The Key Master

The blending of fairy-tale fiction and history is not unique in any way as time travel stories have been told many times and in a variety of ways. It is the fascination of living within another realm that draws both the reader and writer into the mystical possibilities of fantasy. That seductive potential of transformation into another time, pulling one to follow a path that will lead into uncharted territories and a collision between their past and that of others before them. In this sense, each story carries with it its own relevance just as one's remembrance of the past, and fear of the future, is viewed in specific individual terms that are different for all of us.

Based upon the hatred that existed between the English and both the Dutch and Swedish settlers of the new Americas, this story takes place in New Castle, Delaware, which played a pivotal but rather unknown role in our nation's history as the original center of colonial government prior to William Penn establishing Philadelphia as such. Ironically, it was in New Castle where William Penn first touched the shores of the nation that would become the United States of America. As a thriving port enterprise, New Castle served as the residence and meeting place for many who were involved with both the striving for independence and, for some, the ultimate signing of the Declaration of Independence. Among them were Benjamin Franklin, John Dickenson, George Read, and Thomas McKean.

When a man is given a special gift that will allow for him to travel through time, he awakens in the year 1773 in his hometown of New Castle, Delaware. Through the course of routine circumstance, he finds himself accepted by some yet deceived by others. Remembering his past, which is really his future, he longs for a return to those associated with his life in the year 1986. The story becomes complicated when he learns that his close friend's family is descendant of a plot and murder that took place in 1777. This would be a plot that would question the very existence of the family name and all that they had acquired.

In the end, he must now make a choice. Perhaps the most difficult choice of his many life cycles. Does he return to be with his wife and maintain a tarnished relationship? Or does he remain in a period where potential for true love awaits him?