Aron and The Mysterious Mask

Chapter 6 - The Recovery of an Artifact

"I think I should talk to Ben tomorrow." He thought "He must know what it could be."

It was a sleepless night for Aron thinking about the mask. At morning Aron ran into the living room.

"Aunty Can I have breakfast? Asked Aron "I need to go meet Ben."

"What's the hurry boy? You can leave after some time." Suggested Uncle Arthur.

"Well... I am just excited to see this place well." He said, not wanting to reveal his intentions.

"If that's the case, then let's not spoil your fun." She smiled. 15 minutes later, Aron left the house and went into the garden. After collecting the mask, he led down the road towards Ben's house. When he reached Ben's house, he was in the lawn watering the plants.

"Hey Aron, how's everything going?" He asked

"Ben I need your help." Said Aron.

"Sure, what's it all about?" Asked Ben.

"I need to talk to you in private. Is there some place like that?" Aron asked.

"Sure, we can talk in my shed." Said Ben, a bit confused.

They both went inside the outdoor shed. It was a bit dark. There were no lamps in the room. The first thing that Aron noticed immediately was the unpleasant odor present in the Tiny room.

"Now you can tell me. What's the matter Aron? You look tensed." He asked

"Before that tell me what is the horrible smell in this room." Said Aron, unable to breath "It's almost impossible to breath in here."

Ben was apologetic about it. "I am sorry. This shed is generally used to store manure and other gardening equipment. This smell must be from the manure. Hope you can adjust with that."

"I think I can manage with that. Now listen to me carefully Ben." Aron said "This is very important." Then he launched into his story which took place the last night.

"This is the wooden mask I found." He showed Ben the mask. "Do you know anything about this mask?"

"Would you believe me if I say that I do know about it?" He said.

"Sure, why not? I brought this mask to you because I was pretty sure you would know something about it. Glad to see that you really know something about it." He exclaimed questioningly "What is it?"

"It looks just like an artefact that I once saw in the newspaper." Said Ben "I haven't read much about this mask but it looks to me like the tribal masks which used to live in North America. It is an antique piece and could be sold for hundreds of dollars.

"So you mean that these men are using an ancient mask? But why? They could make good money out of selling this mask" Asked Aron.

"I highly doubt that they are using the original masks, but it's possible that it's a replica." Ben suggested.

"It could—" he suddenly paused "Ben, I just had a thought. I know I might be jumping to conclusions but it is possible that these people are in a working for something bigger than what we can think and I believe that it is illegal!"