Week 22: Key to magical world -- Kamman

By Aliza Kamman
Mount Abraham Union High School, Grade 8

Laura walked in the door and her eyes fell across the wooden kitchen table. They linger there for a moment, but soon catch a glimpse of gold on a far off counter. She slowly began to walk towards the interesting shape that caught her eye. As she approached the counter she made out the shape to be a key. Slowly Laura reached out her hand and grabbed the key. It felt smooth and cold against her skin. It was the brightest gold she had ever seen.

Laura swiftly turned away from the counter and began to wonder what the key opened. She began to walk out of the kitchen and towards her bedroom, gently placing the key in her pocket. She brought her thoughts back the day, the crazy morning, the boring first-block class, lunch with her friends, and finally the bus ride home. Laura sat down opened her backpack and began to do her homework. She ate dinner with her family, and headed to bed. As she slipped between the covers, the key came back to her mind. She hadn’t told anyone else of it nor figured out what it opened. It was no ordinary key, for it was thin and small and its ends were carefully twisted into a neat spiral. As Laura began to drift away toward sleep, the key once again slipped away from the grasp of her mind. For the next few weeks the key never once crossed Laura’s mind, it sat there on the nightstand next to the lamp.

One Sunday as Laura got ready to go to church, the key once again caught her eye. She hesitantly walked over to the nightstand and picked it up. After staring at it for a few long seconds, she placed it in her pocket and kept on with her morning. She ate breakfast and put on her coat. She slowly walked to church with her mother. There was no conversation between the two, just a quiet walk across the bridge through the fresh spring air. It was a beautiful sunny day in early spring.
As they reached the walkway Laura noticed something she had never noticed before. It was a tree, but it had quite an interesting shape: It was short and wide; its leaves were a very bright green and a droopy shape. After pausing for a moment to look at the tree she continued on her way. For what seemed like the longest time she sat in church wondering about the tree. As she got up to leave something fell from her pocket and clattered to the floor. It was the key. She picked it up and placed it back in her pocket and continued on her way.

As she walked out of church, she walked over to the tree. She noticed a crack in one side. When she looked harder at the tree, she saw that the crack was shaped like a small door. As she looked even harder, she saw that there was also a keyhole in the door. It was not just any keyhole. Its shape was surprisingly familiar. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the key. It matched the keyhole exactly. She gently placed the key in the hole. After taking a deep breath she turned the key and the door popped open. She slowly, hesitantly stepped inside. There was a beautiful staircase spiraling down what looked like one hundred feet. It was covered in a soft, deep red carpet. Laura cautiously walked down the stairs. They went on for what seemed like forever. Finally she reached the bottom.

She stepped into a whole different world. There were orange trees and red rivers. There were magical creatures that Laura had never dreamed of. There were unicorns, flying fish, and even rainbow elephants. She wandered there for a while marveling over all the fantastic sights.

After a while she decided to head home. She walked up the spiral staircase, and walked out of the tree. Everything was still. She began to walk back across the bridge and down the road to her house. She walked in the door and up to her room. What an adventure she had just been on. She placed the key back on the nightstand and sat on her bed.

Laura never told anyone of the magical world, but she visited it often.