Page 22 of Happily Ever After
"Pick a wall and run your hands over the surface. See if any of the rocks are loose and come out," Ade instructs.
We do just that, hoping to find some secret hidey-hole.
"Got it," Ade suddenly calls out.
He wiggles a loose rock, revealing a hole.
We wait with bated breath as he shines his flashlight inside.
"You won't believe it, but there really is something in there."
"What is it?" Rhia asks, jumping up and down on the spot.
Ade reaches inside and pulls out a flat metal container.
"Treasure!" Rhia claps her hands together. "Oh my gosh, this is exciting."
It really is.
The carvings suggested something was hidden in this cave, but to be honest, I didn't think we would really find something. I mean, what are the odds?
Ade hands the box to Lex and double-checks the hole, but nothing else seems to be hidden inside. Then he pushes the rock back in place to seal the hole, leaving it just as we found it.
"This isn't much bigger than the box of oracle cards I have at home," I say, staring at our find. "Not a large treasure, then."
Lex turns the container in his hands. "It has an eight-digit number lock," he says not a second later.
"What?" Rhia wrinkles her nose in displeasure.
"It's not old pirate treasure then," I tease, nudging Rhia with my elbow.
"Perhaps not. But it's still treasure," she replies, craning her neck to see the box better. "Now what?" she asks.
"We'll take it outside and see how we can open it. It's too cramped and dark in here," Lex replies.
Ade nods in agreement. Turning around, he leads the way back to the entrance.
It occurs to me that we should have made our own markings to ensure we find our way out. But then again, with two supermen at our side, we'd never get lost.
Still, when I see the light streaming through the rock opening, I let out a sigh of relief.
The sun is bright—too bright—when we step back outside. I squint, wishing I had my sunglasses to let my eyes adjust more gradually.
Still, the excitement of our discovery means nothing else really matters right now.
We find a shady spot under a tree and sit down in a circle, the small metal container in between us, our curiosity piqued by the sight of the number lock securing its contents.
"Do you think this was Tiero's?" Rhia asks.
"Why would he hide anything in a cave? It's not like many people knew about this island. And besides, he has a safe that's very well hidden in the house. No, this has to be somebody else's," I argue.
"Well, whatever is inside this box has to be important," Ade says thoughtfully. "Why would anyone otherwise go to all that trouble? Not only to hide it in a cave, but also to put it in a locked container."
Lex picks up our mystery item and studies it thoroughly.
"We'll need the number combination," he concludes. "There's not even the smallest ridge to wedge something in it to pry it open."
"Crap," Rhia whines. "The possibilities are endless."
