Ava's Key

Description

Aunt Mary reads a tale to her young niece which tells of a once glorious kingdom that fell under the spell of the witch. The only one who can break the spell is the king’s daughter, Ava. Knowing this the witch lays in wait for the young girl to temp her and should she succumb she would forever fall under the witch’s spell. We follow young Ava (15) coming across a door in the woods, opening through to a beautiful palace. There Ava meets Queen Evilena who attempts to lure her in by, helping her develop, transforming her from peasant to princess and finally inviting Ava to come under her wing, but asks for Ava’s key, which she is never to depart from. Upon touching the key Ava remembers who she is and also who Evilena is, the evil witch. In an attempt to take the key a fight ensues between them but Ava overcomes and suddenly she is back in the woods, it was all the witch’s craftiness. As Aunt Mary finishes, her niece picks up the book, taking out her own necklace she holds the key to a page, it is the exact same key.

Biblical Connection

Ava’s Key is a fairy-tale following the story of Jesus being tempted by the Devil in the desert as recorded in Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. However, I wanted to set this story against the backdrop of how much was at stake should Jesus have given in to the temptations. The consequences would be huge and he would not be able to fulfil his mission on earth. Something the Devil would have wanted to see and therefore is unrelenting in his temptations, playing on Jesus’ identity and then outright asking to be worshiped in return for kingdoms. Evilena is not presenting Ava with three different temptations, but her approach is to lure Ava in, coming across as someone who seems to be for her, in order to make it harder for Ava to say no, but in truth Evilena is only out for herself, just like the Devil was. The idea of the niece holds in mind that Jesus as a young child would have read the scriptures and at some point he would’ve begun to understand that some of these stories are about him. Therefore the niece is Ava.