#285. THE TREASURE HUNT- A Flash Fiction

Image credit: Linus Sandvide@ Unsplash

The search for the treasure first started when Sameer laid his hands on his father’s treasured wooden box. It had a map, which was worn out at the creases, with a lot of scribbles/markings all over it and a small key. He tried the key in every possible keyhole and tried opening every chest in the mansion, he had inherited from his father. But, none of it clicked.

Sameer has already sent some antiques, collectibles and other merchandise that once belonged to his father, to be sold for a good rate. He didn’t want to disclose about the map and key to his wife, until he had some concrete idea where to use them and what is hidden in there.

Finally, on a day when he was home alone, he stumbled upon a loose floorboard in his father’s room, which led to an underground cellular. Now, this part of the mansion was still undiscovered by any of them. With the key safely tucked in his pocket, Sameer took his torch in one hand, holding it closer to the map.

As he tackled cobwebs, spiders and bat droppings, he finally stood before a big ornated oak door, protected by a grill gate. As his attention fell on the inconspicuous-looking keyhole that might finally match the key in his pocket, he jumped in excitement and fell straight on the wooden floor. Hearing the commotion, his wife came running and helped him up. ‘Was it a dream?’

When his wife enquired, he started disclosing the secret he had been hiding from her for a while. As he finished narrating his ordeal, she started laughing unexpectedly.

“And that’s exactly why I was always against you watching the heist, treasure hunt movies, my dear husband. Your dream looks like a scene straight out of ‘The Mummy’ movies minus the actual treasure.”

“Then, what exactly would you make out of this map and key? Don’t you think it is something special? We might actually be sitting upon a huge treasure hidden somewhere in this mansion.”, Sameer argued.

“This looks exactly like the scribbling of our son. Have you gone nuts to be holding onto this, all this while?”

Now, when she put it that way, it made perfect sense. With a sleepish smile, he shoved it under the topmost rack of the bookshelf and went back to sleep. After spending months of sleepless nights, he could finally get some shut eye.

Unbeknownst to Sameer, his father’s treasure still remained hidden under his study room!

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For What do you see – 53

FOWC with Fandango: Merchandise

Three Things Challenge #400:

Sleep, Try, Open