Everyday Canvas

Blue Feather's Key

Prompt:
A blue feather arrives in an envelope in your mailbox. No note or explanation. Who sent the blue feather and why? On Green Acres, Lisa Douglas received a blue feather in the mail with no explanation and she thought the gypsies were coming after her for what she did to them when she was a teenager. The blue feather was sent to her because a store was having a sale on blue nail polish. Two hippies in a gypsy wagon showed up and Lisa was scared to death.
Write about the blue feather for your Blog entry today.

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What? A blue feather? Well, it depends. If the envelope has my name and address on it, and inside it has some data involving my life, you can be sure, I'd notify the police.

If it were an envelope with nothing on it or inside it, then I'd toss it into the garbage bin. This is because, since I haven't read that story by Lisa Douglas, I wouldn't make the connection in the first place. "Edited to add" "Green Acres" was a TV serial comedy and Lisa Douglas was Eva Gabor's character in that show.

Oh well, suppose I didn't do what I said I'd do in real life. This means a story in the making and I hope I don't botch it up. Here it goes:

I wasn't sure what to do with the blue feather in the thick, large envelope I was holding in my hand after I opened the mail. Intrigued and slightly wary, I couldn't resist the urge to investigate. As a safe measure, looked inside the envelope again. Lo and behold, glued to the bottom corner of the envelope was a tiny antique looking key. I couldn't figure out what metal it was made up. Surprised, I put on my glasses and tried to read the inscription on the key. It said, "Unlock the door to the extraordinary."

I groaned. Was this a prank? "But I'm not into mysteries and fairy tales," I said out loud.

Then, an idea occurred to me. I stepped out the front door, closed it, and inserted the key into the lock. It fit perfectly although this key was one-third the size of my own key.

The door swung open. I gasped. My somewhat ordinary living room had transformed into a whimsical wonderland, filled with enchanting creatures and vibrant colors. A talking rabbit in a waistcoat greeted me, leading me further into the fantastic realm that had materialized within my very own house.

"Alice in Wonderland" I thought. "My mind is playing story-games, again!" Then, I saw my cat sitting at a table drinking tea. Lo and behold! Tea? I couldn't even get her to try canned or real food since she wouldn't give up kibble. I tried to take a seat across from the cat, but she pointed with her paw to one of the rooms. I opened the door to that room and saw that the bookshelf I had there had been replaced. In its place was an entire library filled with ancient books with tales of distant lands and forgotten magic.

That was when I realized I was still holding the key in my hand. I stepped back into the living room and put the key on the table. My cat jumped down with a huge meow, knocking her teacup down and ran out of the room. At that very moment, I noticed that the magic was waning and everything around me was turning into its original blah self.

I picked the key again and nothing happened. I realized that everything around me had already turned to the way it had always been for years. I searched the entire house for a speck of that short-lived magic but it was of no use. So, I guessed this had been a one-time affair between me and the key that had arrived with the blue feather in a strange envelope.

At that instant, I realized that this whole experience had been a reminder, a short-lived gift to me, to show me the magic that can be hidden in the ordinary, and maybe I should pay more attention to fantasy and try to see beyond what is obvious to my eyes.