A young man standing next to him curiously asked: "Why do you have so many keys?". The writer, while choosing keys, smiled: "House keys, car keys, cabinet keys, warehouse keys, wooden crate keys... The older I get, the more things I have to keep." The boy exclaimed: "Then you must have opened many doors". He shook his head, saying a philosophical sentence: "No. When I was young, I only had one key that could open the whole world. Now I have a bunch but cannot open many doors." He stood nearby, listening and suddenly went silent.
Indeed, at twenty years old, people had nothing but an old backpack, a few sets of clothes and a pure belief. Just buying a train ticket meant they could go anywhere. Just need a friend to call and they were ready to go. Just need to love someone and they dared to stand in the rain for hours just to meet a smile. Back then, the world was like a house that never locked. Then people grew up. Keys started to become more and more. Private house keys, car keys, office keys, magnetic cards, bank passwords, safe codes, authentication codes... Adults were so careful that they locked everything, just forgetting to keep the key to open their hearts. In the past, just a phone call was enough for a group of friends to gather. Now if you want to make an appointment for a full meal, you have to check the schedule like booking a plane ticket. Some are busy with meetings, some take their children to extra classes, some go on business trips. In the end, everyone has their own house key, but very rarely can open the door leading to each other.
He suddenly realized that each new key comes with a new responsibility. Having a key means having something to keep, having property means worrying. The heavier the bunch of keys, the slower the steps seem.
When saying goodbye, the old man puts the bunch of keys back in his pocket. The clanging sound is still as pleasant as at first. He suddenly thinks, the most scary thing about age is not gray hair or wrinkles, but thinking that having more keys will open more doors. In fact, there are doors that only open once in a lifetime. The doors of youth, of impromptu trips, of times of daring to love, daring to make mistakes and daring to start over. When they close, no locksmith can make more keys. Therefore, the value of old age is not in how many keys you own, but in keeping the invisible key called curiosity, hope and courage. As long as you keep it, people can still open new doors, even if their hands are full of wrinkles.
