The Glass Enigma

Discovery

     Kevin lifted the dusty cardboard box from atop the squat, large trunk. Its contents rattled as he placed it on the floor. He stepped back and looked at the trunk, its solid mahogany bulk striped with metal inserts. Kevin's uncle had passed away the week before and he was helping his father clear out the old man's meager possessions from the basement guest room.

     An assortment of objects and personal artifacts were jumbled near the door. The bed was folded up, standing upright on its wheels. A rickety cupboard, pine finish worn and scratched, leaned against the rough, mottled wall. Uncle Lenny had stayed here for years, after being evicted from his makeshift shack at the docks. He'd been in the merchant navy and had regaled Kevin many a time with his nautical adventures.

     Kevin gripped the trunk's lid and tried opening it, but it wouldn't budge. The empty keyhole, surrounded by worked copper inlay, seemed to taunt him. Picking up a crowbar from the floor, he wedged it into the lid above the keyhole and pushed it in as far as it would go. Using both arms he levered it up, accompanied by the harsh crunch of splintering wood. The lid finally came ajar and gave a creaky groan as he lifted it open.

     "What's going on here?" came his father's voice from over his shoulder.
     "Just had to force the trunk, Dad," replied Kevin. "Couldn't find the key."
     "I was wondering what that racket was. So, what's inside?"

     They both peered into the cavernous interior; it was filled with books, old marine paraphernalia, charts, bales of rope and various articles of clothing, mostly sailor's garb. Kevin reached in and brought out a sextant, its brass dull with age. His father rummaged the trunk, leafing through one of the books.

     "Well, I'll be ... it's a journal. Never knew Leonard kept these," he said. His son glanced at it, then turned his attention back to the trunk's innards. Sitting near the bottom was a grey oilcloth wrapped around something. Kevin lifted it out and moved the cloth apart, revealing a small derringer pistol.

     "Look at this, Dad!"
     His father put the journal down and gazed enquiringly at what his son held.
     "Hmm, interesting. Now that's a souvenir." He took the pistol from Kevin and admired its mother-of-pearl decorations.
     "Beautiful craftsmanship. Don't make 'em like this anymore."
     "Is it loaded?"
     The older man opened the breech; the empty cylinder gleamed back at him. He snapped it shut, then looked at his son.
     "Nothing inside. I'm keeping this, anyway," he said, putting the gun in his trouser pocket.
     "Aww, c'mon, Dad, I wanted that!" protested Kevin.
     "Find something else. There's plenty of stuff in there."

     Kevin pushed aside a few items from the trunk's base and extracted an object cocooned in newspapers, rubber-bands around it. He undid the wrapping and held a grimy, dark green bottle. A cork stopper was jammed deep into the opening. Shaking it, he heard a soft, glassy tinkle within. Kevin wiped the bottle with his sleeve and peered inside. Unable to see much, he lifted it up to the bare bulb hanging from the ceiling.

     "Dad! Dad!" he shouted.
     "What is it?" replied his father, coming to his side.
     "Check this out!"
     Nestled inside the bottle was another bottle of similar shape whose contours followed its parent. It moved around a bit in the confined space, the light glinting dimly through it.

     "Amazing. How did they do that?" wondered Kevin.
     "Pity Leonard isn't here to tell us," said the father.
     "That's quite a trick, never seen anything like it."
     Kevin examined the bottle carefully, but found no sign of a cut or join anywhere. The surface was smooth and uninterrupted. He inspected the base, which rounded off seamlessly.  As he held it, he began to feel a tingling penetrate his flesh. Then, a sensation that can only be described as an electric shock radiated through him.
     "Aaaah!" he yelled.
     His fingers let go and the bottle fell out of his hand. In a shower of glass fragments both parent and child shattered on the stony floor. The duo gaped down at the aftermath in silent, dismayed disbelief.
     "Kevin, you clumsy idiot, what have you done?!"
     "It wasn't me, Dad, it was the bottle! The bottles!"

     And thus, the secret of the glass enigma was forever lost, gone with its owner into the void.