Daniel was holding the old piece of paper upside down.
“The X is on the bottom,” he said.
Emily smiled.
“Maybe turn it around first.”
An Old Piece of Paper
The next morning, Emily hurried outside before breakfast.
The little corner of yellow paper was still sticking out beneath the old oak tree.
“I knew it!” she whispered.
She knelt beside the tree and gently brushed away the loose dirt with her fingers.
The paper slid out a little farther.
It wasn’t very big.
It was folded into a square and felt thick, almost like cardboard.
Daniel came running across the yard.
He was wearing two different socks.
“Did you find treasure already?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
Emily carefully unfolded the paper.
Faded lines stretched across it.
There was a crooked path.
A tiny drawing of the old oak tree.
And near one corner…
A big red X.
Daniel’s eyes grew wide.
“That’s definitely treasure.”
“Maybe,” Emily said.
“Or maybe somebody drew a really confusing picture.”
Dad stepped onto the porch with two mugs of coffee.
“What’s all the whispering about?”
Emily hurried over.
“Look what we found!”
Dad studied the paper.
“Well…” he said.
“It certainly looks old.”
“Do you think it’s real?” Emily asked.
Dad smiled.
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Following the Clues
Emily laid the paper on the picnic table.
She looked at the drawing.
The little oak tree looked just like theirs.
Next to it were ten tiny dots.
“Maybe they’re steps,” she said.
Daniel immediately took ten giant steps.
He ended up standing inside Mom’s flower bed.
“Oops.”
“Not giant steps,” Emily laughed.
“Normal steps.”
They started again.
Emily counted carefully.
“One… two… three…”
At ten steps, they stopped beside the old birdbath.
Nothing.
Daniel looked underneath it anyway.
“No treasure.”
Emily looked back at the map.
“Maybe we counted from the wrong place.”
She noticed a tiny drawing beside the tree.
“Wait.”
“That’s the little garden rock!”
Dad smiled from the porch but didn’t say a word.
Emily moved to the garden rock.
They counted again.
This time they reached the fence.
Still nothing.
Daniel sighed dramatically.
“Worst treasure hunt ever.”
“We just started,” Emily said.
“Good.”
“Because I already used almost all my excitement.”
Daniel’s Discovery
Emily looked at the paper again.
Something felt strange.
“The path…” she whispered.
“What about it?” Daniel asked.
“It bends.”
They had been walking in a straight line every time.
Emily traced the little path with her finger.
“Look.”
“It goes around something.”
They looked across the backyard.
There was only one thing in the way.
The swing set.
“Let’s try again.”
This time they counted to five.
Turned around the swing set.
Counted five more.
Daniel suddenly stopped.
“Emily.”
“What?”
“My shoe.”
“What about it?”
“It hit something.”
Emily knelt down.
Hidden beneath the grass was a small flat stone.
It looked different from the others.
There was a tiny carved arrow on top.
“That’s new,” Emily whispered.
Together they lifted the stone.
Underneath was…
A small metal box.
The Treasure
Daniel gasped so loudly that a bird flew out of the tree.
“We found it!”
The box was old but not rusty.
Emily carefully brushed away the dirt.
She slowly lifted the lid.
Inside wasn’t gold.
Or diamonds.
Or pirate coins.
Instead, they found:
A handful of shiny marbles.
A tiny toy compass.
Three old coins from different countries.
A smooth heart-shaped rock.
And a folded note.
Emily unfolded it.
She read aloud.
“To whoever finds this treasure…”
“Congratulations!” Daniel interrupted.
“Thank you,” Emily said.
She kept reading.
“Real treasure isn’t always something expensive.”
“Sometimes it’s something that makes you smile.”
“If you enjoyed finding this box, please add one small treasure of your own before hiding it again.”
Emily smiled.
“I like that.”
“Me too,” Daniel said.
“Can we keep everything?”
Emily laughed.
“I don’t think that’s the idea.”
A New Treasure
They carried the box onto the porch.
Mom looked inside.
“Well, that’s wonderful.”
“Who hid it?” Emily asked.
Dad shrugged.
“Maybe someone who lived here a long time ago.”
“Maybe Grandpa?” Daniel guessed.
Dad smiled.
“Maybe.”
Emily thought for a minute.
Then she ran inside.
She came back carrying one of the painted rocks she had made last spring.
It wasn’t perfect.
The blue paint had smudged a little.
But she had painted a bright yellow sun on it.
“Can this be my treasure?” she asked.
Mom nodded.
“I think someone would be very happy to find it.”
Emily placed the little rock inside the box.
She folded the note neatly.
Then she and Daniel buried the treasure exactly where they had found it.
Daniel patted the dirt flat.
“Should we make another map?”
“No,” Emily said.
“Whoever finds it should have their own adventure.”
Daniel smiled.
“I like adventures.”
“Me too.”
As they walked back toward the house, something bright red fluttered across the yard.
It caught on the fence for just a second before the breeze lifted it again.
Emily hurried over.
It wasn’t a flag.
It wasn’t a kite.
It was a small red cape with a shiny gold star stitched near the top.
Emily picked it up.
“I wonder who this belongs to,” she said.
Daniel grinned.
“Maybe…”
“…a superhero.”
so exciting
so interesting