Unlock Your Dreams

I was out for my predawn walk on the beach because I love sunrises. The subtle lightening of the sky as we spin toward the sun for another day, quickly followed by pink and red streaks on the clouds was my favorite part. Watching the nature's kaleidoscope of colors and listening to the waves crash on the shore gave me peace.

I was carrying my shoes and walking in the firm sand allowing the foamy edges of the waves lap across my feet when I saw it. It looked like a plastic bottle being pushed by the waves onto the shore and rolling back into the surf. I stopped and observed it for a moment before I picked it up.

The small clear glass bottle with a wide mouth was not much bigger than my hand. Inside was an old black skeleton key and a piece of paper. I could see there was writing on the paper but it was curled and I could not make out what it said. I was intrigued and excited to have found such a treasure on the beach.

* * *

I grabbed the corkscrew and took my little bottle to my work area in the garage. I teetered back and forth about whether to keep the bottle as it was or whether to find out what secrets may be contained on the yellowing paper. I turned the bottle over and over but I still the message alluded me. I picked up the corkscrew and jammed the point into the cork to remove it.

I upturned the bottle and the intricate key with the old paper slid onto the bench. It was not paper after all, but a piece of cloth attached with a thread to the key. It read: 'Unlock your dreams.'

I smoothed out the cloth between my fingers and thought about the message and what it could mean. I gently placed the key back in the bottle and replaced the cork. I took the bottle, placed it on my desk and sat down to work my engine designs.

* * *

"You know what the solution is, Mary," said the man that stood before me.

"Nothing I try works," I explain. I tap on the computer keys and then walked to the work bench in a large clean room.

"The answer is at your fingertips," he said as he followed me around the room.

I turned to him and said, "Then you tell me how to make an engine run on water."

"I can't tell you. Only you have the solution to that puzzle. You are the key," he said.

"Why do you talk in such riddles? Who are you anyway?" I asked.

"I'm here to help you unlock your dreams," he said pointing to an old box sitting alone on a shelf.

I walked over and inspected the box. It was quite an old wooden box with metal straps reinforcing its structure. On the front, a small oval piece of metal hung from single pin. I reached up, nudged it and exposed a keyway.

"You have the key," said the man.

"I don't have the key to this box," I protested.

"But you do," he said. The man walked over and stood next to me. "Look closer."

I reached up and lifted the box from the shelf and behind the box was the bottle I found with the key. I placed the box on the table and grabbed the bottle. I took the key and slid it into the lock. I tried to turn it clockwise but it resisted, so I tried the other way. The lock clicked and a slight gap appeared beneath the lid.

I opened the lid to find it stuffed full of notes written on index cards. They were in my handwriting. They were from years ago. I was a young scientist college.

I dug deeper and I smiled at the notes from a high school project. I had drawn a big x over the card and scribbled 'Mr. Franklin says it won't work.' It was my first design of the water engine and my first rebuff. I had nearly given up on the idea. I read through my youthful scrawl.

I sat straight up in bed. I knew what to do. I knew all along. I just had to believe in my idea that was rejected so long ago. It took my dreams and a key to unlock the knowledge I'd hidden away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Writer's Cramp Prompt 7/7

Write a story or poem about your character finding an old skeleton key with a note attached that says, "Unlock your dreams."

Word count: 748