Lost in my thoughts, walking down a busy sidewalk surrounded shoulder to shoulder by people. It felt as if, though we were all moving in unison, we were alone. Everyone made their ways in the same direction, passing yet never touching.

An unusually lonely experience, amidst this movement, a stranger bumped shoulders with me breaking me from my trance. I turned to face him, as the flood of humanity passed around us, his eyes met mine. A glance, a gentle nod and he pointed, “you’re ready.” The words were barely spoken.

My attention redirected to my hand, feeling a crumpled paper and an odd little glass key, that must’ve been left behind by the stranger. Directions, arrows with a number beside them.

Feet? Miles? What could they?

I looked back up at him and he was gone, “of course…” I decided to go with what made sense, from the size of the numbers, they must’ve been feet.

I began.

280 feet north…

I slipped through the crowd, trying to focus my thoughts, hoping not to get distracted. I counted silently at first then as the crowd seemed to get louder, I began to mumble the numbers.

I was all in, focused and determined.

175 feet west…

Here’s where my thoughts began to rattle like steam in a pipe.

This “162” stranger “163”, just “164” gave “165” me “166” directions, “167” to “168” who “169” knows “170” where “171” and “172” I’m “173” following “174” blindly!? “175”

“This is insane.” I faced north, at first it was nothing. An empty train yard. I blinked twice and there it was. As if an illusion or magic, a large iron door.

45 feet north…

It looked bomb proof, from the structure of it. My delicate glass key couldn’t possibly be made to open. When I was 20 feet away, people began appearing ahead of me, each carrying a different key. The material always seemed different.

One had a feather, the next a bent nail, the following could’ve been paper. Each opening the door, each stepped through to a different space.

I must’ve fallen and hit my head when that man bumped me, this couldn’t be real.

I rubbed my eyes, pinched myself and the line of people continued. A deep breath filled my lungs as I stepped in line counting the steps I had left.

My last step had me directly in front of the door. The line of strangers grew behind me.

Where could this key possibly take me?