By Teric Darken (Darkness/Faith/Perpelxed)
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I was utterly perplexed: Why wouldn’t my key unlock the door? The old man ahead of me simply took his key out, stuck it in the lock then waltzed right in. Furthermore, when the door opened, a brilliant display of light pelted my senses, temporarily blinding me.
“I wanna know! I wanna see what’s inside!” I screamed.
I tried my key again. Jangling it loose from the hundred other keys on my keychain, I thrust it into the lock and cranked with all of my might. It neither twisted nor turned. I beat the hell out of that door, but as things stood, hell stood no chance against it.
“LET ME IN! LET ME IN, DAMMIT, I DEMAND IT!”
“Pardon me, sir. Excuse me, I need to get by.”
She was an elderly female, barely able to shuffle through this corridor while assisted by her walker.
“Yes, ma’am, certainly… Pardon me.”
I watched in complete amazement as she lifted a single key out of her apron pocket, placed it within the lock then swung the door wide open – just like that! Before being blinded by that mysterious wash of light again, I witnessed another amazing sight: the little old lady discarded her walker – simply chucked it out into the corridor as if she now had the strength of a thousand men. She then skipped into that illuminating magnificence, and that is when the darkness, again, punched me in the face.
“Oh, come on! You’ve got to be kidding me!” I yelled.
“What’s the problem, man?”
I turned around and found myself staring directly into the face of a biker. I almost soiled my shorts. He was a sight to behold: all in black, with a do-rag atop his noggin and scruff all about his face.
“I – I…” I simply stuttered, stammered and stared.
“Can’t get in the door?”
“No, I – I can’t.”
“Well, which key are you using? You using the right key?”
“I – I think so… I should be… Yes, yes I am.”
“Well, lemme see your key. Mind if I have a look?”
I produced the wad of keys from my pocket.
His lighthearted laugh and ensuing words perplexed me. “Ha! Look at all of these keys! How many doors do you see here?”
“Uh… One.”
“Exactly, my friend! There’s only one key, you know… One door, one key.”
“Yeah, well, these keys have worked for me on every other door, why shouldn’t they work on this one?”
“Lemme ask you this,” he replied. “Did you install this door?”
“Uh… No, no I didn’t.”
“I’d be willing to bet that you’ve installed all the other doors in your life by selecting the random styles that tickled your fancy: relationships… jobs… vacations… You know – all the doors to fit the frame of how you wanna live your life. Am I right?”
“Y – Yeah, so far.”
“Well, this is one door that you didn’t install. It’s been here loooong before you ever walked down this corridor. Furthermore, you didn’t walk up to this door, it came to you.”
“Yeah, well it won’t let me in! I can’t use any of my keys!”
“Precisely! You’ve chosen all of your other doors because the locks fit the keys you wished to use. Buddy, this door’s one-of-a-kind. Have you used the door’s key?”
I was beginning to get hot under the collar – more like pissed off. “Look man, I appreciate you explaining all of this to me, but I’ve placed all of my faith in my own set of keys, and they haven’t let me down yet. So if this is the case: that I have to use a different key – somebody else’s key – just to get in this door then I DON’T WANT IT! I don’t want any part of it! I’ll just go back to my own door!” I pointed down the corridor to the door that had my name on it– literally.
It was a strange sight to see the biker’s polite smile. “Suit yourself, man. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a party to attend!”
The biker produced a single key from the pocket of his chaps, and with a click and a turn, the door swung wide open. I could hear the din of merriment – the roar of the crowd welcoming the biker – and was amazed to see that old man and woman, who’d both gone in before me, dancing like nobody’s business atop a translucent floor. The light then knocked me backward, and I landed on my duff.
I sulked, steamed then cussed at that modest door that strangely enough produced the ornate light. Picking myself up from the ground, I began to mentally write out invitations to a pity party – though no one else seemed to be around. In this corridor, there were only two doors: THAT door and my own.
My door had never failed me; my keys had never failed me, but I failed to realize that there is a first time for everything. I resolved to retain my faith in my own set of keys. I slowly shuffled back to my door and stuck in a key. I gave a twist, and without hesitation the lock gave way.
I decided to try another key from the countless keys on my ring. It met no resistance. Then I tried another and another and yet another. Every one of those damned keys unlocked my door, but not a one of them would unlock THAT door. I glared at those keys on my ring, each one of them marked: “Me…” “Myself…” “I…” “Mine…” “This-ism…” “That-ism…” And so on and so forth.
I kicked my door open, mad as hell, and turned to face THAT door once more. “I DON’T NEED YOU!” I screamed.
Then I turned back around and stomped inside. Shutting my door behind me, I was enveloped in utter darkness. I wept and wailed bitterly. Through the gnashing of my teeth, I cursed that door of illumination.
<><+><>
I was utterly perplexed: Why wouldn’t my key unlock the door? The old man ahead of me simply took his key out, stuck it in the lock then waltzed right in. Furthermore, when the door opened, a brilliant display of light pelted my senses, temporarily blinding me.
“I wanna know! I wanna see what’s inside!” I screamed.
I tried my key again. Jangling it loose from the hundred other keys on my keychain, I thrust it into the lock and cranked with all of my might. It neither twisted nor turned. I beat the hell out of that door, but as things stood, hell stood no chance against it.
“LET ME IN! LET ME IN, DAMMIT, I DEMAND IT!”
“Pardon me, sir. Excuse me, I need to get by.”
She was an elderly female, barely able to shuffle through this corridor while assisted by her walker.
“Yes, ma’am, certainly… Pardon me.”
I watched in complete amazement as she lifted a single key out of her apron pocket, placed it within the lock then swung the door wide open – just like that! Before being blinded by that mysterious wash of light again, I witnessed another amazing sight: the little old lady discarded her walker – simply chucked it out into the corridor as if she now had the strength of a thousand men. She then skipped into that illuminating magnificence, and that is when the darkness, again, punched me in the face.
“Oh, come on! You’ve got to be kidding me!” I yelled.
“What’s the problem, man?”
I turned around and found myself staring directly into the face of a biker. I almost soiled my shorts. He was a sight to behold: all in black, with a do-rag atop his noggin and scruff all about his face.
“I – I…” I simply stuttered, stammered and stared.
“Can’t get in the door?”
“No, I – I can’t.”
“Well, which key are you using? You using the right key?”
“I – I think so… I should be… Yes, yes I am.”
“Well, lemme see your key. Mind if I have a look?”
I produced the wad of keys from my pocket.
His lighthearted laugh and ensuing words perplexed me. “Ha! Look at all of these keys! How many doors do you see here?”
“Uh… One.”
“Exactly, my friend! There’s only one key, you know… One door, one key.”
“Yeah, well, these keys have worked for me on every other door, why shouldn’t they work on this one?”
“Lemme ask you this,” he replied. “Did you install this door?”
“Uh… No, no I didn’t.”
“I’d be willing to bet that you’ve installed all the other doors in your life by selecting the random styles that tickled your fancy: relationships… jobs… vacations… You know – all the doors to fit the frame of how you wanna live your life. Am I right?”
“Y – Yeah, so far.”
“Well, this is one door that you didn’t install. It’s been here loooong before you ever walked down this corridor. Furthermore, you didn’t walk up to this door, it came to you.”
“Yeah, well it won’t let me in! I can’t use any of my keys!”
“Precisely! You’ve chosen all of your other doors because the locks fit the keys you wished to use. Buddy, this door’s one-of-a-kind. Have you used the door’s key?”
I was beginning to get hot under the collar – more like pissed off. “Look man, I appreciate you explaining all of this to me, but I’ve placed all of my faith in my own set of keys, and they haven’t let me down yet. So if this is the case: that I have to use a different key – somebody else’s key – just to get in this door then I DON’T WANT IT! I don’t want any part of it! I’ll just go back to my own door!” I pointed down the corridor to the door that had my name on it– literally.
It was a strange sight to see the biker’s polite smile. “Suit yourself, man. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a party to attend!”
The biker produced a single key from the pocket of his chaps, and with a click and a turn, the door swung wide open. I could hear the din of merriment – the roar of the crowd welcoming the biker – and was amazed to see that old man and woman, who’d both gone in before me, dancing like nobody’s business atop a translucent floor. The light then knocked me backward, and I landed on my duff.
I sulked, steamed then cussed at that modest door that strangely enough produced the ornate light. Picking myself up from the ground, I began to mentally write out invitations to a pity party – though no one else seemed to be around. In this corridor, there were only two doors: THAT door and my own.
My door had never failed me; my keys had never failed me, but I failed to realize that there is a first time for everything. I resolved to retain my faith in my own set of keys. I slowly shuffled back to my door and stuck in a key. I gave a twist, and without hesitation the lock gave way.
I decided to try another key from the countless keys on my ring. It met no resistance. Then I tried another and another and yet another. Every one of those damned keys unlocked my door, but not a one of them would unlock THAT door. I glared at those keys on my ring, each one of them marked: “Me…” “Myself…” “I…” “Mine…” “This-ism…” “That-ism…” And so on and so forth.
I kicked my door open, mad as hell, and turned to face THAT door once more. “I DON’T NEED YOU!” I screamed.
Then I turned back around and stomped inside. Shutting my door behind me, I was enveloped in utter darkness. I wept and wailed bitterly. Through the gnashing of my teeth, I cursed that door of illumination.
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