I crouch at the keyhole, peering out into the physical plane. I look back to my stone hall, life depicted in tales through tapestries, hearth crackling with wood, remembering how bare this place was before I started to peer through the keyhole, to places where things happen, where the people are. As my body -the one out there- meets the eyes of another, I fall back, my mind reeling with the implications of what I just saw. Another keyhole. Are there more of my kind? Lookers? More stone halls, depicting the scenes of life of other bodies, of things observed through other keyholes? I searched through my keyhole again, trying to find the other in the deep green eyes.
‘I need to get closer,’ I think, an overwhelming desire to find another of my kind, to see the life and tapestries of another driving me to look for a key, to open the oaken door, to allow me a better view of the other keyhole.
Wait. If I open the door, they’ll be able to see my hall. Tapestries depicted all that I observed, even things that I would rather forget. There are many such things, actually. Things I’ve seen my person do. Am I ready to open my door, to show my hall to another?
To see another Looker, or to keep my secrets hidden.
Plagued by this indecision, I look for a key, putting the dilemma away until I have to choose.
I look under my bed, around the fire, under my rugs, even taking down tapestries to look for this key. Doors have keys. There must be a key somewhere here. I’ve just never bothered to look for it.
Stone hall turned upside-down and inside-out, and still no key. Everything on the floor, the need to find a key overwhelming, I look at the ceiling. Something is off in the corner. Loose mortar around one of the stones, right where the first tapestry was. Getting the stone out, a bronze key, with a ruby set in the handle falls into my hands.
Now do I open the door?
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Hey LP here! I really love this short story of yours! The language and the way you use metaphors really intrigued me. How I interpreted this piece is how people only see the outside of others; their doors. The key is one wanting to know each other, to open that door and see what they are truly like. This comes with consequences though, if you open someones door its inevitable that they will open yours. You have to decide; is your want to know more greater than what you want to hide? Or will you stay inside your hall, never seeing the truth behind others?
What does LP stand for?
It stands for Lonely potato haha. Its been my little callsign since I started.
Hey there, here’s my review of your awesome short story.
First of all, I really like the metaphors used in this piece. It’s interesting and complex but still understandable. As far as I’m aware this story is about trying to open up to other people and not just be an observer to their lives or more accurately to just be a “looker”.
This story is very well written from beginning to end. The first paragraph is very good as when I started reading it I was slightly confused yet intrigued and as I continued to read through the story it began to make more sense. I like how the looker asks if there are any other lookers like them as it is the equivalent of asking if there are other people scared of opening up who just watch the world go by them.
I enjoyed how later on the looker is scared of people seeing what is described as their “tapestries” of all they had observed which further adds to the metaphor about opening up to people as it depicts the fear of what the outside world will think of you once you open up and express you who you truly are.
Overall, the story was very good and the metaphor about the keyhole and the key was a very good way to get across the point I think that you were trying to make. This was a very good story and my apologies if I got the meaning behind it wrong.
I always find that stories can have more than one meaning; even ones that an author doesn't necessarily intend to mean. Don't be afraid to draw meaning from things, that's what makes literature great! I am so happy you enjoyed my story!
Hey there! First off! I love your avatar and this gives me Alice in Wonderland vibes, which is my absolute favorite ever LOL
Okay, on to my points:
1) This has the potential to go beyond a short story. However, because it is just a short story, it's abrupt ending was really intriguing! Oftentimes, I find that short stories do these sorts of things where they convey a quick message, leave the reader haunted, or curious. The ending question that goes unanswered left me contemplating. What is behind the door? What happens when the narrator meets the looker?
2) I love how you described the scenery and made the narrator very curious (hello Alice:)). The way that you narrated the internal dialogue and battle of whether to open the door all the while feeling that choice will make the narrator vulnerable. The use of the word "tapestries" is great. You really drew me into this world and the observations were illustrated with richness while maintaining mystery.
3) "I crouch at the keyhole, peering out into the physical plane." This line as the start made me initially wonder if the setting is somewhere ethereal. Where else would the narrator be if not in the physical world? Are they in outerspace? A time continuum? The setting is then elaborated on, but seems very tangible and physical. Yet, who is the looker? Are they alien-like? Are they viewing the narrator through the keyhole that blends both worlds? These questions really captalize on the magic of short stories. The best ones make you want to reread and this certainly did that for me
Bravo!! Wishing you well wherever you are in the world