Key

My skate key hung on a shoe lace and the shoe lace hung around my neck. When I tightened the roller skate clamps and pulled the strap taut I readied myself to fly beyond Minnie's grocery store, beyond the Chinese laundry, beyond the candy store and egg creams and long pretzels, beyond the shoe maker who held nails in his mouth, beyond the empty lot where we played Hide and Go Seek.

When did I lose the key?

And when did I find myself walking those streets again--looking back to understand.