Writer's Island #5 - Renewal

Welcome Islanders! Today's prompt finally directed me as to which path my story should take. There are still many questions to be answered, and it's quite possible that this tale is taking on a life of it's own, as the best stories seem to do. I'm happily jumping aboard and allowing myself to go along for the ride. I hope you'll join me.

For the following to make sense, you may want to read parts 1 and 2 first.

"My Name is"

"The Key"

Done? And now...Renewal:

“Click”.

Hearing that sound always made me smile. It was still amazing to me how something as simple as turning a key in a lock could open up a whole new world. Of course it wasn’t quite that simple, it wasn’t just any key, and it most certainly wasn’t just any lock, any door. I pushed open the door and stepped into a hallway much too long to be contained within the space of a closet in the backroom of a bookstore. I grabbed and switched on the flashlight resting on a shelf by the door, and closed the door behind me, locking it with the key.

“Click”.

Suddenly, the sounds of the city were extinguished, and I was left with a silence so profound, it took my breath away for a second. It was always like this, the moment of re-entry always left me a bit awestruck, feeling heavier instantly, my shoulders tensed, my mind a bit numb. Regaining my composure, I started down the hallway. As I walked, the path widened, the walls opened up, and within moments, the light from the windows and the fluorescent bulbs ahead erased the need for the flashlight. I shut it off, and placed it on a table. Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the well lit conference room.

“Ah, there she is, you’re a bit late today” Alfonse said getting up to greet me.
“I’m sorry, I got caught up” I smiled to myself, thinking of my breakfast encounter.
“No worries, no worries,” Alfonse said smiling and taking my hand and leading me to the big conference table in the middle of the room “we were just getting settled.”
As I approached the table, everyone stood “Good Morning Madam President” echoed throughout the room.
“Good morning everyone, please be seated”. I said taking my own seat at the head of the table. From here, I had a perfect view out of the main window in the room; a view that looked out above the remains of a city once bustling with activity, but now mostly dormant. A cloud of grey mist hung over the skeletons of buildings once filled with the noise of office equipment, telephones ringing, and people exchanging their morning pleasantries. It was silent now, a ghost town, and signs of the mass desertion were still visible in things such as the abandoned cars in the middle of the streets, and the store fronts with their “OPEN” signs flapping in the wind.

THIS was my world. This was where I belonged. Not the sunny, cheerful coffee shop, or the dusty, antique bookstore full of character, but this, a conference room in a secured and air locked building, where I governed over a world so splintered and devoid of beauty that it hurt to look out the windows. Yet there was hope. We’d discovered the key, and long with the key, was the legend. If the legend was true, we could create a renewal of this world, and bring back its beauty and magic. So far, every prophecy had manifested itself; therefore we had to believe the legend of the key would as well.

And that is what I was doing on the other side of the door. Hoping to bridge a gap between the two worlds, in order to infuse color back into the land I loved so deeply. It wasn’t going to be easy, and the road to get even as far as we’d already gotten had been filled with obstacles and pitfalls. But we had located the door, passed through, established a connection, and I wasn’t giving up until I’d either succeeded or taken my last breath. And even then, I had them, my council, my advisors, my soldiers. They would never stop.

I looked around the table at their expectant faces. All waiting for me to deliver some good news, tell them anything that would give them enough hope to keep fighting another day. And today, for the first time in weeks, I had a glimmer of that hope to hand out.

“Well,” I said sitting back in my chair and smiling “It’s not much, but I’ve made contact”.
A collective sigh echoed throughout the room and Alfonse was the first to speak
“He spoke to you?”
“He did,” I smiled “and we have a breakfast date tomorrow morning”.
The smiles were grand, but cautious.
“And you really think he’s the one?” This time it was Percival who spoke.
“We’ve been over this” Alfonse said quickly “We can’t be sure, but he seems to be the best candidate so far”.
“And if it’s not him?” Margarita asked anxiously “We’re running out of time”
“We still have time Margarita” I said “If it isn’t him, we’ll keep searching”
“And if it is him?” Percival spoke again “Then what?”
“Then we wait…” Alfonse answered “We let the magic take its course, and we wait.”

Copyright 2007 - Karina

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