Will stared at the glowing key in his hand. This had to be a joke, a cruel hoax. He didn’t deserve to hold something so monumental. It was a fake. It had to be. And what was there to find?
Will looked up from his hand, scanning the street for the man who’d placed the key in his hand. Someone who was joking would stick around for the laugh. He was nowhere to be found. Will turned his attention back to the key, turning it in his hand. It looked convincing enough, and it certainly did exactly what it was said to do. He shook his head in disbelief. How could he have gotten so lucky? He was holding a Key of Fortune, possibly the last one in existence.
A Key of Fortune was an artifact passed between people in need. It could quite literally lead its holder to good fortune, as long as he was in true need of it. The key possessed mysterious qualities and would lead its holder to the next person in line to receive it once he no longer needed its magic. The key glowed as a sign of a brighter future for the holder.
The history books always made things sound greater than they really were. If this was truly the artifact it appeared to be, how did it work? And why would it go to him? Will had been on the streets for years, but he didn’t feel he truly deserved to be chosen.
“Why would the key choose me?” He wondered aloud.
“Why wouldn’t it?”
Will jumped at the voice answering his own question with another. He looked around frantically but couldn’t find the speaker. He was hearing things, he decided.
“You’re in need of good fortune, are you not?”
There was suddenly a woman in a long, flowing white dress standing before him. She didn’t move as he stared at her in confusion. Where had she come from?
“Who are you?” Will demanded.
“I am the Fortune Teller.” The woman’s voice was calm, “I bring my key to those in true need of a turn in luck. I will guide you along the pathway of good fortune, if you can find the start.”
Will was in shock. Everything he’d ever heard about the Key of Fortune pointed to indescribable circumstances, but he’d never heard of a fortune teller. It made slightly more sense than an inanimate object choosing people and guiding them to better days with its light. Still, how had such a thing come to exist, and why had it been created? He might not ever know the answers to all his questions.
Will closed his hand around the key. What did he have to lose?
“Follow me.” The Fortune Teller recognized his acceptance of the strange circumstances. He had found the path to good fortune easily. He was daring to hope. She would guide this lost man toward his good fortune, and then she would move on to the next lost soul that needed her.