David Tyler stood staring at the old grandfather clock in his father’s bedroom. His father said it was an “antique,” whatever that was. All David knew was that he always got a funny feeling when he stared at that clock, and he desperately wanted to learn to read so he could read the words on the golden plate on the base.

David stared closer at the clock. He could see the reddish tint of the wood, and he could see it shine because his father just cleaned it. He looked up at the face of the clock and was frustrated because he couldn’t read the time; instead of numbers, he only saw I’s and V’s and X’s. The only thing he liked about it was the way the strange numbers looked against the silver background and the ornamental look of the minute and hour hands.

Just as he was about to leave, though, the clock seemed to start running backwards. He blinked and looked again. It was running backwards!

“Dad!” he called frantically. “Come quick!”

David’s father came running into the room. “What’s wrong, David?”

The hands had stopped moving. “It’s the clock…the hands…they were moving…”

“Oh, the clock’s just stopped. All I have to do is wind it up. Don’t worry.” David watched his father fix the clock. “There, all done.”

“Dad, what do those words say?”

“They say, ‘Imagination is the key.’” His father shook his head. “I never understood that. It’s a strange inscription. It’s nothing five-year-olds need to worry about, though.” He ruffled David’s hair. “Dinner will be done soon.

David knew what imagination was; his mother had told him. He didn’t understand how it could be a key, though; it wasn’t something you could hold.

When his father left the room, he whispered, “Imagination is the key.” As he did, the clock started running backwards again.

“David, it’s time to eat!” his father called. David had been hungry, but suddenly he didn’t want to eat and watched to hide. Without a moment’s hesitation, he opened the clock and jumped in, even though his dad had told him never to do that.

A minute had passed and his father still hadn’t found him. Then his mind started wandering. He started imagining al the places he’d like to be. He thought of a circus, an amusement park, and his friend Brian’s house. Then he thought it would be great to be on another planet.

David suddenly realized he couldn’t hear his father calling for him, and he was sure more than ten minutes had passed. He decided to give in and tell his dad where he was.

“Dad, I’m in…” The rest of his breath came out in a gasp. When he opened the door, he didn’t find himself in his father’s room, but instead he found himself outside.

The grass was greener than any he had ever seen before, and the wind was perfumed with roses. It seemed like a nice place, except for the birds in the sky. They were flying upside down. Then he saw the sky was tinted purple, and he began to notice furry creatures in the grass. Suddenly he recognized the place. It was a place he thought about a lot when his mind wandered. He wasn’t afraid anymore.

He stepped out and one of the creatures climbed up his leg and back to sit on his shoulder. He began to giggle when its fur tickled his chin. Then all of the creatures seemed to come to him, crawling on him, and he laughed the whole time.

David glanced back at the clock and saw the hands moving in opposite directions at an alarming speed. He decided he had better try to get home.

He said goodbye to all the creatures and stepped into the clock, but he didn’t know how to get home. He didn’t even know how he got here.

“Imagination is the key,” his father had read. What did that mean?

He began to cry. He started thinking of his mom and dad because he feared he’d never see them again. Their faces hung in his mind like photographs on a wall. He missed them.

“David, where are you?”

He looked up. Was that really his dad?

“David, it’s time to eat!”

Yes! It was his dad! He opened the clock and leaped out, not forgetting to close the door behind him. “Dad!” he yelled, running out into the hall. “Dad, you wouldn’t believe what happened! There were furry things all around…the birds were upside down…I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Whoa, David, slow down. I can barely understand what you’re saying.” David began crying against his dad’s stomach. “Oh, David, it was just your imagination…”

David looked up at his dad, and his eyes lit with understanding. “You’re right, Dad! Imagination is the key!”

02/1998