The door at the top of the house hadn’t been opened in years. There’s a flappy thing — I think it’s called an ‘escutcheon’ — that covers the keyhole; sometimes I would move it aside and peer inside, imagining what might lie within, but I could see nothing.
I could smell something on the other side, though, through that hole. Something sweet, alluring; no matter the time of year, it always smelled like spring.
And then one day in the attic, in a box of old photographs, I found a note in an envelope. The note simply said ‘Search the birch by the church’. The very next day I went to examine the old tree in the churchyard. It had been hit by lightning before I was born and the trunk had been split. My fingers felt within and, to my surprise, I found a brass key hidden there.
Barely able to control my excitement, I raced back to the house, took the stairs two steps at a time to the top floor, ran across to the door and turned the key in the lock. The door creaked open, revealing a new world beyond. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through.

Photo credit: January MorgueFile d11aad1a4ea61dc8f06495aa4a0b6a72
Word count: 199
Prompted by Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner
(with thanks to pensitivity101 for the pointer)
I know rooms like that!!!
Always good to look beyond…
I enjoyed reading this story.
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Thank you for the encouraging words!
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It’s wonderful the way you’ve conveyed the excitement!
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Well, thanks very much for that! :)
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This is great! Glad you took part in Roger’s challenge.
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Thanks for your encouraging words :)
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You’re welcome.
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This is great! Sucked me right in.
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Thanks, Revruss :)
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Really great story! I love that you can almost try and smell what the main character is smelling. Very intriguing!
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Well, thank you for that!
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Thanks for participating this week. A great take on the prompt. What a great place to find teh directions to a hidden key. I loved the cliff-hanger…Are you planning to continue it?
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Continue it? I hadn’t thought of that…. Hmm… wonder what would happen in the next 200 words….
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