The Box under the bed

Dear Diary,

As I sit here writing in you for the last time. I thought I should tell you about the events that have taken place today. As you know it’s been three years since the pandemic that almost wiped out all of humanity. Life has become more of a struggle every day. We never know if someone is going to find us and kill us for all that we have. Then again fear is becoming a normal thing to my family and I. We used to be a family of four and now were down to three. My father died a month due to an infection from a cut on his leg. It’s so hard to go on without him and a lot of days I just want to give up. But I have to stay strong for my little sister and my mother. We were still in the old house that I grew up in and only left to find food and supplies. But things have been getting a lot worse around the neighborhood, so our mother decided it was time to find a safer place. So, we each packed a bag and headed north.

There was an old cabin our grandparents owned years ago. I can still remember going there on summer breaks. There was plenty of fish in the lake not far from the cabin. And my grandfather taught me and my sister how to fish when we were small. We thought going there would be a safe place where we would have plenty of food. Our father taught us how to hunt in those woods against our mother’s better judgment. But now we would be able to put food on the table without a problem. That is if no one else had moved into it yet. My mother knew of the risk that we were taking but with the fires and chaos going around she knew it was just a matter of time before someone would break in. What she didn’t know was that I knew it to. I would be turning seventeen in a week just about the time we would get to the cabin. Happy birthday to me, right?

We walked for a whole day until we came to a motel. My mother and I looked around to see if it was safe while my sister hid in the office. I wanted her to stay by my side, but mom said that we didn’t know it was safe and she should hide. We looked around for about a half hour and found a nice room that hadn’t been demolished. I went to go get my sister and we all stayed in that room for the night. My mother and I taking turns watching for intruders as we have been doing since our father died. We had one gun and only 4 bullets left for our protection. And I prayed every night that we would never have to use it on anyone.

The next morning, we started to walk and within a few hours we found a car that worked. After we made sure the coast was clear, we all packed into the car and left. We knew that there was a slim chance we would ever come back but we were headed some where we all loved. Memories of my grandparents where still so clear in my mind. When they passed, I went to their house around the corner looking for a neckless that my grandma would wear for every special occasion. But it was nowhere to be found. I looked again after the pandemic when I went with my father to get my grandfathers guns and still came up empty. Of course, so did my father. The only gun he found was the handgun that we had with us now. It’s funny how when people get when the world is coming to and end.

It was a two-day drive and we finally made it to the cabin. We parked the car about a mile away and hid it behind some tall bushes. We covered the top with big branches in hopes no one would come across it and steal it from us. We still didn’t know if the cabin was safe or not. So, we grabbed our bags and walked the mile up the stream. The cabin came into view, and it was the most beautiful thing I have seen in three years. The best part is it looked like no one had occupied it. My mother went to check it out while my sister and I hid in the woods. It was all clear and we could finally feel safe again. When my sister and I went in we saw that my grandfather’s guns were all there. I went into my sisters and my room and sat on the bed feeling the happiest I have felt in a long time. Out of nowhere I felt the urge to look underneath the bunk beds. When I did I found a box and it had my name on it. I had never seen that box before. My grandmother must have put it under the bed before she died. I opened it up and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was the neckless I had looked for before. The heart shaped locked and when I opened it up it still had the pictures of my grandparents right after they got married in it. And there was a note that read.

‘My dear sweet granddaughter,

This was supposed to be your eighteenth birthday present but I feel as my time is coming to an end. I love you and know that this necklace that you have loved since you was a baby will find its way to you one way or the other. I am so proud of the woman that you are becoming and wish I had more time to see you grow more. Take care of you mother father and sister.

Until we meet again,

Nannie’

So that was what happened today. I found what I have been looking for, for so long. And now my family and I are safe. Goodbye diary for I no longer feel the need to write in you anymore.