Like A Real Pirate

It was as if some invisible prankster had pulled the rug out from under her feet. Without warning, Everly slipped off the very last step of the carpeted stairway, falling right onto her side. Using her hands to regain that lost balance, she gave herself the extra push needed to get her back to her feet.

What an absolute clutz.

What kind of fool trips on the last step? Immense amounts of gratitude overcame her as she realized she was alone and no one saw the humiliating trip. At least it didn’t hurt.

After checking to make sure her clothes were still in their proper order, she walked over to the window of the warm, golden house she resided in. The drapes were a little dusty, but she never minded. Her thoughts were always focused on the outside. Outside was where the excitement took place. With a busy street in the front and an enticing forest in the back, there was always something exciting to see.

The first detail to be made note of was that the grass had recently been cut. The poor soul who labored at completing the task must’ve sweated enough to fill a swimming pool. The recent summer days had been unforgiving with its heat wave.

The incredibly blessed soul that she was had been safe from the unforgiving heat. Inside the house was cool and comfortable. Yet the longing to enjoy the sun was overwhelming her desire to stay inside.

Her eyes made contact with the beautiful brunette woman in the kitchen. No words were spoken, but the woman understood enough, nodding her acknowledgment to Everly. If the woman needed her, she would just need to go outside. Everly without a doubt knew the brunette woman would be watching anyway. Everly really appreciated that about the woman. She was sure the woman cared more about Everly’s wellbeing than her own.

Everly fit her hardy sandals around her feet, readying herself for the great outdoors. She pushed open the door, immediately getting greeted by the heat. Her mind was telling her body to move anyway. The extreme warmth would be worth it, as long as it meant she could enjoy the fresh air for a little.

The yard always seemed so large to her. There were plenty of places to explore and discover. About a week ago, she had discovered a rabbit hole in the backyard near the tulip garden. The thought that rabbits would feel so comfortable making a home so close to humans fascinated her. She had placed a few rocks around the hole, giving it a fence to warn others to be careful.

Given that the grass was recently trimmed, perhaps checking on the hole would be a good idea. She would never doubt the consideration of the kind soul who mowed the lawn, but her urge to make sure it was still alright was stronger.

As she traveled along the side of the house, a more peculiar object caught her attention.

She took a moment to search her memory. Nowhere could she find the image that matched what her eyes were feeding her now. A strange black book was caught between two of the bushes that clung to the house’s exterior.

Everly had now forgotten her original task and went for the book instead. It was soft and thin, fitting perfectly into her hands. It’s black cover and white pages reminded her of a delicious cookie. The outside cover held no art or title. It sat empty. She didn’t seem to mind as instead she opened the book to reveal the first page instead.

Though not disappointed, Everly was still a bit un-enthused by the pages being just as blank as the cover. She allowed gravity to help her in sitting down into the cut grass, immediately covering her pants with green coloring.

Thoughts of who this book belonged to or how it got into the bushes filled her mind. She looked around, but it was only her on this side of the house.

A flicker caught her eye as her attention was drawn back to the book. A spark of light glimmered across the page. Everly blinked twice to make sure she was seeing it correctly. Sure enough, the sweet yellow spark didn’t disappear.

Everly got back to her feet, bringing the book out of the shade and into the beating sun.

The page came to life and dark brown ink began to swirl like waves across the page.

Everly found herself giggling at the sight. Beyond the entertaining motions, it was otherworldly. Never had Everly seen a book act like this before.

The ink swirled into a very simplistic, but easy to comprehend, drawing. The shapes and lines formed together to illustrate several trees. Everly looked up at the forest that lived beyond the backyard. Several of the trees matched the drawing almost exactly.

It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Everly made her way across the backyard and to the edge of the beautiful forest. Sun beams poured in through the trees, but there was still enough shade to keep her safe from the overbearing heat.

The ink began to dance around, forming an arrow that pointed to the upper left side of the page. Everly looked up at the forest again, seeing where ‘northwest’ would take her. There was a small clearing between some of the trees where a giant log rested against a rock. She glanced back down to the page to see the ink was copying the same log and rock in it’s simplistic art.

Eagerness had blinded her, suffocating her senses to the world around her. Her foot stepped right into the mostly dried up stream. However, her universal luck made sure her foot found the only muddy spot left in the entire forest. Her adorable sandal was now dripping with the wet slop. Had it been any other day, she would’ve been rather bothered by her mistake.

But this wasn’t going to stop her from her bond with this new magical book. Instead, she continued stepping through the first couple trees, making it safely to the clearing.

The grass stains on her pants and the mud on her shoe verified this trip was going to be a true adventure. She looked back down at the book. The ink came alive, trickling across the page again. It’s dark strokes played with thick and thin lines until a new fascinating illustration filled the page. A taller, wider tree with a giant hole through it covered the white page. Another arrow graced the page, giving Everly the exact direction she needed to go.

It was now that her fingers were clutching the book, making sure not to drop it like the clumsy oaf she was. This book opened up a part of her mind she had not used for a little bit. The part that engrossed itself in other worlds.

For in this moment, she was like a real pirate.

And this treasure map was dissolving reality, engrossing her into this perfect fantasy.

She continued down the path, picking up small hitchhikers and loose grass trimmings as she went. Her head turned back to still see her house in clear view. Often the forest seemed way larger than it actually was. But the comfort that she wasn’t too far from home was there.

In fact, it was only a few more steps that had to be taken before she reached the tree with the giant hole through it.

The book flashed at her again, gaining her full attention. The ink this time formed a small shovel. Then, like smooth animation, it moved the shovel right into the tree with the hole.

Everly perked up onto her tiptoes, getting a good look at the inside of the hole. Sure enough, a small metal trowel was nesting inside the hole. Everly released one hand on the book to pull out the trowel. It was so shiny and clear, she could see her own reflection in it.

After a few seconds of enjoying the mirrored image of herself, she turned her attention back to the book. The ink was now using the arrows to point to an area, just a couple of steps away from the tree. The ink twirled around some more, giving more detailed images of plants and rocks.

Everly began to match the plants to the book until she was successful with the long stem and the seven leaves.

Gently as she could, she placed the book down next to her and began to chisel at the dirt. She wasn’t the most skilled when it came to digging, but it didn’t matter. She had found the “x” that marked the spot.

Dirt flew in several places, now messing with her hands and arms. But there was no time to care for that. She had treasure to unburry. Her mind couldn’t help but go to what her deep desires were. Hoping the treasure would be everything she could want.

It took a few swings and pulls with the small trowel, but soon enough, she was greeted with something that wasn’t rocks or dirt.

No, this was something much smoother. Not natural at all. Her hand pressed against it and the soft, leathery touch was enough for her. She continued to use the trowel to finish clearing away the big chunks of dirt. Though her arms began to tire, she did not stop at her mission.

With one final scoop, the top layer of dirt had been cleared away. She dug her hands at the side of the case, shoving cool, damp dirt up her fingernails. But it was time. The moment she had been waiting for was here and it didn’t matter how messy she was.

With a very swift motion, she swung the top of the case open.

“Money?!” She cried out.

There, in the leather detailed case, laid twenty thousand dollars. All sorted out into several different kinds of bills. The case was thick, but perfectly housed the crisp, straight bills to appease any person with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

She looked down at the black book once more. There were no more gorgeous illustrations. No more swirls that danced upon the page. Now it’s milky white paper was bare.

The green and yellow bills continued to stare back at her. Waiting for her to take it in her arms and use it however she desired.

Yet it held no interest to her. Money was a foriegn world, stuff people talked about that she knew she wouldn’t need to bother herself with. Not for a while.

Everly placed the black book on top of the money. Perhaps some other lucky soul would come upon this treasure. Or perhaps she would tell someone of what she found. But that wasn’t necessary. For now she was covered in muck from the forest. Only a warm bath, full of soft bubbles could fix this.

After all, what else could you expect from a five-year-old?