Now close your eyes and say good night; I’ll close the door real tight.

A story written by Amber Byers for the Twisted Tournament.

The keeper of the keys of time had watched over the kingdom longer than time itself. He walked the lands at night, checking every door.

What’s behind these doors, you ask? Wishes hung quietly on hooks. Hope crawling like ivy around doorframes. And paths never taken.

Things were usually as they were meant to be.

But one night, a Mischief stole through the kingdom, opening doors that should have stayed closed. Promises kept were suddenly broken. Dreams only dreamed in silence. And longing filled the air.

The keeper did what any good guardian would do. He trudged to the top of the tower with the one key that could set things right. The one key that had never been used, for although it contained great power, it also carried grave danger. With old, gnarled hands, he placed the ancient silver key into the clock and twisted.

Everything screeched to a halt.

Dreams stopped melting through doorways and rekindled memories stopped falling in love. With time frozen, the keeper began sweeping memories back under rugs and catching golden promises under locks shaped like birdcages.

Until finally, all had been righted.

Once more, he returned to the tower to release the winds of time. But the Mischief had gotten there first. All that remained of the struggle to restart the clock was half the key stuck in the keyhole.

The other piece, intricately designed but now useless, lay at its feet.