Dating Father Time's Daughter (Book 1)

Chapter 8: The Power of Keys

Joe held a pile of clothes in his hands that reached the ceiling of his bedroom. The stack of clothes leaned to the left, which prompted Joe to tilt to his right. Pixie leaned against the wall of Joe's room and watched his balancing act.

The window to Joe's room was open wide and a light breeze blew into the room carrying the scent of the flowers outside. Pixie's nose took in the scent and she smiled in ecstasy. As she closed her eyes a wasp flew into the room.

"Sorry, Pixie. I'll be ready to start my training in a second. I just need to clean my room up. It's been a mess for the last few days" said Joe.

He walked his clothes to a hamper and prepared to dump the stack inside, when the wasp buzzed into his ear.

"Ah!" shouted Joe.

The clothes flew into the air as Joe crashed onto the floor.

"Why me?" asked Joe.

The clothes collapsed over Joe's head and buried him underneath. While Joe struggled to escape his coffin of work uniforms, the wasp flew towards Pixie. She threw her arms behind her neck and sighed,

"I'd like to start your training sometime today."

The wasp flew around Pixie twice before it exited the room through Joe's window.

"Listen Joe, you're going to experience a lot of changes now that you're a Time Keeper. For one, your senses will sharpen several times beyond the senses of a normal human. So, try not to be so surprised when you hear sounds above their usual frequency. Also, you'll learn how to manipulate the powers of Time" said Pixie.

"Do I get a scythe too?" asked Joe. He threw the last pile of clothes into the hamper and wiped his hands.

"You're going to have to master the second law of thermodynamics first" said Pixie.

"Oh... that sounds tough. Is it easier if I just learn to fly first?"

Pixie shook her head,

"As I told you before, I don't 'fly.' It's more like manipulating my body mass and throwing off gravity."

"This job sounds really complicated. Maybe I'm not qualified after all..." said Joe.

Joe's constant dismissiveness of his abilities amused Pixie. She's spent so much time around her father that self-deprecation or even humility was a rare sight. Yet, Joe made those two things look common, perhaps ordinary.

Pixie peeled off the wall and reached two fingers up to Joe's forehead. She pressed her fingers against him and a bright light erupted from the point of contact. Joe's eyes widened.

"Pixie?" asked Joe.

In a controlled motion, Pixie pulled her two fingers away from Joe's forehead. As she did, the back of a gold and silver key slid out of his head. Soon, the entire key emerged. Pixie swiped it in a quick motion and smiled. Joe placed his hand over his forehead,

"That felt so strange. What did you pull out of me?"

"This is one of the very first gifts a Time Keeper receives. It's a mental key used to access nirvana" said Pixie.

"Isn't that the name of a band?" said Joe.

"No! It's my hom—" Pixie caught her tongue and pursed her lips, "Just protect it. Don't let anyone take it from you" she finished.

Pixie handed the mental key to Joe, who scooped it into his hands. He glossed over the key with his eyes, then motioned to stuff it in his pocket. Like lightning, Pixie snatched his hands and moved it towards his face.