Map: Part V
Aaron studied the map, spinning it around and around, not sure which way was up. “If this is this symbol, then where are the other ones? How far away is...” his voice trailed off as he squinted at the paper in his hands.
Rosie seemed to have abandoned interest, and she walked in circles around Aaron and the bench, weaving within the trees.
Aaron scuffed his foot against the ground in sudden frustration. “Is this the clue? Or is there something else to find here? Do you think we’re supposed to find something else before we find this one?”
Still, Rosie said nothing. Only the birds cawing in the distance had anything to say.
“Wha--”
“Shut up,” she told him, stopping her dizzying walk. “Aren’t I the doubting one?” she quipped. Her heart wasn’t really in it, though, and she pulled near the bench, squatting down. “This... Oh.”
In a second, Aaron was kneeling next to her. A handle. A trapdoor handle was hidden underneath the bench.
“It’s real! It’s--There’s a real--!” Triumphant, Aaron grinned ear to ear at Rosie, who shook her head and tried to hide her smile behind her hair.
“There better be a real treasure to go with your real map,” she said, reaching for the handle. “I can’t believe I never saw this before.”
After a lot of regret that neither of them had stronger forearms and a little bit of swearing, they finally dislodged the trapdoor from the forest floor. The top was grassy, but wooden underneath, hinged into another hidden piece of wood.
Once opened, a dark cavern lay before them. Decades of mysteries are hidden in this hole, Aaron thought.
He dug into his jacket pocket, feeling around that stupid library book for what he knew he had. “Ta-da!” he said, pulling out a flashlight. And before Rosie even had time to look at him, he took a step forward and jumped in the hole.
Read part I: https://theprose.com/post/243841/map