Key to the Past

Chapter 16

"Fish, fish, got my wish!" I chanted as I teasingly stuck my tongue out at him.

I was destroying Evan at Go Fish. The day after Evan first arrived, we played nothing but board games. Today we were only playing card games.

"Congratulations," Evan said as I set down the last book of cards.

I grinned.

"Let's play again. This time I'm going to win," Evan challenged.

"In your dreams," I retorted.

I started to shuffle the cards and deal them out. My mom walked down the stairs holding a large overflowing laundry bin in her arm.

"Bridget? Can you do me a favor and pull out the weeds in the front yard?" she asked.

"Sure."

"I'll help," Evan politely said.

We walked to the garage. I perused through the large cabinets chock full of stuff until I found two pairs of gloves and a box of durable trash bags.

"Catch!" I commanded as I tossed him his gloves and a trash bag.

We stepped over to the two mangy-looking gardens.

"I'll take the right side and you take the left," I informed him.

We got to work. I pulled on the big gloves and plopped myself down on the grass near the garden. I was so glad that it wasn't that hot out today. There was a nice steady breeze going. I reached over and grabbed a particularly nasty-looking weed and yanked the weed out. One down, a hundred to go! Great.

***

I kept on working, never taking a break, not even when I was so thirsty that I thought that I would pass out. I kept on grabbing and yanking. Grabbing and yanking. I felt like I was going to go berserk. I made my way to the last patch of land that I had to cover, the back corner of the garden. I spotted a wilted patch of flowers right smack in the corner's middle. I grabbed a hold of the flowers and yanked it out. I started to shake the dirt out of the roots in the air. Not much dirt was coming off. I swatted at the roots, to loosen the dirt, and felt something odd. I looked at the roots, and weirdly enough, tangled in them, was a small golden key.

I sat there, my eyebrows knit in puzzlement.

"Evan, come here."

He shuffled over.

"What?"

"Look. I found a key tangled in the plant roots."

"Do you know what the key goes to?"

"I think so."

I took off sprinting with Evan trailing behind.