Seven Keys

It wasn't unusual for drones to deliver packages. In 3023, drones and flying robots littered the skies, unless it was a designated "no fly" day. It was rare was to see an actual human carrier. What was more rare than seeing a human carrier, was to see an anonymous drone that didn't belong to your complex delivering on a "no fly" day. Oddly enough, this is exactly what happened to Ellie.

It was 3am when Ellie's arm tele notified her with an image of a package delivery on her balcony table. The unfamiliar drone had set off the balcony security lights, lighting up the entire outside of the apartment complex and halfway down the street. Ellie punched the coffee button on the arm tele and rolled out of bed to go see what the commotion was about.

Sitting on the table outside was a small brown box with a bright pink bow. She slid open the door and peered over the balcony just in time to see the carrier drone plummeting down the 109 floors and smashing into a million pieces on the sidewalk below.

Utterly intrigued, Ellie ran to the kitchen to grab her fresh cup of coffee before returning to the porch to inspect the box further. Who would risk the seven thousand dollar fine delivering this box on a "no fly" day? If she had a secret admirer, this would certainly not be considered a valiant display of romanticism. More like stupidity.

Sacramento was the safest city in the nation. Crime hadn't been a thing in over one hundred years. Nearly everyone was a kind and loving person. There was no way there was any malice behind this package and Ellie didn't feel any sense of fear over it. She was mostly excited to see what could possibly be so important that someone had to deliver this box to her with an anonymous drone on a "no fly" day.

Without any further hesitation, Ellie tore the bright pink bow of the top and ripped open the box. Inside she found seven rusty, but beautiful, skeleton keys. Each had their own distinct engravings on them and each one was a different length from shortest to longest. No one uses keys. People stopped using keys back in the early 2000's. Ellie had to assume these keys were older than that. They looked older than dirt, and much older than the keys that people used in the 21st century. These were ancient keys. Why they were in this box on Ellie's table at 3am was a complete mystery. She reached into the box to pull the keys out and examine them further.

As she removed the keys she could see there was an envelope sitting at the bottom of the box. FOR MY DAUGHTER was inscribed in a cursive handwriting that also had not been used for a very long time.

Both of Ellie's parents had passed away quite awhile ago. She must've received this box by mistake. Maybe the person delivering the box landed on the wrong balcony. There were hundreds of apartments in this complex, it could be easy to make a mistake. With her curiosity peaked, she eagerly ripped open the envelope to see who these keys were supposed to be delivered to. What she read on the inside would change her world, forever.

Dear Ellie.

I hope this letter finds you well. What I am about to tell you may come as a shock to you, and you may not believe it. The time has come for you to know the truth. You are not who you think you are. Your entire life has been one big lie. There is so much I need to explain to you. I was afraid I might scare you, so that is why I am reaching out to you in this letter. First you should know, your real name is Hope. As a small infant, you were stolen from me and your mother. I have made it my life's mission to find you and tell you the truth. I want to give back to you the life that was stolen. George and Elizabeth were not your real parents. They were part of a large organization, called The Muzzle Organization, dedicated to silencing and hiding the truth. The organization originally believed they were working for the higher good. They thought it was too dangerous for the world to know that children like you ever existed.

You are special Hope and there are very few humans left in this world with supernatural abilities like ours. Hope, you come from a magical bloodline. I'm sure at some point throughout your life, you sensed that you were different. Maybe you brushed it off not realizing that strange things happening around you were really only happening to you and not other people. You have incredible abilities, but these abilities threaten the modern world. If the world knew what we could do, corporations would crumble. World leaders would fall. Science would no longer be necessary. Modern societies would collapse. Many would evolve and thrive, but the Muzzle Organization is going to do everything they can to keep the magic ones from ever emerging into the world. The Muzzles are owned by the one percenters. That should tell you all you need to know about those evil people.

Daughter, I have finally found you. These seven keys have been passed down through our bloodline for thousands of years. These seven keys harness the power to unlock your magic. I do not know how they work. With each holder of the keys, their unlocking magic works differently. You will have to figure out your seven keys on your own. When you have procured your full power, come find me. If the keys work, you won't need a map. You can call me directly from your mind and I will guide you to me. I love you more than you'll ever know. Just whatever you do, do not lose these keys.

Love Dad.

Ellie was trembling. There was a deep part of her that knew this letter was true. She had always found it strange that her parents shared no birthing photos with her. They never allowed her to go to school with the other kids and she never knew any extended family. The truth was difficult to believe. Not only was it shocking to find out her entire life had been a lie, but on top of it she had incredible magic abilities too.

She was going to have to figure out these keys. She was going to start with the keys right now.

There were no locks for her to try the keys in. That couldn't be how the magic worked. Ellie studied the keys and all the markings on each key. The longer keys had more random engravings on them than the shorter ones. The markings weren't in language she'd never seen before. They reminded her of Indian cave drawings she'd once seen in a childhood book.

Maybe if I carry the keys around to certain areas of the complex they'll do something magical as I get closer to the answer. She grabbed up the keys and began moving throughout the complex, starting in her apartment. She climbed on chairs and held the keys to the ceiling lights. She hung them out the windows in the rising sunlight. She poured water over them in the sink. She rubbed them on her skin and on her forehead. At one point, she even tried sticking a key in her ear while staring into a mirror. She was beginning to feel like a crazy person.

After 18 hours of fiddling with the keys inside her apartment complex, she got the idea that maybe the keys needed to be near major city landmarks, or in nature. She packed up her keys into her backpack and headed out the door.

There were several rivers that ran around the city of Sacramento. Maybe if she walked into the river water with the keys on her person that would unlock the magic. She raced towards the riverbank and submerged herself entirely under water, clutching the keys to her chest.

She emerged from the water feeling like the same person she was before. This mystery was slowly beginning to wear on her soul. She wanted so badly to believe that she was a magical being with supernatural powers, but maybe the letter was a prank. She probably wasn't special. She was losing hope as she meandered through the city streets trying to think up other mystical key unlocking methods.

As she made her way through downtown Sacramento, she came across a street musician. He was playing a saxophone to some blues jingles. A new idea had popped into her mind. Maybe music will unlock the power of the keys, she thought to herself.

Ellie danced around to the old blues player for quite some time while gripping onto the key ring. She swung the keys around in circles as she laughed and danced with the musician.

She felt energized after the dance, and lifted with happiness. She thought, the keys must've worked! She felt amazing. Being the ridiculous and fanciful believer that she was, she reached out her hand towards a revolving door. She closed her eyes and imagined it turning round and around on it's own. When she opened her eyes, she was disappointed to see that the door remained unmoved.

Despair and anger began growing in the pit of her stomach. Why would anyone trick her like this? Why would someone want her to believe that she was from a magical bloodline with unlimited powers but the only way to access those powers was an unknown method using these stupid old rusty keys?

She was so angry that she had been duped. She felt so stupid to believe that anyone would have supernatural powers, let alone her. She stormed back towards her apartment complex, huffing and puffing the whole way back.

What was I thinking? I don't have magical powers. I don't have a magical dad that was trying to find me. None of this was real. Even if I did have magical powers, I wouldn't want them anyway. And with that, she threw those old rusty keys into the nearby dumpster without a second thought.

At the very moment that she tossed those keys, she turned to see a small child step of the curb into the street. Her eyes widened as the city train was headed full speed towards the child. Ellie gasped, and the next thing she knew she was standing on the roof of a 200 story building with the child in her arms. In a half second, she moved from the sidewalk to a roof and managed to snatch up a child in the process.

She had unlocked her magic. By giving up on the keys, she had found her magic.

"I knew you could do it." a voice inside her head began to speak.

"Dad?"

"You never needed those old rusty keys anyhow. I've always been here listening to you, but now you can hear me too. It was all in your name, Hope. You gave someone the real Hope by being true to your name and that unlocked your magic. I love you Hope. Come find me now. Your real family is waiting to finally meet you."