I found a set of keys while I was walking today. The tip of one was sticking up on the edge of a trail, so I poked at it with my foot. They aren't car keys or house keys. They're old and rusty and belong to something else. Walking home, I wondered if they were meant to open something that’s no longer nearby or if it's still here, in my neighborhood -- maybe hidden in the far corner of someone's crawl space under their house, or above a warped ceiling tile in someone's basement, or better yet, buried thirty paces from someone’s back door under a menacing gargoyle that watches over their garden.
Then I started wondering what might be inside whatever these keys opened? A box of letters from someone’s lover? A long lost will that could tear a family apart? A map to a hidden grave? (Maybe Jimmy Hoffa’s! Wouldn’t Canada have been a good place to hide his body?) Or was it something even more enigmatic, like a wedding veil, five seashells, and a brass whistle?
I’ll never know what they open or who they belong to, but they’ve already unleashed a barrage of creative ideas in my mind and I’ve only had them one day. Maybe a future novel will be built around these keys. Or maybe they'll be the source of a chapter in my current novel. I’m not sure, but for now I've tucked them away in my mini-aluminum garbage can labeled STORY IDEAS even though it's already crammed full with paper and pictures and nick knacks that probably wouldn't make sense to anyone else (unless you're a writer!)
12 comments:
Holly, only YOU would find keys like this - they're totally intriguing and gorgeous and filled with story - I'm getting chills!
Let me know if it leads you any where - it's definitely a picture to hang by your computer to "unlock" your creativity. Inspiring!
ahhhh! Holly this is killing me!! this is so great!
I love finding treasures like that and half the intrigue is wondering what the story is!!
Thanks for sharing.
Your post got my mind spinning with possibilities! Isn't it amazing that one little thing like finding a set of keys will spark so many ideas?
So next time I think my keys have disappeared, I can just imagine them cozily tucked away on an author's desk somewhere... LOL!
What a wonderful image, and I do think you're stirring everyone's imaginations. Great post!
I never know what I'll get when I land on your blog. That's why it's one of my favorites!! Thanks for posting :)
I am a beachcomber at heart. Always looking for things like this, too.
I do the same thing with people. A harried woman dragging two kids by the hand across a parking lot.
An elderly man wearing threadbare pants and patched jacket at MacDonalds opening a worn wallet. Slowly counting out change.
A story forms in my brain about each one.
So funny both Holly and I posted about ideas today and we haven't even talked about it!
What beautiful, mysterious keys...I'm sure they will open SOMETHING.
I love this!
I find stories everywhere, too--curiosity makes us better observers, better writers, don't you think?
One of my finds, long ago, was a tiny infant sock and a pacifier with a ribbon attached, sitting in the grass alongside a stone wall.
Yep, You are a true novelist! What a great reminder to look about the simplicity in our lives and ask, "What?"
Hiya Holly,
I finally got a free moment to sign up and leave a comment! This is the first time I'm blogging!! This is so cool!
I love your Blog site! I look forward every day to ready your daily postings. You ROCK!
Take care and talk to you soon!
Bug, so nice to have you join in! Hope things are well in Winnipeg.
(You didn't need to sign up, though. For anyone else out there wanting to leave a comment, they can simply choose Anonymous as an option or else Other and type in their name.) :)
Very cool. Don't you love it when you find something interesting things like that!
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