The Key and the Castle

Clink, clink, clink~

The keys dangle in the man's hand. From a distance, from his dressy outfit and the elegant way he walks, you can tell that he is a very wealthy man and someone you would give way to and bow to. Looking closely, you will find something odd about him: his beard is blue. Not the blue from an old blanket, but the midnight blue that shines, as if with magic. Nobody knows his name. People around call him Blue Beard, and he is the richest man in the village.

Well, I don't really care. Call him whatever: Blue Beard, the freak who kept gold, the guy whom no girls liked. The ending is no different. I know what is going to happen.

I am one of the keys in his hand. Similar to other keys for unlocking the doors along the hallway of his castle. Though you can say that I am a little bit special, for one reason because I am made of 24k gold, for another reason because I can open the forbidden door (whatever is hidden). But after all, it is just a door. You see, keys open doors. That's just how keys work.

The weather has become warmer. Butterflies are starting to appear in the garden, one chasing another. They are reproducing. Another warm spring has arrived, and the story starts with Blue Beard wanting to get married.

Once again? Seriously? With eight ex-wives' bodies lying somewhere in his castle? Okay, Blue Beard's desire just never ends. So, he plays his usual trick.

Step 1. Very generously, he invites several young and innocent village girls to spend a holiday in his castle. They had a happy time, and one fell in love with him (Or his money). Then they married.

Despite what I said about knowing the end of the story, this girl, Emma, impresses me. She is curious. Once, she asked about Blue Beard's former relationships, which of course didn't get a truthful response. She is quite different from the other girls, who were too naive to believe a handsome, rich man would marry them for love. Emma doesn't show too much interest in the treasure in the rooms along the hallway. Instead, she seems more curious about Blue Beard. Especially his beard. 

What are you wondering? What is your desire? You had a sister who once went missing. Maybe you just miss her all the time? There is something dark and determined in your eyes, and I wonder what it is.

Step 2. One day, Blue Beard finds an excuse to go out. He hands the set of keys to Emma and says the exact words he had said to his previous wife: "I am going out of the village for today. You can use these keys to open every door you want to open and enjoy any treasure you find. But be aware, do not open the forbidden room with the golden key."

Immediately, she does, right after Blue Beard leaves. People could just never help crossing the line, could they?

Emma puts me in the keyhole, with a click, and she opens it. What does she see?

Blood. Blood everywhere. Over the ceiling, over the walls. Spread along the floor like a giant piece of carpet. Shining knives penetrated through those girls' bodies, hanging them on the wall, swaying in the wind, like kites. She smells the rusty smell of flesh and decayed bodies.

Splash, splash.

Emma's face turns pale and green as if her stomach is twisting. She is stunned for a second. Still sitting in her hands, I sense the same sort of fear from Emma as from all the other girls. The fear of a young girl floating in her prince's dream, but stepping into a room that reveals her husband's true identity as a psycho killer.

Tears drop from her eyes as Emma glances at the other side of the room.

"No, Sister, no. Tell me this is not true... "

There lies a very beautiful girl with brown, curly hair. Her red lips are open as if gasping for air. Emma sobs, embracing her sister's body. She lowers her head, clutching onto the dead girl, as if seeking warmth.

Blood starts dripping down from me. There is something magical about me, that if the young wife opens the door with me, blood will never stop coming out of me until I am returned to my owner's behold.

"Don't leave me. It's okay. I found you. Don't you leave me..." The words seem to come from deep inside her soul.

But to my surprise, Emma doesn’t crash down. Later on, she walks out the door and locks it. She quickly rinses me under the water faucet and wipes me with rags and clothes. But no matter how many times she tries, blood still consistently seeps from me. There seems to be no way.

What will you do? You hate Blue Beard, Emma. How much do you hate him? He crept beside you when you were asleep. He leaned forward, smelling your body and your hair. His hand was inside his pocket, rubbing the golden key, picturing how he could slice you. He would say he owns you, like owning a cheap doll. You could almost feel his eyesight crawling along your skin. He took your sister away from you. Imagine how your life would be if he hadn't, and know the fact that what happened had happened.

Soon, as night falls, Blue Beard returns to the castle.

"Good evening, Emma," he speaks in a weird, deep voice. "How was your day? What have you done?"

Emma is still pale, but she smiles, as usual, "Good evening, dear Blue Beard. I just explored the castle a bit more."

"Is there anything you have discovered?" Blue Beard asks, " Show me."

"My dear, you will find out soon."

Blue Beard has a vaguely annoyed look on his face, but he keeps his tone calm and still. " Well, then, I would like you to give me back my keys. I would like to see them, all very clean."

So, Emma hands over the keys. How will you get away from this? I mean, the blood is gushing out of me, like I am a fountain.

Blue Beard wipes me with his handkerchief. A touch of red stains the white cloth.

"What have you done, Emma?" Blue Beard commands.

Night has completely come, and all of a sudden, lightning strikes outside the French window. Thunder booms. And heavy raindrops start to fall.

"Didn't I tell you? YOU SHOULD NEVER OPEN THE FORBIDDEN DOOR!"

Blue Beard's eyes were red with tears. He put his hand on his sword.

It could be the end of Emma. She would get herself killed. Blue Beard would throw her body into the room, like he did to all the previous girls. Ever since his first wife cheated on him, Blue Beard has become a control freak. He madly believes that if a woman has disobeyed his warning and entered the forbidden room, they could also have cheated on him. Or cheat on him one day. From my perspective, he is literally acting out his psychotic mind.

"I thought you were different from those women, Emma!" He cries, " Why did you betray me? Why?"

He believed you guilty at first, Emma, that you would betray him, and he is mad about this. He is going to butcher you, like how he butchered your sister.

Before Blue Beard can pull his sword out, Emma mutters something, then, instead of backing up, rushes forward in the blink of an eye. That is when I see clearly what she has been holding in her hands this whole time: a dagger, made of diamonds, shines under the chandelier.

"God damned you! You psycho!"

And before any of us realized what was going on here, Blue Beard's throat was wide open. Emma was a strong and agile girl. Cutting a middle-aged man is not a serious issue for her. Then, on her face appeared a weird, sick smile. It feels good to kill him. That is when she realizes the urge inside her heart ever since her sister’ missing: it was the violent way of justice, the chaotic rage of revenge, and the deep desire that has been hidden under her calm and obedient surface. The part of her that she can only understand after taking the life of a bastard.

Blue Beard staggers backward, and the blue of his beard fades, making it just like a normal gray beard; his skin wrinkled, his back bent. Now he looks very aged. And down he falls.

Thud.

From then on, Emma declares Blue Beard had fallen sick and would not appear publicly again. There are also many things she does afterward.

Before spring ended, Emma planted a rose garden on the north side of the castle. There are all colors of them, red, pink, yellow, white, blue, and more. Every rose thrives. Their roots go deeper, and they cheerfully photosynthesize. Under several layers of dirt are the dead bodies- seven of the previous girls, Blue Beard, and me. She stuffed me into Blue Beard's mouth and closed his eyes.

Oh, my bad memory. We still left one girl out there, right? The one who lay on the other side of the forbidden room. She is Emma's sister, at least from what Emma said.

Instead of burying her, Emma keeps her sister inside the castle. Every day, she has dinner with her, reads with her, sleeps beside her, and tells her she loves her once and once and again. She uses bright red lipstick and puts on a gorgeous dress. When she looks in the mirror, she sees that her hair has turned blue.

I find that human nature is really interesting, isn't it? They have so much desire: treasure, power, relationships, born family, and more and more. Things they want so badly that they just can't help themselves. Eventually, these desires control them, drag them down, and get them tangled in the endless madness and misery. Like I told you, I already knew how every story ends.

You may ask, why are you still talking? Aren't you buried with all those corpses? No, dear, no. The reason is fairly simple. When Emma leaves the castle, she turns back into the plain village girl again. She locks the castle door with a diamond key, keeping all her secrets away from people. That is what I transformed into: the diamond key to the castle. Me and other keys clink, all the way down the country road.

You see, I don't have to be the golden key. I can be any key, any key that opens the forbidden door of human desire. I was created since the day humans were, and I will exist till the end of the world. Don't let me find you.