'Faye'rytale

Chapter 3

When Athena and Ava met up on the weekend after their first meeting, something happened a few kilometers away at La Mer, an eclectic beachfront – something that would change Athena's life forever. A strange object washed up on the shore. And it lay there, untouched, as if it were waiting for the right person to come along. Even after hours of insane shopping, watching a movie and talking incessantly, the girls were not tired. They decided to hit the beach. The turquoise sea, the pink sky, the soft white sand, the zephyr... Athena had always been drawn to the ocean. What she wouldn't give to feel the ocean on her skin over and over again! After a quick dip, they were about to leave. That was when Ava noticed a rectangular wooden box lying on the sand. The engravings on it were as uncanny as its lock.

"I know how this thing works. In the olden days, people had keys for locks, which you can insert in the slot and turn to open it. We don't seem to have the key.", said Athena.

"That sounds complicated.", said Ava.

Athena examined the box and the lock multiple times and came up with her inference.

"You see these inscriptions? It's probably an explanation of how to open it. But we have a problem. This is an extinct language called Zomchrom. The last speaker of this language died five hundred years ago, which means we have no way of knowing what's written."

Picking up the bizarre object, Ava started muttering eccentric words. Athena stared in shock. That's impossible. She, certainly, could not be reading Zomchrom. Doubtless, it must be a joke.

"If I have it, I don't share it. If I share it, I don't have it.", said Ava looking up at Athena.

Clearly, Ava has gone insane. Thought Athena. Was the box possessed? Did the demon take control of Ava? Should she run? Or should she stay and help her shackle the demon? Do demons even exist? Aren't they just fictional characters? What if the demon could read her mind? What if he feels insulted for doubting his existence? A million thoughts ran through her head. It was one of those bouts of anxiety.

"A secret!", said Ava suddenly as if she figured out something.

"What?"

"A secret! If I have it, I don't share it. If I share it, I don't have it. It's a secret. If you have a secret, you don't share it. If you share it, then it ain't a secret anymore. But what in the world is the secret?"

Turns out, Ava was a descendant of the last Zomchrom speaking man, a tribal chief, who wrote a book containing everything he knew about the language and passed it on to his son, Zac Reign, who apparently took no interest in learning the language. However, he ensured the book was kept safely in their private library and as per his father's instructions, it was to go to any descendant of his who wished to learn the language. He even made sure that it was taken along with him when he shifted to Mars. Everyone had forgotten about it when one day, more than a century later Zac's son introduced his granddaughter, Ava to the family secret. Ava studied the book for more than a year. If the government knew about the book's existence, Zomchrom wouldn't have gone extinct. Well, technically, it isn't extinct now that Ava knows it. And if she's willing, it could be parted to the world.

Neither of them could manage to open the box despite solving the riddle. They could have easily smashed the lock. But not knowing the contents of the box, they did not want to risk it. Athena wrapped it in her unused beach towel and took it home.

That night, as Athena was sitting by her bedside window, writing her personal diary, a silver beam of moonlight entered her room in pristine silence, igniting her face. She turned off the table lamp to fully savor the elegance of the moment, a rare display of nature's charisma in the busy city. For a millisecond, the wooden box that sat on her table looked enchanted. She placed it on her lap. Suddenly, she felt a protuberance on the otherwise smooth surface of the box. On inspection, she found a secret drawer in the part of the box where the riddle was emblazoned. So, that was it. Inside it, lay a tiny golden key. Bingo!

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