Friday Flash - The Key

Tweet A draught blows into the room, teasing the flames. The candles flicker, making shadows dance across the walls. The frenzy of their cavorting echoes her tumultous thoughts. Candlelight seemed so ostentatious a choice, but she remains resolute. An occasion as important as this demands no less.

The light seeks the thick chain twisted in a loop around her neck. The dark metal ignores the caress of the candlelight. Specks of rust flake away as she moves. A heavy key hangs from the chain, dull from disuse. She bites her lip, toying with the key. It is rough and cold beneath her fingers. She is unsure; many years have passed since she last gave it up. She feels uncertain about doing so now.

She turns to face him. He sits on the edge of her bed. His tousled black curls frame his earnest face. Hope fills his green eyes, and she basks in the warmth of his love. Her doubts melt away, and she lifts the chain over her head. She takes his hand, and presses the key to his palm. His fingers close around the ancient metal, and she sighs.

She has given him the key to the Pandora's Box that is her heart.