What The Wildflowers Know

Chapter Eight

Kvetina recognized the faces of her enemy. Kevin stood in front of her. Sneering, he growled, "Look what the cat dragged in." His two cronies crowded around them. Cahello defensively stood in front of Kvetina. "Why are you here?" Kevin held up a wallet. "Why else?" Kvetina felt anger rush through her. That was Mrs. Silvesters! She couldn't bear it anymore. Stepping in front of Cahello, she demanded, "Give us back our stuff, and get out." Kevin smirked. "Oh, it's us now, is it?" he barked.

Cahello glared at her, silencing her, but she was still mad. He held out his hands in front of him, in a silent peace treaty. "I thought we were friends." One of Kevin's cronies snickered. "You thought wrong."

"Why do this, though? You can walk away." Cahello made his way to Kevin, while Kvetina watched from behind, warily.

"I could- but I won't. This is payback for all those days, all those years, serving under you. I am the leader of this pack now."

Cahello stepped back. "Okay. I'm sorry, but you know I didn't make you stay. I've changed. I don't want to join you guys anymore. You can go rule your 'pack.'" He put quotations around the last word. Kevin hissed. "I will. But you still need to know who's boss."

Kvetina was about to warn Cahello- she sensed danger brewing- when Kevin slammed a fist into Cahello's stomach. "Ugh..." Cahello stumbled back, but Kvetina caught him. "Stop!" she faced the boys. She looked at the other two boys, huddling together behind Kevin. "Do you really want to do this? You know this is wrong. You can stop this." She saw doubt flicker over one of the boys. He exchanged a wary glance with his friend.

Kevin shrugged. "I can take both of you on my own." he said. Cahello groaned, holding his stomach, but he stood up straight. "Just leave." Kevin sneered again. "Not just yet. I've got some business to do around here." He cracked his muscles, and stepped forward. Kvetina blocked Cahello's path. "Get away from him!" Kevin pushed her off her feet and punched Cahello's nose, where blood started to trickle down. He blocked the next blow with a feeble arm, but Kevin grinned and lunged back and forth on the balls of his feet. "I'm ready." Kevin laughed.

Kvetina knew she couldn't stop this alone. But she knew who could. Muttering a silent prayer under her breath, she looked straight as the boys. She made no sound, but she readily pleaded with her eyes. She fiercely forced them to keep her stare. They knew what was right. Kvetina stood back, determined they would save Cahello. They had to. The taller boy grabbed one side of Kevin's arms and pulled him back. The other joined in, and they lifted him back, away from Cahello.

Kvetina rushed to Cahello's side. He was uninjured except for the bloody nose and a few punches. "Come on." She helped him onto a chair and turned to see Kevin struggling in the hands of his former friends. "Lemme go! What are you doing?" The shorter boy grabbed something out of his pocket- it was a packet of gum, followed by several small cans of spray paint. His buddy pulled out the wallet from Kevin's pocket and reached for another one in his own.

"Thank you guys." Kvetina nodded at them, and while Kevin screamed in rage, they hauled him away. Kvetina sank into a chair beside Cahello, who was squeezing the bridge of his nose. "Are you okay?" Cahello nodded, adding in relief, "I probably wouldn't have survived that match." The bleeding stopped and he went to get a tissue to wipe his face with. Kvetina sighed and only then did she remember the chest.

"Cahello! Remember the chest?"

Cahello's face lit up. "Yeah! Let's go see!" They brought the chest into the garage, but the small hole Kvetina had made was too small to reveal anything. They could have broken the chest, but neither of them wanted to. Kvetina stared hard at the locks. They looked familiar. Absently, she fingered her necklace. "We need the locks!" Kvetina groaned in frustration.

Cahello pointed at her. "And you have it."

He was looking at the necklace, where a small key hung from the twine. "But... But this was from my grandmother..." she trailed off as she realized the obvious. She reached for the key that had always hung over her heart, and placed the key into the slot.

Twisting it, there was a satisfying click as it broke open. She did the same with the other one, and they both snapped off. Cahello stood back as she lifted the top of the chest. Musty air filled the garage, but Kvetina's face beamed with happiness as she found a small note on the top. It read,

'To my dear Kvetina: We didn't name you Kvetina for a reason. You shall blossom as a flower when you grow. You must be strong, like the wild flowers you saw in the field where you found this. These items in here all belong to you. Use them wisely. We are sorry for not being able to raise you and your brother properly, but we have hope that you can find your kin and live a happy life.

Your proud parents-

Alexandra and Milos'

Kvetina was shocked. She hadn't known she had a brother! But she looked deeper into the chest, where a map with a lot of markings was. There, in the middle, was a place circled over and over again. Scribbled beside it were words she couldn't make out. But Kvetina knew she had to go there and find whatever was waiting for her. There was also a paint set, filled with colors of the rainbow. A note read, 'your mother's'. Then there was a small ring, handcrafted beautifully. It looked old but pretty. She slid it onto her finger.

Also there was a photo album of her parents. Finally, there was a book. Not just any book. The Bible. Kvetina flipped through, noticing the marked pages and handwritten notes. She held it close to her heart. Cahello saw everything, and he knew that she wanted to be left alone. Kvetina sat there, flipping through the photos, and found one picture of a boy, who looked young and reckless. Her brother. It was haphazardly stuck in one of the pages, but Kvetina knew it was purposefully. She had to go find her brother.