Fractured

11

On his return to the resident, Nathaniel was in no way prepared for what occurred, he thought he needed no planning; he thought that if he came back enough times that the man from within the house would grant him access. Still it took his breath away, he was lost for words every time he saw this house; not that it was in anyway beautiful or amazing or even breath-taking. It just stirred something inside of him, something that changed the way he felt about... everything.

Nathaniel studied the door as he got closer, he noticed something he hadn't before, the carvings in the door were not random, there was a picture staring him in the face. After a few minutes he determined exactly what it was he could see, the door was a scripture of nature upon the door. There were swirling lines, vines interconnecting all life upon the door, there was deer and woodland creatures surrounded by trees and in the centre there was a tree... ablaze. And amid the blaze was the keyhole, a deep green that spoke of colour that the door otherwise did not possess.

Nathaniel traced his hand over the flaming tree, acting as if he were able to defeat the flames. Many thoughts ran through his head as he knocked on the door, presumably thoughts of doubt but mainly courage. He purposefully rapped the knuckles of his right hand against the tree and waited; and waited; and waited. There was no encore to the creaks he heard last time the door was opened, no old man studying him through the gap and no signs that the resident was coming to the door; no one yelled "I'm coming," there were no hurried footsteps as someone rushed to answer.

The day was still young and so Nathaniel decided that, because the man he wished to see was obviously human with human needs that he would wait outside his door until the resident required to exit. So he sat on the lowest step to the door and spent his time amusing himself with grass, twisting it and shaping it. Nathaniel however, did not know that he was being watched, he did not know that everything he did from this point on was a test, and he did not know that if he did well... his life might change forever.

The resident's home was obviously not a normal, run of the mill kind of house. Since only Nathaniel and presumably the resident could see it, it was definitely a house with some sort of magic upon it. There was more to it than just hiding the house; 32 Perance Street was only visible to those of the walker bloodline. Built by Graham's grandfather more than 100 years ago, it was imbued with strange power that made it so that even the wife of a Walker would have no visibility towards the house.

Graham Walker was looking down on the young man below; he must either be an incredibly powerful individual... or his son. He looked over at a photograph on the wall, a memory shared with his family in a park; Nathaniel was on the swing being pushed by his father and Astrid was bringing them sandwiches. Graham could remember that day so clearly so when he turned back out the window of the upper storey of his house it was his son that he saw.

The Walker residence was in fact a two storey house and even though the top level was completely invisible to every pair of eyes, even a Walker's. As Graham looked at Nathaniel his thoughts were brought back to the present, what was he going to do? He believed that he should not grant the child access and wait to see if he could find his own was inside. To find access to ones desire through unconventional means was something Graham prided in people.

He was a peculiar one, this boy that could be his son, "He was so intent on entering last time he was here," mused Graham. Nathaniel wasn't like other children, while another absent-minded child might lose interest with grass and go for a wander, while he stayed at his task, moulding the grass into an object. Nathaniel collected similarly sized pieces of grass and hoped he could use this skill again.

Back in his room at home, Nathaniel's collection of keys lay silent in the clear jar on his desk; the power of such a jar is more than the power possessed by any person in power. To have access to this many keys would mean that any person would be all powerful and able to unlock a great many things whether they be doors, lockets or treasure chests. With an odd thousand keys any man can be a god. The powers of Nathaniel's keys were a part of him, whenever he needed access past a lock he was able to reach into his jar and put his finger on the very key that would open what he desired.

But Nathaniel believed that something more arcane was required, a key born of earth. Many blades were tossed into the ever blowing wind before he found the grass he needed. But when he did... the image focused in his mind became a reality. The curvature and design were of an incredibly old standard, it was the kind of key that he only rarely had needed. Nathaniel felt that this key would unlock more than just the strange house that only he could see, it felt unbelievably strong, as if it could unlock a million locks, a thousand doors or perhaps a heart. He was not to know that the ground he stood upon was blessed with great power, anything envisioned here would be stronger than usual. Just to stand on the lawn would increase ones power.

The old man of Perance Street had lost interest in the young man sitting on his lawn. He'll get ant bites and leave, thought Graham. And so the resident retired to his armchair to contemplate recent events, there had been a stirring in the waters, things were changing, the final walk was coming and he needed to be ready. All the while he mused on these problems, Nathaniel was drawing his earthly key from his own mind with the grass he had collected. The pieces of grass found their place and moved together as his magic took form, they joined along seams and overlapped in places but the as the final product was created, they fused into one final object and became as hard as iron and as green as the shimmering leaves of a great oak. In the final moment, when all came together as one, there was an incredible flash of light that would surely blind passers-by to a permanent state of darkness.

Graham's thoughts were ended as his upper study was flooded with light from all directions. White light, is a mix of all spectrums of the rainbow, it is the only true form of purity that envelopes everything. He had not seen such light since he completed his walk all those years ago when the war ended. He rushed to the window overlooking the front grass to see Nathaniel sitting just as he'd been moments ago when Graham walked away. He'd not moved, and he still seemed to be sorting grass. Graham was disappointed, he'd hoped this boy would be the one to finish the walk. He could see the house, he had returned after Graham turned him away and then there was the flash. Where else could it have come from, if not Nathaniel himself?

Nathaniel's smile grew when he realised what he'd accomplished, but he knew the flash of light would alert the old gentleman inside the house so he continued picking grass as he had before, making it look as though nothing happened. Graham returned to his seat after a few moments, satisfied that Nathaniel was not worth his time. It was then that the boy rose from his haunches and presented the key to the solid door of oak, he swung it as if it were a magic wand and then buried it deep within the lock. The click when he turned the key almost made him cry with relief and joy, with gratitude and happiness, it was his happiest moment in recent times. He hoped that there were more moments like this to come, if only he knew what awaited him.