings carved into the metal that reminded her of hieroglyphics. It felt cool in her palm; not too heavy and not too light. She stood up, wondering what it might have unlocked. Probably nothing. It was just a worthless key that somebody had not cared about enough to realise that they had even dropped it.

She kept it anyway, the sudden feeling of holding onto something with unlimited possibilities washing over her. The key could unlock anything in the world. For a moment, she wondered if this was what it would feel like to disappear into the ocean, consumed by a vast blanket of wonder.

She slid it into her back pocket. Though she didn't understand why, she couldn't bear to drop it back onto the sand and let the tide wash it away again. The key was important; she knew that by the unique design, looking as though it had come from a different time, as though it held a mystery that had not yet been uncovered. 

She wanted to solve that mystery, even if she knew all too well that it probably would never lead to anything outside of her own imagination. Still, just to have it was enough for her. It made her feel a part of something bigger, and she could not let that go, no matter how hard it might have been to admit.

The key belonged to her now.

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