Special thanks to The Hearthlight Chronicles’ creator, Henrique de Aguiar, for allowing me to use his game like this. You can find him on Bluesky, X, or Itch, or better yet, grab The Hearthlight Chronicles - it’s only $3.
Missed this week’s Hearthlight journey? Jump straight to day 5, or catch the story so far:
Today’s prompt: “A local gives you a mysterious key and tells you it’s meant for you. What is your next step?”
Today’s music: Rebirth of Cool by DJ CAM & DJ CAM QUARTET. 🎧 Listen on Soundcloud.
The Key
I’d lost count of the days. Was it day 4? 5? 6? No, it was 5… probably. I’d been going to bed earlier and, oddly, getting up earlier as Hearthlight’s quiet balm helped me unwind. Being in the hamlet was like those beach holidays you remember as a kid. You know, the ones where the days are endless, and the light is warm and not too bright. Except there was no sand in my towel here, and no beach either. Just fields, sheep, and people living a quiet life.
There was a lesson in it, and I wished I could put it into words. Maybe I’d be able to, tomorrow.
My morning walk around Hearthlight took me past Trudy’s gelato store. She was already there, in barista mode instead of her ice cream-slinging persona, and she beckoned me in. “Morning.”
“And a good one it is,” I replied. “I’d like to buy a coffee.”
She smiled at that. “You know it doesn’t work that way around here.” She almost turned away, then said, “Oh, I forgot. This was left for you.” She pushed an envelope across the counter.
I took it. The envelope was heavier than paper should be and bulged a little at the bottom. It was heavy cream cardstock and opened with a satisfying crinkle. Inside was my Hearthlight invitation. I knew it was mine because I’d doodled a flower pot in the top right corner. How had it gotten here? It shared the envelope with an old, tarnished key—the kind that you’d expect to fit an ancient lock on a treasure chest rather than anything as mundane as a door.
I took my coffee with thanks, still thinking about the key and my invitation. When it had arrived weeks ago, I thought it had been some kind of prank. I opened and re-read it:
Come to Hearthlight.
The world needs you. And you need the world.
You’ve only got to remember why.
I went to the market square’s bench and sat with my coffee, invitation, and key. I hadn’t thought to ask Trudy who left the envelope for me. Hollis, probably. Did it matter? The key opened something, but what? Was I supposed to open it? Give it to someone? Open it for someone else? Did it open a trunk of doubloons or a basket of yarn?
While one man’s trash was another man’s treasure—and real treasure was often useful—Hollis’s cat would prefer the yarn.
I read the Hearthlight invitation again. Apparently, the world needed me. Did it need me to give this key to someone? Had someone lost it? I thought about the kid and his dead Dad. Did the key unlock a chest buried in the family’s basement? Would it return light to the memory of a passed parent or husband?
Did I need to solve this mystery?
I sipped my coffee. It was freely given in Hearthlight, just like everything else here. I pondered the key again. It wasn’t mine. I was just… holding it for someone else for a while. I thought about how memories could be like that; how you hold the best ones close to share with people later, to let them out to live again in the sun. This key… I knew it didn’t open a chest of literal gold. It would open a chest of wonder and miracle, but only for the right person.
I finished my coffee and stood. It was time to find that kid and see what memories this key might open.
Roll result? One mysterious key, one recycled invitation, and a gentle reminder that not all treasure is meant to be kept.
XP gained: 1 moment of quiet purpose, 1 memory readied for return.
Read Day 6!
Want to keep wandering through Hearthlight?
Loving the journey? Consider fuelling my coffee addiction by tossing a coin to this witcher on ko-fi:
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