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Every last Sunday of the month was a different adventure for the children, as their parents, as a ritual of many years, would gather at their older brother's house and there they would share drinks, meals and de-stress from the hustle and bustle of the city.
He lived on the outskirts, and the yard had large fruit trees and plenty of space to run and invent games.
There was no shortage of accidents for these reasons, but as grandpa always said, they were just bumps from growing up.
The ages of the children ranged from 4 years the youngest to 10 years the oldest and as if it had been chosen proportionally were 5 boys and 5 girls, so the competitions of boys against girls were frequent.
That day, Javier waited anxiously for them, he had found a map among the old books that were in the attic and it marked with an X what could be a treasure.
Curiously, the same was from the house's courtyard and he deduced that by looking at the inscriptions on the objects that were there.
The house, the mango tree, the swing and the fence, but there was something that confused and confused him, in the same, almost blurred by time, it said, grandfather's house and although he lived there has never owned the house.
However, he did not tell this to his cousins but gathered them together as usual to invite them to search for the treasure buried in the courtyard.
There were not enough shovels for everyone, so they took turns digging.
They followed the instructions on the map, marking the steps it said there, all of them with their adrenaline elevated by the excitement.
At the front of the house, the parents shared jokes and drinks, while grilling a steak.
-What are the children doing? -asked one of the mothers.
-They're digging holes in the yard," replied one of the parents.
-I'm sure they'll get gold and I'll get rich," replied Grandpa.
They all laughed and continued what they were doing before.
On the other hand, the children had run into a problem: after digging a hole of about fifty centimeters, they had not achieved anything.
-That map is bad. -said one
One of the older girls, after thinking for a while, responded by applying logic.
-We are children and our steps are shorter than those of an adult, maybe we are digging in the wrong place.
-True, but how do we know the exact place? -asked another.
-I'll solve it.
The girl left and returned to her father.
-I want you to take ten steps from the mango tree to where Javier is.
Puzzled, he does so.
The children mark with a cross and the man leaves.
The task of digging is done by the older ones while the younger ones look on excitedly.
After several minutes of doing so, something appears.
The children scream and run to the front.
Parents at first think it's a game but when they see their frightened faces they realize it's not.
-What's wrong?
-A dead man -says one.
-I'm sure it's a joke -says one of the parents.
In the end, only one mom goes to the yard and comes back just as scared.
-There are two bodies buried.
Everyone looks at each other in confusion.
-Are you sure?
-In the hole made by the children there are two skulls and they are not dog skulls, they are human skulls.
-We have to call the police -says Grandpa
-What if they accuse us of having murdered and buried them? -says Manuel, the owner of the house, who bought it from his grandfather.
-If they are just skulls, they must be long dead.
-Whatever it takes, we have to call the police. -insists the grandfather.
Mothers try to calm the children, who are still frightened.
Parents are in a diatribe as to whether or not to notify the authorities.
One of the mothers arrives and shows them the map.
Two of the parents look at each other quizzically.
-Whoever made this map is the killer.
They both burst out laughing.
-What's funny? -asks the mother
-I made that map, but I thought it no longer existed.
The group looks at each other in astonishment.
-Did you kill those people?
-I helped too -replies the other who laughed before.
There are a few minutes of silence.
The atmosphere becomes tense.
-It is nothing to be alarmed about.
-Isn't it alarming to learn that we have two murderous brothers?
-For God's sake -exclaims one of them.
-We didn't kill anyone, we just buried the skull costumes so Dad wouldn't know it was us.
The strangeness is greater.
-That was a long time ago, we were teenagers, we dressed up as skulls and grandpa saw us in the yard and got scared thinking we were ghosts, we knew that if dad found out it was us he would punish us, so the next day we buried the costumes and made a map to find out where they were, but we lost them.
-Why don't I believe them? -she insists.
-Those skulls are plastic, you can go check it out.
As it had been told, only the skull was left of the suits, since the rest, being cloth, had turned to dust
Inspired by idea number 7 of 50 Story Ideas. You can find them in this Link: https://hive.blog/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-fiction-prompt-6-50-story-ideas
ahaha 😁 a very fun piece of work! thank you for sharing a nice short read!
https://d.buzz
This is a very clever response to the prompt. The skulls are surprise enough, but then to have them be part of a costume--that is a nice turn. The detail about the children's steps being smaller added a touch of realism. All in all an entertaining narrative with a surprise ending.
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An exercise that plays on the reader's curiosity in an interesting way to give an unexpected twist.
Thank you, @joseph1956
This is great fun, @joseph1956. I was reading with anticipation to find out what was buried, and then when it turned out to be human skulls, I had goosebumps! I love the twist that it was just costume skulls. Very clever! And great job with the buried treasture prompt.
Another day in your blog, another roller-coster of bumps and unexpected twists.
I didn't see the skulls coming. So i sure as heck didn't see that they were plastic coming either.
This is a beautifully told story, both from the children's point of view and that of the adults.
I hope the brothers don't get punished for an old transgression though😁😊
I love the story.
Thank you for supporting this author, ubani1!