An Unexpected Find

Hide and Seek. Again. I wish we could play some other game. Either I am found too quickly; or I sit for hours waiting for the exclamation “I found you!”. Surely we could find something more interesting to do!

“… twenty nine, thirty, thirty one, …”

Trey is counting and is a really good finder. Maybe I will not sit too long. Still need to find a good spot though. I decide to move deeper into the woods. I wish the family could have met at the beach like we did last year. Sun, beach, and water. Sigh! We had such fun last year, my cousins and I. Why did our folks think we would enjoy the rustic living of a cabin and the woods, I have no idea. Mmmm, that looks like a good spot to hide.

I move towards the fallen trunk that has been covered with creepers. As I move closer to my intended hiding spot, I trip over the edge of something. It looks like a tin box. I push the fallen leaves out of the way and scrape the ground away.

” … eighty one, eighty two, eighty three, …”

Trey’s voice fades into the background of my conciousness as I pull the dented tin box out of the ground. I move towards a tree trunk, lean back against it, and open the box. I am filled with curiosity. Have I found hidden treasure? A treasure map? Money?

I open the box reverently. Inside I see a batch of letters that are bound together with an elastic band. A small, silver key. A few circles of what look like coins - except it is like no money I have seen. I rifle some more in the box and I see a photograph of two people: a woman holding a child. They have a dog next to them. They look so happy in the picture. I wonder who they are; and where they are now.

“Found you! Hey, you are not even hiding Anita! I know you don’t like the game but you should at least try.”

“Trey, look here. Look at what I found. This box. I tripped over it while I was looking for a place to hide.”

I hold the open box out to him. Excited about my find, I cannot wait to share it with him.

“Look at these letters, they will be so interesting to read. And this photograph. What do you think their names were? Maybe the letters will tell us.”

“Now this is more like it! A bit of excitement in this dull place. Let’s call the others out and we can see if we can find the answers to your questions.”

(This post was inspired by the prompt given by Kellie Elmore. To read more submissions, visit her post.)

© Colline Kook-Chun, 2012

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