Match Made in Paper

Chapter 1: Digging

"You know, Odette, Grandpa will definitely kill us for this! Now, let's go before he finds us out!" she grabbed her sister on the wrist and tried to pull her out of the cabin.

"No way I am going to stop this, Anna. I'm almost there." she continued to dig the soft soil at the back of the abandoned cabin located at the premises of their land. Odette thanked the heavens for the rain yesterday so she thought that it would be easier for her to dig if the soil is wet  and be able to get what she was looking for. Well, she was definitely wrong. The soil is too soft that it turned out to be a mud.

"What are you looking for anyway?" Anna sighed and crossed her arms in front of her chest as she waited for her sister who was eagerly digging the ground. "Are you digging your own grave? Or are you-no way! Do not tell me you are digging a corpse, Odette! Had you killed somebody and put his or her corpse here? My goodness!" she stared at her sister wide eyed.

"Just keep your mouth shut, will you? I am not digging what you are thinking, alright? Now get the shovel and help me so we can go home before the sun sets."

"Tell me first what are you looking for."  her sister demanded.

"Alright, little sister. Let me remind you, when you were just eight years old we used to hang around here with grandpa and grandma. They used to tell us stories about the treasure kept in here." She told her sister as she continued to dig around the small cabin. "When grandma died three years ago, since then, grandpa stopped visiting this place. But I still wanted to hang around here so I could still remember our grandma. Every week back then, I always clean this cabin but when grandpa found out, he immediately stopped me from staying here." Odette handed the shovel to her sister. While listening to her, Anna started to dig too.

"And why is that so? And come on, Odette, do you still believe in their stories? How old are you now, huh? Two and twenty right? You''re almost a spinster, for heaven's sake."

"Yes, I still do believe in grandma's stories even grandpa told me there are insects, wild animals, and so on and so forth just to scare me out. But I still kept on being here. You know, when I read grandma's books here, I felt that she is with me, telling me a story. Then one day, as I was cleaning this cabin, I found a leather bag containing a locket that I cannot open, an antique compass, pocket watch and an old diary."

"So, are you telling me that you've read the diary and found out where the treasure is hidden?" Anna continued to dig while letting her sister thought she also believe in their grandparent's stories of treasure.

"Quick mind, eh? But no, my little sister. But it said there that it is included inside the bag but it wasn't. For several weeks, I've cleaned the whole cabin, opened the chests and looked for secret doors and vaults, but I've found none. These left me nothing but to dig here with you."

Anna put down the shovel and irritably stared at her sister. "You are ridiculous, Odette! And absolutely crazy! You think that treasure is real by merely reading an old diary? And if it is real, you think it is still here?! Unvelievable. You are already three and twenty but your mind is still ten! I'm heading home now!" With that, Anna brushes of the dirt on her dress and left her sister alone.

Odette continued to dig not minding what her sister just have said. She knew there was something hidden in this place yet she was not sure if the treasure she is looking for was a real-damn-gold-silver-diamond treasure. If it was a real treasure, then she will start making her dreams come - to travel around the world. Ever since she was a kid, her parents brought her and Anna with them as they went on a business ventures. Their father owned a mining company in several parts of Europe and considered as one of the richest businessman in the world. But then, fate has its own course. When she was just eighteen, their parents went on a cruise to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Their parents were excited for the trip and left them in their grandparent's care promising to come back soon. Never in their mind that their most awaited trip would end up in tragedy.

Shaking her head with that sad thought, she felt something below the shovel, something that is not a rock or a root. With her bare hands, she dig and remove the remaining soil that covered the small brown leather bag.

Could this be?