✒️ 5-Minute Writing Prompt:
You wake up to find a small, glowing key on your nightstand. As you pick it up, a faint whisper echoes in your ears: “Unlock the door before it’s too late.” But there’s no new door in sight—just the ones you’ve always known. What do you do next?

The Whispering Key
I stare at the key in awe-struck horror. My hand shakes, and I stand warily from my bed. My legs tremble and move on their own as I approach the closet door. Something whimsical draws me closer, calling me.
Adrenaline courses through my veins as I insert the old, rusty key into the keyhole. I had always wondered why the closet had a lock with no key but never paid it much mind—until now. I don’t know how I know, but I know.
I turn the key, and the metallic sounds of the mechanisms inside echo in my ears. My heart pounds in my chest and my breathing hitches as the door to my closet creaks opens slowly on its own. My jaw drops as a mystical forest unfolds before me.The sound of approaching horse hooves drowns out the unfamiliar calls of distant birds.
“You’ve finally made it,” a male voice greets me.
©️T.L. Ryan 2025. All rights reserved.
