The Caretaker

He has appeared in every century, always the same face, always unaged.

Court records from Prague mention a jester who never laughed. A Venetian inventory lists a servant paid in questions rather than coin. A daguerreotype from 1851 shows him at the edge of a curiosity-cabinet auction, standing slightly apart from the other bidders, as though he already knew what each lot contained.

He carries the key. He does not turn it. That courtesy is left, as it has always been left, to whoever the coffer decides upon next.