Valeria's hands trembled slightly as she rested her fingers against the bow of the key. She sat on her bed listening to the silence in her room…it was deafening, amplified by the thrumming of her own pulse in her ears. She turned the key slowly, bracing herself for resistance, but it gave way with a little less than smooth click that echoed through the room. Taking a soft breath, she carefully lifted the lid of the box.
