The Red Door

Part One: Summer 1929, Chapter 2

Chapter Two

   Nearly every day for the rest of the summer we went back to the river to dig for treasures. We were convinced we had found the exact spot the two brothers hid. Howard brought an extra shovel from his barn, and by early September we had found a total of twenty-three silver buttons, a handful of coins, parts of an old gun, and a pocket watch. We kept everything hidden in the woods near the sycamore tree until the last day of summer. It was our last chance to dig before we started the second grade. Even though Howard made sure I didn’t miss supper again for the rest of the summer, he still brought me breakfast every morning in his metal pail. He served his mother’s famous biscuits and gravy and waited patiently as I ate.

I stood up with the last mouthful of food still being chewed, and grabbed the shovel with both hands. I just couldn’t wait another second. The shovel was taller than me by nearly a foot, but after using it all summer long I had mastered the tool I once found challenging. I walked to the only spot around the tree that hadn’t yet been touched, and Howard followed. He always let me dig first, and always took over when I got tired. We made a good team.

No less than a foot down in the cold, damp earth, my shovel hit something solid. Though it was likely a rock like I had found so many times before, it still sparked the adrenaline to rush through my body at the thought of finding something big.

“Howard!” I yelled in excitement, “I got something!”

He hurried over to help me dig, and eventually we both knelt down and started digging with our hands so we wouldn’t damage our treasure. We dug gently but quickly, eventually revealing a rectangular outline of engraved silver. Every recess was filled with soil, but the silver still shone. We tugged at the piece of metal, but could not free it, so we dug some more. The more we revealed of the amazing treasure, the more anxious I became to have it in my hands. Finally Howard wiggled it loose from the soil and brought it to level ground. He set the silver box between us and looked straight at me, like he couldn’t yet believe what he was seeing. It was our biggest treasure yet.

It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Engravings covered every inch of the box, and as I brushed the dirt away from the top, I could see a beautiful woman in the company of three small children on the top. She looked lovely and graceful, and because the black soil was still stuck in every crevasse, the contrast brought her to life. After a moment of absorbing its beauty, I took the box in my hands to get a closer look. It was heavy. I shook it gently and could hear the rattle of contents inside. Howard’s eyes widened and we looked at each other as smiles lit up our faces. I tugged on the lid until it finally opened. The inside was nearly perfectly preserved. It was lined with a bright red velvet, softer than any fabric I had ever felt. The box was so full, I didn’t know where to begin, but with so much beauty I couldn’t bear to let any of it touch the dirt I was kneeling in. I got the napkin from Howard’s lunch pail, laid it in the dirt next to the box, and pulled the contents out one by one. First was an oval pin of gold filigree framing the profile of a woman’s face, carved into a peach shell, followed by a simple gold ring with three petite diamonds, a necklace with a silver locket, and three photographs. I laid the jewelry and photographs out neatly on the napkin, carefully examining each one. We both leaned over the napkin, in awe of the beauty spread out before us. The jewelry shone like it had just been polished

“Who are they?” I said, picking up one of the photographs.

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen ‘em before,” Howard said.

“Me either,” I mumbled, looking at the photograph in my hand. It was a rectangular piece of metal with cut corners, cold to the touch, and was strikingly vivid though it was just varying shades of gray.