One day, I found a song called Droplet. By this artist called Sevish. I’d never heard of him. But the song was immediately pleasing. A peaceful intro with a lone synth. It’s texture as a smooth as glass. Then, bass. The sound was transporting. I was on a summer hike at dawn, when sunlight starts to peek through the fog. There was a sense of dreamlike familiarity. I could see my feet moving, one in front of the other. I knew this path because I’d hiked it before. But it felt different, just subtly. Like the sun was shining from the wrong direction. 

I saw the ground sparkle in an unusual way. My previous line of thought evaporated. What is that? I bent down slowly, careful to keep my eye on the spot where I saw the reflected light.  It looked like a key. But it was nearly transparent. The sun must have caught it just right. How many people before me must have walked right over this mysterious object?

I turned it over, passing it back and forth between my hands. It really looked like a key. But it’s material? It almost seemed to be made out of … no. I don’t understand how it could be that.

The shape of this object was unmistakable. It was a key. 

But it seemed to be made out of .. out of water.

Water?

How can a key be made out of water? 

But the shape was clear. It is a key. I know what a key is. And now, the material was clear too. Water. No doubt. 

Fascination replaced disbelief. I watched it’s flowing appearance change naturally as the key moved in my hands. Like water swirling in a glass. Except there was no container. Nothing I could see that would be responsible for holding this water in such a defined shape. 

I noticed my legs had resumed their operation. Now at a faster pace, as if closing in on a destination. But where? My hike had begun leisurely, with no particular destination in mind. Now, leisure was replaced with a sense of purpose, a mission. And yet no more direction than before. 

The fog had since retreated from it’s standoff with the sun. And my eyelids began a defensive against oncoming beads of sweat. Thank you eyelids, for keeping my vision uninterrupted right now. My eyes focused on the edges of the trail, alert for any additional abnormalities. 

What did I expect to encounter? A water lock for my water key? A water safe, full of water jewels? A water doorway into a water world?

 Of course. A water world. Absolute purity. No hard surfaces or sharp edges. And just think, when light touches anything? Rainbows abound. Millions of colors. Cascading, combining. Maybe forming new shades, never before seen by humans.

My eyes flickered their focus back to my hands, confirming that impossible key remained in my possession. Yes. 

Now, eyes up. Back to the search. 

To be continued…