Read Online The Key To the Kingdom by Jeff Dixon - Free Book Online Page A

noticed a model replica of an airplane. Since the model was in the office, Hawk assumed it must be a model of the plane that Walt had owned. There were more items that adorned the surface of the credenza; none of them looked unusual or out of place. He moved slowly toward the far left side of the window and tried to see behind the desk. If Farren was to be taken literally about the key, Hawk would need to take it and do the same thing Walt did. He went back to the studio, sat behind his desk, and let the memories spark his imagination, his ability to really understand a story, and eventually how he would touch the world . Then Rales had given him the key. Take this and do the same thing Walt did . Looking through the window, Hawk knelt down and tried to get a better understanding about what he mightsee if he were behind the desk. His eyes raced over the view he had from a different angle. Frustratingly, he could see no more detail than he could when he was standing.
    “Looking for anything specific?”
    From one knee Hawk looked up into the smiling face of a cast member, dressed in a host uniform, towering above him.
    “No, I’m just trying to really see everything,” Hawk replied.
    The cast member bent slightly forward at the waist and looked into the office, trying to see what could be seen differently from Hawk’s point of view. Slowly and deliberately the cast member straightened back up, satisfied the view was not that different, and turned his attention from the office back to Hawk. With a pleasant if not patronizing look spreading across his face, he spoke again.
    “I did notice that you have been studying the office for quite some time. Are you a big Walt Disney fan?”
    “Sure, isn’t everyone?” Hawk attempted to respond like an overzealous tourist. He had managed to completely lose track of time studying the details of the office. A quick check of his watch let him know that the attraction would be closing in a few minutes. “I’m fascinated with the creativity that must have come out of this very office. I’ve been standing here wondering what it would have been like to sit in there and talk with Walt himself.”
    “It is fascinating to think about,” said the cast member, whose badge identified his name as Jim. “You’d be surprised how many people do exactly what you’ve been doing. Looking through the window and wondering what if.”
    “What if?” Hawk asked.
    “Sure,” Jim explained. “What if Walt were still alive, what if he’d seen Disney World completed, what if he were still running the Disney empire, what if you could sit down and chat with him?”
    “That’s a lot more thought than I was giving it.”
    “I’m sure if you stood here long enough you would’ve gotten there. There’s just something about Disney that sparks the imagination in people. But sadly you’re not going to be able to stay much longer; we close in just a few minutes. The last showing of the movie is when we clear this part of the attraction.”
    Hawk feigned a look of sadness. “How much longer can I stay here and look?”
    “The film will be starting in five minutes.”
    “Only five minutes?”
    “Yes, I’m afraid so.” Jim tapped his watch.
    “Then five minutes it is. Thanks for letting me know how long I have left, Jim.”
    “You’re welcome. When the doors at the far end of the exhibit open, you can go through them to see the film.”
    “Those are the ones at the far end on the right?”
    “Yes, sir.” Jim walked away to give Hawk another few minutes to spend alone with his thoughts at the window.
    The thoughts that Hawk was beginning to have at the window were nothing short of strange. He began to imagine what might happen if he could really do what Walt had done. Rales was very clear as he told him the story. Walt had gone back to the studio and sat behind the desk. How in the world did Rales expect Hawk to do the same thing that Walt did?
    The announcement jarred his thinking back to the