The Chest of the Lost

Fan Fiction/Bonus Chapter: Harmony's Perspective

Harmony sat waiting patiently by the door for her brother's return. He would be home any minute and she had to know what had happened.

Sure enough, only a few minutes later, the lock clicked and the doorknob turned, allowing her mom and 17 year old brother through the doorway to their small apartment. Harmony didn't notice their worried expressions and immediately rushed up and greeted her brother with a giant hug, which was gratefully returned.

"So?" she asked eagerly. "What happened? What did you get?" 

"One minute, honey," Griffin said, staring at their mother with a concerned expression. Their mother, however, was looking at Harmony.

She exchanged a nervous look with Griffin before saying, "Harmony, sweetie, can you please go out for a second while Griffin and I talk? It will just be a moment."

Harmony wanted to argue back, but noticed how upset her mother already was and decided against it. She reluctantly left the room and slipped into the hallway, pressing her ear against the wall till she could hear muffled voices from the other room.

"What do you mean 'not good?'" Griffin asked his anxious mother. "How can someone's future only be bad?"

Her mother was silent for a moment, tears undoubtedly gathering in her glossy, sad eyes. "I don't know. I just know that that's what the Chest of the Lost means. I'm so sorry..." She sat down at the kitchen table and began to cry.

Griffin walked over to his mother and wrapped his muscular arms around her, comforting her. "I'm going to be okay, Mom," he assured her.

Harmony listened intently and wondered why her mother was crying. She remembered her mother saying something about the 'Chest of the Lost.' What even is the Chest of the Lost? Harmony wondered.

For a while, all that could be heard from the other room was muffled crying, so Harmony wandered into the room shared by her two older sisters. When she walked in, Jane was lying on her bed, sketching a picture on a pad of paper and Gracie was sitting at her desk, listening to her earbuds and nodding to the music.

They hadn't heard her come in.

"Guys, what's wrong with Mom?" she asked and both twins immediately looked up.

"What do you mean?" Gracie asked, unplugging her music. She and Jane shared a confused glance before looking over at Harmony.

"Are they back?" Jane asked, glancing up from her drawing, then back down as she finished shading in a part of whatever she was working on.

Harmony nodded slowly. "Yeah, they just got back. Mom is crying and Griffin is trying to comfort her, saying he'll be okay. What's wrong?" She wore a look of both confusion and worry as she watched her sisters' reactions.

"Wait, what else did they say?" Jane was sitting up now and had abandoned her drawing.

Harmony thought for a moment before answering, "Well, Griffin asked how someone's future could only be bad, and then mom said something about a Lost Chest or something, I don't know." She shrugged but her sisters both looked petrified.

Gracie's eyes widened to the size of golf balls. "You mean the Chest of the Lost?" she asked and Harmony nodded in confirmation.

The twins exchanged worried glances.

"What?" Harmony asked. Their expressions worried her and she wanted to know what was going on. Simultaneously, both twins got up from their seats and rushed into the hall, followed by a confused Harmony. All three girls leaned up against the wall and listened closely.

It was Griffin's voice they heard first. "But Mom, it can change, right? It's not, like, permanent, is it?"

Their mom's voice cracked, still recovering from a couple minutes of sobbing. "Griffin, you don't understand, the prophecy always finds a way." Their mother was close to hysterics, but for the most part, Griffin's voice was calm and steady.

It was silent for a couple of minutes while their mother's words sank in. "It's going to be okay," Griffin told her after a while. Confidence filled his voice, which seemed to calm their mother down a bit.

She swallowed and took a deep breath. "You're right, it's going to be okay," she repeated, still recovering from the tears.

The girls hurried back into the twins' room and shut the door, collapsing onto the bed. Their hearts were pounding and for a moment, they were silent. Then Harmony spoke up, "Why is Mom crying? And what's the Chest of the Lost?" She was growing impatient not knowing what all the fuss was about, but something told her she was about to get an answer.

The twins glanced nervously at each other, then Jane said, "I'm not supposed to know this, but last week I heard Mom on the phone talking to one of her friends. She was saying that the Crystal store had been broken into and one of the Crystals from the Chest of the Lost had almost been stolen. The police came before the thieves could watch the whole thing, but they were still able to see part of it. They lost the Crystal on their way out, and that's how the police know." Despite Jane's explanation, Harmony's confusion remained unchanged.

Gracie added, "Yeah. After Mom talked to her friend she turned on the news to an interview with the keeper of the Crystals, Mrs. Carson. She said the Crystal was supposed to be given to it's owner a week later. That was exactly a week ago from today." Gracie looked down at her lap and began fiddling with a bracelet she wore on her right wrist.

Harmony looked at her, then at Jane. "Wait, what's so bad about the Chest of the Lost?" she asked, her brow creased with concern.

It was silent for a few seconds, a haunting mood spreading throughout the room as she waited for a response she both dreaded and desperately needed to know. "Harmony," her sister drew in a deep breath. "The Chest of the Lost is for all the Crystals that foretell bad futures," Jane answered hesitantly, eyeing her little sister cautiously.

Harmony's eyes grew to the size of quarters. "Are you saying Griffin's future isn't good?!" she shouted perhaps too loud and the other girls shushed her.

"I don't know, I hope not," Gracie answered honestly.

By now, Harmony was close to tears. She shot up from her place on the bed and rushed out of the room to the one she shared with her youngest sister, Kira. But before she could make it, she bumped into Griffin, who was on his way to his own room. She wrapped her arm tightly around her older brother and held on to him, holding back the tears she so desperately wanted to let go.

"Don't ever leave," she said into his chest where her face was buried. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze in return.

"Don't worry," he comforted her. "I'm not planning on it."