At Last!

You’ve been given a key that can open one building, room, locker, or box to which you don’t normally have access. How do you use it, and why?

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Linda trembled with excitement when she picked up the small golden key. It felt warm in her hand, as if it had a life of its own. Never had she had such an opportunity, and she was almost afraid to use it. What if she were disappointed?  What if she discovered nothing that would be of any help? 

Still, the opportunity was there, and it would never be given to her again.

She watched Terry for several minutes. He slept deeply, breathing regularly. He was comfortable, completely at rest.  For 45 year she’d been married to this complicated man. For 45 years she’d tried to understand the convoluted trails in his brain. He was brilliant in so many way.  He was so talented with his hands, able to fix anything that was broken. He was trained as a mechanical engineer, and he loved solving functional problems. He could make old things look brand new, and he loved to work above all things.

These things she knew.  These things she tried to understand, and for the most part she did. She felt very blessed indeed to have a man who made calls to repairmen and mechanics unknown in their household. She couldn’t even imagine the money they had saved over the years because of his abilities.

But there was  a part of his brain that was locked up tight. Even Terry himself didn’t open it up, and Linda was now able with a flick of her wrist to open that secret place and look inside to understand the mysteries of his most intimate thought.

Her heart was beating like a trapped bird against the bars of a cage. She held the key just above his head to lay it gently against his skin. Just as she leaned in to place the key on his forehead, she froze!

“No! No, I can’t do this.  I can’t sneak inside his mind while he’s helpless.  This is wrong, and I can’t–won’t–do it.  He’d never understand, never forgive me for going where he himself doesn’t go.”

Linda stood, breathed deeply, and held the key at arm’s length.

“I don’t want it,” she said. “I won’t use it.”

The key shimmered and disappeared, and Linda lay back down beside her husband, reaching for his hand as she drifted off to sleep herself. She was secure, safe, and probably saved from committing one of the worst crimes ever–intruding into another person’s mind.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/golden-key/