None of the dozen keys Micala held in her shaking hands would open any of the doors in that hallway which stretched farther than she could see. This was the stuff of a nightmare ... or madness. She wanted to wake up and find herself facing a normal day ... but by then, nothing was normal. Instead she kept trying the keys ... first one, then another ... first one door then another. There was no way in ... or out ... and worst of all, she couldn't keep track of which keys she had tried in which door. She fell to her knees, sobbing. Wanting so desperately to open one door ... any door ... that would let her enter a new world ... away from the hallway she had been trapped in for ... how long had it been ... weeks, months, years? Her life of quiet desperation had sprung a leak and the leak had become a river. She was in danger of being swept away with the torrent of water that was certain to break through the facade holding it back. It was just a matter of time ... tick ... tock ... tick ... tock