Keys to the doors

• Kate Tonkin, Grade 11
• Short Story
• 2006

The hallowed hall of marble remained deathly quiet as if time itself had stopped. Excitement gripped my body and mind like a snake constricting its prey. I walked through the shadowy hall with only the echoing sound of my feet trailing me. I tightly gripped the treasures in my hands and glanced in wonder at the numerous doors that lined the walls. There were so many of them that I began to dread that I may never find the exit, however, I calmed my thoughts and rushed to the first handle I could grasp, drawn to the door by its irresistible mystery.

The door opened and sent me crashing onto a hard wooden deck ingrained with the tang of sea salt. I heard the cry of men, the creaks and moans of wood and a rhythmic crash of waves against a sturdy hull. I looked around to find myself on the deck of a grand flagship crashing through the ocean under the stifling heat of the sun. Men ran past me and I watched as a well-known symbol was raised on a black flag. Pirates! I moved to the handrail to get a better view of the deck, which seemed as if it were plagued with ants, scurrying about before the rain. Looking around at the never-ending blue horizon where the untamed seas meet the boundless sky, I saw the coming rain that sent the ants scurrying. Another flagship proudly displaying the Union Jack pursued the pirates with unnerving resolve. The discomfort of the men could be felt like an intense fog shrouding the deck, but disaster struck as a blast was heard and it was quickly followed by the heavy impact of a cannonball that violently rocked the ship. I lost my footing, stumbled across the deck, and with the second impact I was tossed back through the door and onto the marble floor.

I stood up with excitement and some trepidation and walked towards another door. I opened it and stumbled into a lush forest thick with undergrowth. I was about to walk further into the forest along a roughly trodden path, but I heard the sounds of galloping horses rapidly approaching. I darted into the overgrowth that covered me in rich aromas of the forest, and a small company of knights rode past bearing a noble sense of fear and loyalty. Only then did I see the creature they rode to meet. The huge, ancient beast raged as its slumber abruptly ended. Suddenly, I heard a bell toll and I was quickly cast out from the forest and back into the hall. Recognising the bell, I ran over and opened a wide door and entered into reality again.

I rushed down the steps and past the proud stone lions guarding the library, my heart still racing from my adventures and the freedom that I had felt. I clutched my treasures, the books in my arms, because they are the keys that open the doors of my imagination.