Not What They Expected

Not What They Expected  (E) Flash Fiction Contest Entry #1538761 by Timothee

The two boys were hiking through the woods on an early spring morning. The leaves were not on the trees yet, and the boys were looking for artifacts from a previous era. Old pieces of glass, rusty metal, whatever treasure they could dig up and put in their collection. In these woods there was once a grist mill, with a small town surrounding it. The inhabitants had long since either died or moved away. The boys scavenged along a rock wall where they had met with luck in the past.

Suddenly, one of the boys let out a whoop. "Hey, get over here!", he yelled to his friend. He had a box about the size of a shoebox in his hands and was brushing the dirt from it. The two boys examined the outside of the box. It appeared to have an inscription, but it was not in English. Many strange symbols covered the metal box, as well. They looked at each other, eyes wide, knowing that this must hold something very special within. They tried to open it, but its latch was so corroded that they would need a tool to release it.

Back at home, they took it into the garage, and with a screwdriver they pried it open. Inside was a black velvet bag and a necklace. The necklace had a pentad on one side and an inscription on the other. The boys knew that the town dated from the 1600's during the time of witch hunts. Perhaps this was a witch's prized possession! They opened the little bag and dumped out the contents. There were some vials of unknown substances, a polished stone and none other than what looked like a small tape recorder. "I wonder where that came from?", the boys said in unison.