Luke stepped out of the car, followed by the rest of his family. The drive back to their home was muted. After the Will reading his family didn’t really have much to talk about. He stepped into the house after his father, just as other cars started to park on and near the driveway. The rest of his close family and friends turn up for his grandpa's Wake.
“Go freshen up, dear. I’ll be bringing out some dad's biscuits.” His mother said, red hair cascading down her back as she talked to Luke and his sister.
“Sure,” Aimee said. She bounced up the stairs, her black dress wishing as she took the steps two at a time.
“Okay, I just need to go to the toilet.” Luke said, heading to the bathroom on the first floor. It would be out of the way as everyone else started to enter the house. He didn’t really want to talk to too many people yet.
Luke sighed as he stepped into his bedroom a few minutes later. He wiped his hands idly on his towel and then sat on his bed. It had been a strange few days. He wasn’t really too close to his grandpa. Sure, he came round often and did the normal family things. But as Luke grew older, he also had less of a connection with his aunts, uncles and even grandparents.
To Luke, they were either all stuck in their ways and not as liberal as him. Or like his Aunt Jennie, very strict and conservative. The news of his grandpa becoming ill suddenly and then dying was a shock to everyone. He had always seemed healthy and spry, even at his advanced age.
“Everyone else probably felt the same,” Luke said. He looked out the window as more cars parked in the driveway, not everyone had time to make the Will read. But were able to attend the Wake afterward. “Man, not seen Kyle or Michelle in ages.”
Luke smiled as he watched his two cousins hug his dad, followed by their parents. They stepped inside, out of his view.
KNOCK, KNOCK.
“Luke, can I come in?” His mum said, her voice filtering through the door.
“Sure, mum.” Luke said, sitting up on his bed as his mum walked in. She still wore the black mourning dress, which hugged her curves.
“Your aunt and uncle are here. You should go down and talk to Kyle and Michelle.” His mum said, smiling at him. She walked to him, holding an envelope in her hand. “This is the envelope your grandpa talked about in the video. I think it has a key and letter inside, judging by what I can feel.”
“Ah...right. I forgot,” Luke said. He took the envelope from her and smiled up at his mum. “Let me read, I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Sure, don’t take too long.” His mum said, smiling at him before leaving he room.
Luke sighed, glancing at her arse as she left. He had long since become used to how hot his mum looked. It was hard not to, when she wore outfits like that. He didn’t think it was wrong to think of his mum and family like that, because obviously, nothing would happen.
“Let’s see what he wrote,” Luke said. He opened the envelope and pulled out the keys. There were a number of keys, on a simple keyring. They looked old, almost ancient. He wondered what they opened, likely the letter would tell him.
Dear Luke,
If you are reading this, then I am dead.
Don’t worry about me, as I am likely in a much better place. I have had a good, long life. Filled with loving family and wonderful experiences.
It’s the best I could hope for. After coming back from the war I didn’t think it was possible for me to find happiness. But I did, and have a large family to show for it.
Onto what I want to tell you of.
In this envelope will be a series of keys. Now, you might be wondering what they open. Treasure or a map? Not really, because they open nothing at all and everything.
Confusing, huh?
Luke raised an eyebrow as the letter ended. At the bottom right he could see a ½, which meant there should be a second page, but there was nothing else in the envelope.
“What the fuck did he mean?” Luke whispered, raising an eyebrow at the odd letter. He had expected some final message about how his grandpa loved him or something, it was sort of like that, but seemed to go off on a tangent.
“Luke, come down!” His mum called.
“Right, coming!” Luke shouted, throwing the paper on the desk and then pocketing the keys. Maybe he could find something of his grandpa that actually did open with these keys.
A short time later, Luke was chatting to his uncle Stewart on the patio. As he regaled Luke about some story or another of his grandpa. Luke could only nod along, his attention being diverted as Aimee finally made an appearance.
“I brought out some wine, vodka and bourbon for you all.” Aimee said, smiling at them all.
“My kind of girl,” Stewart said, raising an empty glass.
“Don’t you egg her on. We don’t need drunk people sleeping in our garden tonight.” His mum said.
“Come on, Amber. Only a glass or two won’t hurt,” his dad said. He walked up to Aimee and took a can of beer off her arms. “Thanks sweetheart.”
“No problem, anyone else?” Aimee asked, glancing at everyone.
“Some vodka for me. Luke, you want to join?” Kyle said, raising a bottle of JD at him.
“Sure, pour me a glass.” Luke said, stepping over to Kyle and Michelle.
“Are you feeling good?” Michelle said, frowning at him as she sipped her Vodka and coke. “You were upstairs for a while.”
“Just reading the note grandpa left and thinking about things.” Luke said, smiling at her. Michelle wore a black dress like most of the women did, but hers was strapless. Her dark hair was wrapped up in a bunn, which gave her a more serious vibe then her usual bubbly personality.
“You kids better not drink too much, “ Aunt Jennifer said, narrowing her eyes at them from the other side of the garden.
“We won’t mum,” Kyle said. He rolled his eyes as he took a large gulp of his drink.
Luke frowned, while he got along with Kyle and Michelle. Their mum Jennifer was a real tightarse. She always seemed to have an issue with something or someone and always tried to get her own way.
“What did grandpa write?” Michelle asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ears.
“That’s the strange thing. I think one oof the pages was missing.” Luke said, frowning. “The first page was just general stuff, he talked about the war and how happy he was that he had a family. But there was no second page.”
“Hmm, strange.” Kyle replied,
“Maybe check the attic. Your mum said that your grandpa spent a lot of time a week or two here, and left a few things up there.” Michelle said. “Mum thinks he was just sorting out his final things to give to people. Maybe he left the second part up there and didn’t realise he hadn’t put it all together. He was ancient y’know.”
“You’re right, I will check.” Luke said, glancing at his mum through the kitchen window. Her and his dad were busy preparing food, along with a few other relatives. “I should have some time before we have to eat. I’ll be back.”
“Sure, take your time.” Michelle said.
“But not too long, or we will have to drag you down.” Kyle said, smiling.
“No problem,” Luke said. He headed back inside, taking a quick look into the kitchen. He had to drag his eyes away from his mum’s butt as she bent over to take something out of the oven. Soon, he was climbing up the ladder to the attic.
Luke squeezed in between two large boxes, and then stepped over a small tool box. It seemed like his grandpa had done a lot of work here before he died. Or his parents had been thinking of throwing out stuff.
“I don’t know why I’m even here.” Luke mumbled, glancing around the room. Sure, it would be nice to know what the end of the strange letter was. But then, he didn’t really care that much. He hadn’t been too close to his grandpa.
Luke sighed, glancing around the room and walking to the small table by the loft window. He would just have a quick look around and then head back down to enjoy the rest of the wake. He searched the desk and around it, but only found long forgotten paperwork or books didn’t fit into the bookshelf on the other side of the room.
Luke was about to leave the room when a bit of paper caught his attention, it stuck out from between two boxes. He went over to the boxes and pulled the paper out. It was the same type of paper as the letter and had writing on it.
“Guess this is it,” Luke mumbled, his eyes widening as he read the contents of the paper.
They are sort of like Master keys. Any lock they can open. You could go into other peoples homes or a shop, or event back to the past.
That last one got your attention? Good, because it’s all true.
The keys will morphe to fit those that are most commonly used, from Tubular keys to Primaries.
It’s probably a lot of information to take in, but I am telling you the truth.
To go to the past you have to think about the specific year, month and date. Then, put the key into any door and open it, the next thing you see will be the past from that specific point in time.
But don’t think of it in numbers, such as ten years ago as that will not work. You must think of a year or specific date. Not sure why it works, it just does.
Anyway, use it well. I know I did.
By the way, 1990 was a good year.
Regards
Jefferson, your loving grandpa.
“What the fuck?” Luke said, laughing slightly at his grandpa’s words. He finally found what the rest of the letter was, but it was hilarious. “I didn’t think he was crazy.”
Luke sighed, smiling as he stepped toward the attic door. His grandpa had one last joke after he died. He found it almost funny. He glanced at the door to the attic door as he passed and let out a breath of air. He might as well try it, just in case.
Luke put the corresponding key into the lock and twisted it. He glanced around him as he thought of a week ago, when his grandpa was still alive. The specific date of when he last saw him was planted firmly in his mind, yet nothing changed.
“Just a joke,” Luke said, smiling as he pulled the key out. He paused as he was about to take the final step and glanced down at the keys in his hand. Something was wrong, he knew he had done it wrong. “Wrong?”
Luke shook his head, he didn’t know why he had thought that. He brushed a hand through his hair and realised he hadn’t actually closed the door, merely put in the key and turned it.
I’m only doing this to be hundred percent certain nothing strange is going on. Luke thought, as he walked back up into the attic and closed the door behind him. He then put the key into the lock and froze. He felt something wash through him, like an electric shook as he thought of a date and time./
“1990 was a good year?” Luke raised an eyebrow, remembering the words on the letter. He turned the lock and opened the door. The background noise he had been hearing from downstairs, from everyone chatting had disappeared. No, it had become more muted. He stepped down the stairs into the first floor and froze. “What the fuck?”
The decor in the house was different. Almost absurdly so. Gone was the uniform white walls, to be replaced with wallpaper. The picture frames of the various holidays they had been on as a family were replaced with random pictures of objects or landmarks. Heck, even the big family photo at the top of the stairs had changed to a different family. Though, the people in them was familiar to Luke.
“Dad, can you get the pots from the garage?” A woman’s voice echoed through the house. “I need to make food for Luke and Aimee.”
“Sure, dear. I’ll be one moment,” said another voice.
Luke sat on the stairs, eyes wide with horror as a little child appeared through the doorway to the living. He sprinted down the hallway to the kitchen. He looked extremely family, because it was him.
“I’m actually in the past,” Luke whispered. He looked up at the picture frame on the wall next to him and found a younger version of his dad and mum. They hugged each other, and smiled at the camera. His grandpa had been telling the truth.
Luke’s eyes widened as an older man stepped into the hallway, he smiled at where Luke’s younger self had gone before he turned to the door to the garage. Luke recognised the man immediately. Sure, he had more hair and less age lines around his nose and eyes. But he had just spent the better part of the week thinking about his grandpa. And before Luke now stood his grandpa, thirty years younger.
“How did you get into the house?” His grandpa snarled, raising his hands.
“Wait, it’s me!”Luke said, then realising his mistake. His grandpa wouldn’t know who he actually was. He blinked and realised he was still holding the keys his grandpa gave him. Slowly, he raised his hand and showed them off. “You gave these to me, grandpa.”
“What…..who are you?” his grandpa said, surprise and confusion on his face.
“Luke, I literally just ran down the hallway.” Luke said, smiling as relief washed over him. It was nice actually seeing his grandpa again.
“Holy shit, Luke. Really?” His grandpa said, stepping up to him. “If I gave you them, then something happened to me.”
“Yeah, you died a little over a week ago.” Luke said, emotion welling up within him as he cried. Tears streamed down his face. He had always thought he wasn’t that close to his grandpa, but to actually see him alive again left Luke speechless. He stood and stepped to his grandpa, wrapping him in a hug.
“Shit, Luke. I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say.” Grandpa said, patting his back.
“It’s fine, I’m just glad I get to talk to you again.” Luke said, controlling his emotions after a few seconds and pulling away. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have come. I didn’t realise this would work, I thought you were just making a joke.”
“It’s the first time you used it?” Grandpa said, shaking his head as he glanced to the kitchen. “Come to the garage, before someone else sees you. We need to chat about a few things.”
“Sure,” Luke said. He followed his grandpa to the garage and sat on the work bench as his grandpa paced around the room.
“How old are you?” Grandpa asked, glancing up at him.
“Nineteen, Aimee is eighteen.” Luke asked.
“So, I only have just over a decade left. Not too shabby, I’ll be over eighty before I die.” Grandpa said, smiling. “Pretty good. But there are things we need to talk about.”
“Yeah, how did you get this key and who made it?” Luke asked, it was an obvious question but one that had been nagging on his mind.
“Who made it, I don’t really know.” Grandpa said, frowning. “I was given it in the war. Before I killed him, he told me what it does and how to use it. I didn’t believe him at the time, but I tried it on a shack and it worked. Went right back to before the war started, was a surprise before I headed back.”
“Wow, you had it for that long. You must have seen a lot of things,” Luke said. His eyes widened as he realised the implication. “Wait, how do I get back to my time?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Grandpa said, smiling slightly. “You can travel back as many times as you want. When you want to go back to your original timeline you just do the same. It can’t take you to the future, as far as I know. Just back to the time you left at, but it can always go to the past from there.”
“So, the entirety of history is open to me?” Luke asked, wonder filling him. He could go back to the swinging sixties or go to Woodstock.”
“Yeah, but you are sort of limited. The time you go back to, there must be a corresponding door to that time period. The further back in time you go, the less likelihood you will find one.” Grandpa said.
“Oh, so I can’t really go back more then a few hundred years.” Luke said.
“Technically, all you need to do is find a government building that has been around for that long.” Grandpa said. “I mostly stuck to the seventies and eighties, good times.”
“I can imagine.” Luke said, his eyes widening as the door to the house opened.
“Dad, Amber wants you to hurry up!” A young woman said, she wore a simple green summer dress that hugged her curves. “Oh….daddy, I didn’t realise you brought someone over.”
Luke gulped as he noted the huge bosom and large arse, then gulped again he noticed it was a younger version of aunt Jennifer.
“Yeah, sweetie. Just a friend I know from the bowling club.” Grandpa said, stepping up to Jennifer. “Why don’t you tell Amber I will be back soon, just finishing up here.”
“Fine,” Jennifer said. She turned and smiled at him, her eyes roaming his form. “You look familiar? I must have seen you before, what’s your name?”
“Ah….it’s Tom.” Luke said, his brain freezing for a moment. “I used to work at the bowling alley, and just wanted to tell -”
“Tell me about the new deal they were going to start there, he wanted to give me an inside track you see.” Grandpa cut in.
“Oh...you and your bowling. Fine,” Jennifer said, turning to Luke and smiling again. “I’ll see you around.”
“Sure,” Luke said. He tried to take his eyes off her arse as she left, but he couldn’t.
“Surprised to see your aunt?” Grandpa said.
“Yeah, but more surprised at how friendly she is.” Luke said.
“What do you mean?”
“She is a bit stiff in my time, if you get my drift.” Luke said, rolling his eyes.
“Ah...well maybe I will try to keep her bubbly. She is my little girl and I would hate for her to have a bad relationship with her family.” Grandpa said, rubbing his chin.
“Thanks, but I am used to it.” Luke said.
“Good, but you best go.” Grandpa said.
“What, why? I have so many questions.” Luke said, eyes widening.
“You do, but it is best to take it easy. Experiment a bit with the keys, enjoy life and stuff.” Grandpa said, smiling. “We have all the time in the world to chat, we could maybe have a set time to meet or something. That would be fun, you can tell me all about the future. How about that?”
“I guess….”
“Don’t look at me like that. I might be dead in the future, but I am alive here.” Grandpa said, walking up to him and giving him a hug. “Don’t worry, I am here to help you. Now go back and enjoy the keys.”
“I will,” Luke said.