Last Rites & First Steps [Open]
Dec 13, 2015 19:03:23 GMT
Post by Ren Campbell on Dec 13, 2015 19:03:23 GMT
"Dear Ren,
I am delighted to hear you'll be coming to visit in a few months. I hope you're not worried about this little cough- Grandma's a worrier. She overreacts. I can't wait to get you onto my boat. She's a graceful lady. It will be good to sit back and enjoy the ride for once, let you at the tiller yourself. There's this nice spot where the city meets the river I want to take you, easy currents, pretty to look at with those cherry blossoms on the banks. We'll have lunch there. It's a good spot to show off this chest I've been building. Did you know I took up woodwork? Keeps these bones moving anyway. I bet you'll like the chest. It's full of surprises."
That letter was less than a year old. The world really was full of surprises; a great deal had changed since then. Ren's visit became mostly permanent. The 'nice spot' Grandpa liked was a cesspool and garbage dump. Any cherry blossoms were long since wilted in the stagnant water. Grandpa's boat never left the harbor; the cough wasn't so little. Grandpa passed in the hospital less than a month ago and yesterday the lawyer read his will.
Today Ren sat on a bench on the banks of the Shibuya River, dissatisfied and confused. This was not anything like the spot Grandpa raved about. This was not- he wasn't confused. Ren sighed, reading the letter again before folding it up and slipping it into a pocket. Next to him on the bench was his inheritance- a little chest made of cleverly interlocked pieces of polished driftwood. Its surface was broken up by a number of small iron keyholes set into the wood seemingly at random. This was everything Grandpa explicitly left him. Granted, it was beautiful. It was tough for Ren to believe the weak old man who'd greeted him when he stepped off the plane had gathered, cut and sanded all these pieces so perfectly. He fished an iron key from his pocket. Grandpa had only left one, but as far as Ren could tell each lock on the chest was a little different. Looking it over, there was only one lock towards the top of the chest that looked to be about the right size.
A piece of driftwood at the top of the chest popped open on some clever mechanism when he inserted the key, revealing a strange, sea-blue electronic device. Clicking a button on it revealed a little 'SOS' symbol, so he quickly shut it off and set it aside. With that clear, he saw another surprise- an iron key at the bottom of the compartment, a little shorter and wider than the one he'd just used. A little experimentation revealed it fit a compartment shaped like a little drawer towards the bottom, revealing a small iron crab charm holding a key ring- and another key! "Grandpa, is this some kind of game?" Ren muttered to himself, adding his two previous keys to the ring in the crab's grasp. The new key was long and thin, and fit a short, wide drawer on the opposite side of the chest. In it was a battered leather journal full of Grandpa's handwriting.
"Okay Grandpa, what's this all about?" Ren sighed to himself, flipping through the old journal. To his surprise, one of the first pages was a letter. Addressed to him in his Grandfather's shaking script:
Ren my Grandson,
I know you have always wanted for something more. The adventure you loved from our stories. The world is a more magical place than you know. I regret only that I could not be there to witness your journey for myself, but know I am always with you and so very proud. I've left you everything you need here. Cross at the river. Then head south and look for the Ocean.
"I don't... what the hell does that mean Grandpa?"
I am delighted to hear you'll be coming to visit in a few months. I hope you're not worried about this little cough- Grandma's a worrier. She overreacts. I can't wait to get you onto my boat. She's a graceful lady. It will be good to sit back and enjoy the ride for once, let you at the tiller yourself. There's this nice spot where the city meets the river I want to take you, easy currents, pretty to look at with those cherry blossoms on the banks. We'll have lunch there. It's a good spot to show off this chest I've been building. Did you know I took up woodwork? Keeps these bones moving anyway. I bet you'll like the chest. It's full of surprises."
That letter was less than a year old. The world really was full of surprises; a great deal had changed since then. Ren's visit became mostly permanent. The 'nice spot' Grandpa liked was a cesspool and garbage dump. Any cherry blossoms were long since wilted in the stagnant water. Grandpa's boat never left the harbor; the cough wasn't so little. Grandpa passed in the hospital less than a month ago and yesterday the lawyer read his will.
Today Ren sat on a bench on the banks of the Shibuya River, dissatisfied and confused. This was not anything like the spot Grandpa raved about. This was not- he wasn't confused. Ren sighed, reading the letter again before folding it up and slipping it into a pocket. Next to him on the bench was his inheritance- a little chest made of cleverly interlocked pieces of polished driftwood. Its surface was broken up by a number of small iron keyholes set into the wood seemingly at random. This was everything Grandpa explicitly left him. Granted, it was beautiful. It was tough for Ren to believe the weak old man who'd greeted him when he stepped off the plane had gathered, cut and sanded all these pieces so perfectly. He fished an iron key from his pocket. Grandpa had only left one, but as far as Ren could tell each lock on the chest was a little different. Looking it over, there was only one lock towards the top of the chest that looked to be about the right size.
A piece of driftwood at the top of the chest popped open on some clever mechanism when he inserted the key, revealing a strange, sea-blue electronic device. Clicking a button on it revealed a little 'SOS' symbol, so he quickly shut it off and set it aside. With that clear, he saw another surprise- an iron key at the bottom of the compartment, a little shorter and wider than the one he'd just used. A little experimentation revealed it fit a compartment shaped like a little drawer towards the bottom, revealing a small iron crab charm holding a key ring- and another key! "Grandpa, is this some kind of game?" Ren muttered to himself, adding his two previous keys to the ring in the crab's grasp. The new key was long and thin, and fit a short, wide drawer on the opposite side of the chest. In it was a battered leather journal full of Grandpa's handwriting.
"Okay Grandpa, what's this all about?" Ren sighed to himself, flipping through the old journal. To his surprise, one of the first pages was a letter. Addressed to him in his Grandfather's shaking script:
Ren my Grandson,
I know you have always wanted for something more. The adventure you loved from our stories. The world is a more magical place than you know. I regret only that I could not be there to witness your journey for myself, but know I am always with you and so very proud. I've left you everything you need here. Cross at the river. Then head south and look for the Ocean.
"I don't... what the hell does that mean Grandpa?"
