The Incan Treasure

Christopher Wilkins sighed as he walked away from his class and towards the bus stop. He had been excited to take the new ancient languages course at NYU, but he failed the class after the last three tests. Chris thought about this as it began to rain. He ran for the bus stop, thankful that he had just enough time to catch the bus for the evening.

"How will I explain this to Mary?" Chris thought as he crumpled up the test and threw it in the trash. "I should have brought a coat." He said as he felt the chill of the rain seep through his favorite blue and grey sweatshirt and jeans. As Chris waited for the bus to arrive, he studied his reflection in the mirror near the bus stop bench.

Chris was six feet tall and was wiry. His skin was pale and freckled, and he had wavy brown hair cut in a dapper style. Chris took his glasses off and cleaned them as the bus pulled up.

Can't you read?" The bus driver asked as Chris paid the usual one dollar and fifty cents. Chris looked over the sign, and his eyes went wide.

"When did the price go up, Hank? I can't afford another dollar per ride." Chris protested.

"Not my problem. If you can't pay, then you'll be walking." Hank advised, and Chris sighed as a bolt of lightning flashed down the road, and they heard the thunderclap.

"Fine," Chris said and grabbed his wallet. He took out his last dollar and growled as he fed it into the slot. As the bus began to move, Chris took a seat and looked across the aisle at the only other passenger. The old man sitting across from him was wearing a thick coat and old faded jeans. He had a long, matted beard and smelled as if he had not showered in days. Chris was astounded to see that the man had no shoes but instead wore socks with several holes in them. The man was writing in a small black notebook.

"No, that's not it." The man snarled as his shoulders slumped. He put the pen back in his pocket and closed the notebook. The man sat it on the seat next to him and shut his eyes. A few minutes later, the bus came to a stop, and Hank came back and gently shook the old man's shoulder.

"Fred, we're here," Hank advised as the man looked lost when he opened his eyes. "Here, let me help you." Hank gripped Fred's arm and helped the old man to his feet. He then guided Fred to the door and helped him down the steps.

Thank you, Hank. You've always been a good friend." Fred said as he waved goodbye before he turned and walked away.

"Let me know if there is anything I can do for your daughter," Hank said, and Fred gave him a thumbs-up as he continued to walk down the sidewalk towards an alley behind the grocery store. Chris watched the exchange before he realized that his stop would be next. Chris pulled on the chord to signal the bus to stop as soon as it began to move again. He got up and grabbed onto the seat in front of him to steady himself when he noticed that Fred had forgotten his little black notebook. As the bus stopped, Chris decided to hold onto it and give it back tomorrow. He grabbed it and put it in his pack before getting off the bus and walking toward his apartment.

"When were you going to tell me?" Mary, his girlfriend, asked as soon as the door opened. She stood in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Tell you what?" Chris asked after he shut the door. Mary was a foot shorter than Chris but had a lithe, muscular build. Her wavy red hair flowed past her shoulders. Chris always thought Mary's crystal blue eyes were beautiful compared to his brown eyes, but they were as hard as ice right now.

"That you lost your scholarship because you're a lazy bum," Mary shouted.

"How do you know about that?" Chris asked.

"You left your email open as usual, and they sent you the bill for your next semester," Mary said as her eyes began to tear up. "We cannot afford this, so I guess you won't be getting that great job and then paying for my schooling, will you?"

"This is a minor setback. I will get a job and pay the tuit…" Chris began.

"Oh yeah, where have I heard that before?" Mary asked. "I'm going to bed. I will leave in the morning."

"What are you saying?" Chris asked as he felt numb and leaned against the wall to keep from falling.

"Figure it out," Mary said. "Oh, you sleep on the couch, and I'll be gone before you wake up," Mary advised as she walked into their bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Chris moved as if on autopilot as he got the blankets and a pillow from the hall closet. He laid down for a moment and tossed and turned as his thoughts raced through his mind.

"I'll never get to sleep now anyway." Chris got up and grabbed his pack. He took out his textbook, and the black notebook fell out. Chris picked it up, and he began to read it. "I don't know what any of this is." There were symbols above the words Statue of Liberty. Another set of symbols were above the words Alexander Hamilton Monument. "These symbols look like an ancient language, but which one?" He thought as he grabbed the textbook. Chris fell asleep as he was trying to figure it out, and when he awoke, he was surprised to see Mary at the kitchen table looking over the notebook.

"Good morning, sleep well?" Mary asked. "I'm sorry about last night."

"I thought you would be gone by now," Chris said as he stood and stretched.

"I was going to leave, but I saw that you were studying so hard, and I felt bad," Mary replied. "I finished the Incan translation in this notebook."

"Are you sure it's Incan?" Chris asked. "I thought they were from Peru."

"They were, but whoever wrote this knew the language," Mary advised. "Feel like going to the Empire State Building."

"Let's go see what this is about," Chris said as he put his shoes on.

Thirty minutes later, they got off the bus near the Empire State Building and got in line. After an hour, they got into the elevator. Mary cracked her knuckles as she waited.

"If it would help, I could hold your hand until we get to the top." Chris pointed out, chuckling as Mary glared at him. She closed her eyes to block out the images of walls closing in on her. When Mary was six years old, she got lost in a cave and became trapped after the entrance caved in. She had been claustrophobic since.

The elevator stopped at the 102nd-floor observatory. Mary hurried out of the elevator when the door opened, and Chris followed. They joined the line of people viewing King Kong's portrait. He was climbing the Empire State Building and swatting at the planes that encircled him.

"Did you see that?" Mary asked as she stared at King Kong and opened the notebook. "There are symbols that someone drew on the portrait. Mary wrote all the symbols she saw.

They marveled at the city's view, and Mary found more symbols on the beams, and as they walked around the circular observatory, she wrote them all down.

Chris and Mary sat on a platform next to one of the windows and spent two hours deciphering the symbols with help from Chris's textbook. Mary stood up to stretch her legs, and Chris got up to join her, bringing the notebook with him.

"What is it?" Mary asked as Chris caught up to her. "Did you figure it out?"

"The treasure is here," Chris said. He showed Mary the translation.

Fred,

I know it has been a long road from our days in South America to where we ended up. I told you that I wanted to create my own game, and if you are reading this, you have won. The gold we took from the Peruvians is here. Just look under where you used to sit, and you'll find the symbol of a cross with an arrow pointing North. Thank you for playing my last game.

Good-Bye, My Friend,

Jack

Chris and Mary searched all the platforms for the symbol. They found it on the platform where they had been sitting.

"That cross is a screw head. Do you have your tool kit?" Mary asked. Chris dug into his pack and took out the small tool kit.

"Want to do something about that camera?" Chris whispered. Mary took out her hairspray and stood next to the camera and pretended to use it on her hair as she turned the nozzle toward the camera and sprayed enough on there to blur the image of anyone trying to view them.

Chris unscrewed the four screws that formed a large rectangle. He began to remove it, but Mary stopped him just as a couple walked by. When they passed, Chris and Mary lifted the rectangle piece of wood, and underneath they found a large duffel bag. Chris grunted from the effort of lifting it out and putting it on his back. Mary put the platform back screwed in the four screws before she packed their stuff, and they left.

Chris and Mary got on the bus, and as they rode back home, they opened the bag and found it filled with gold coins. A thought suddenly occurred to Chris, and he went to speak with Hank.

"I found Fred's notebook," Chris advised. Hank looked up in surprise.

"He will be thrilled to hear that. He's been searching everywhere for it." Hank replied. "He said he could afford his daughter's treatments with it." Chris paled at that.

"Drop us off where you took him last night," Chris said.

"If you do this, I'm leaving," Mary shouted as Chris began to walk down the alley after they got off the bus.

"I have to," Chris said, and Mary got back on the bus. Chris found Fred, showed him the notebook's translation, put the duffle bag on the ground, and Fred took the notebook after he hugged Chris and cried tears of joy on his shoulder.

"You've saved my Jessica's life. If you ever need anything from me, please let me know. I owe you a great debt." Fred said before Chris left the alley.

…

Three years later

Chris awaited his bride at the altar, looked over the guests, and thought back to how they got here.

Mary left the night Chris gave Fred the treasure and never returned.

Fred used the money to help his daughter, and with what was left, he opened several software companies. Not wanting the burden of running them, he made Chris CEO.

Chris met Jessica at an employee picnic, and it was love at first sight. Jessica was as tall as Chris and had a tanned, muscular build. She had long blond hair that was braided, and her eyes were emerald green. He watched as Fred walked his daughter down the aisle. Fred leaned over to whisper in Chris's ear.

"We're even now, so you had better not hurt her," Fred said and patted Chris's shoulder before he took his seat.

The couple said their vows and kissed for the first time as man and wife.

"Do you ever regret giving up the treasure," Jessica asked. Chris shook his head.

"Those were just coins. You're my treasure, and I'll never give you up." Chris replied and kissed his bride once more to the applause of the guests.