“Tap, tap, tap”, Alice heard three knocks on the gate and understood
who it was without even looking out of the living room window. She knew that a
message would be dropped into the post-box next. She was also sure that it was
not the postman. It might be a new adventure that she had been waiting for a
long time this summer. She ran out and took the piece of paper from the
post-box which read, “I have found something exciting! Meet me at my Uncle’s
Antique shop at 11.30 sharp”. It was a message from Anto.
Alice and Anto became friends when Anto moved into the house
next to Alice’s, two years back. A few months younger to Alice, Anto too was
starting his seventh grade the next academic year. At first, Alice was
reluctant to accept him as a friend, although he was keen on her becoming his.
She was afraid that Anto would report to her parents about her solo trips on her
bicycle to the outskirts of the sleepy colonial town of Calico, as she had strict
orders from home not to gallivant. But to her surprise, this skinny boy with
long curly hair and thick glasses turned out to be just the friend the tomboy
Alice was looking for - adventurous, a bit geeky and not interested in hanging
around the popular girls from the convent school nearby where Alice studied.
“But, how will I convince mom that I need to go out right
now? She was quite stern when she said that I shouldn’t venture out today as
Rachel was coming from the college hostel to spend her summer at home. Mmm… She
will definitely forbid me… What will I do?” soliloquized Alice prancing across
her room for a few minutes. Suddenly she heard the doorbell. From the
conversation that ensued she assumed that it was the elderly Aunt Sibyl from
next door. While mom and aunt were exchanging news, Alice whispered in her
mom’s ear “I’ll be back soon” and stealthily sped away, even before her mom
could respond.
Alice mounted her purple bicycle and raced across the town
to the antique shop. This was where Anto worked part time during summer and it
was one of their favourite spots in town. They were fascinated by the various
curios in the shop and loved to listen to the stories behind it from Anto’s
uncle Thomas, a polyglot and the owner of the shop. Alice found Anto at the
usual spot closely examining an old locket under the reading light with the
magnifying glass. “Hey, have a look at this… as per this book on curios this
locket is probably from the eighteenth century” said a very excited Anto. “Wow!”
remarked Alice “ I love the jagged shape around the pendant… looks like a star…
can you open it? And what is written on it? Elisabeth Wilhelmina ? And what
about the other side? Does it have any inscription on it?”. “Yes” replied Anto
“ Captain Weinsheimer… and yes you guessed right we can open it”. He opened it
to reveal a vague sketch of a man on one side and the words “Dit is de sleutel
tot mijn ziel”. “Who is this Captain Weinsheimer and what is his connection to
Elisabeth? Father, brother or lover?” reflected Alice aloud. “Come let’s ask
Uncle Thomas what this inscription inside means…”
“The key to my soul” said Anto’s old Uncle. “It is Dutch and
so, probably, this belonged to Elisabeth Wilhelmina who must have been resident
of Calico during the Dutch occupation. I think I have seen a book on Dutch History
in the public library.You might be
able to figure out who these people were if you check it up. From my
understanding of antiques, such lockets with jagged ends sometimes work as a
key to open a box. Who knows if it will
lead to a treasure?” added Uncle Thomas winking at them with a mischievous
smile on his face. This sent a wave of excitement through Alice and Anto. They
decided to solve the mystery behind this locket without further ado.
“Isn’t it the
bungalow near the Bishop’s house?” asked Anto. “The place is quite eerie and
the gatekeeper very hostile. He hates children. So getting permission to enter
is out of question.” “Anto, you are not as smart as you look. You are
in fact stupid! Who is going to seek permission? We simply sneak in…duh!” declared
Alice mockingly. “I’ve also heard that
people in the neighbourhood hear strange cries from the building and believe it
to be haunted by some ghosts ” continued Anto in an apprehensive tone. After a
few seconds of silence Alice added “And by the way do you really believe in
ghosts?” to which Anto remained silent, swallowed his answer and tried to
appear brave. Although not very pleased
with Alice’s comments they both headed towards the centuries old bungalow
wheeling on their bicycle.
As expected the gatekeeper was out in the unkempt garden.
They threw a stone at the gatekeeper’s old dog which was fast asleep on the
front porch. When the yelp of the dog
sent the gatekeeper in its direction, they climbed across the wall and tried to
tip toe into the house. But the back door was locked. They slowly walked along
the side of the building where fortunately one of the French window’s with stained
glass was open. They scrambled in through the window. As Anto had mentioned
the whole place looked a bit eerie. It was covered in dust and there were
cobwebs around. It was quite dark too. Alice felt her heart thumping fast.
Where exactly are they going to find this box? pondered Alice. Anto took out the pen torch from his pocket
and they tried to navigate through the place. There was a passage which led to
a larger room. The place was empty except for some portraits hanging on the
walls. They went closer to examine when suddenly a bat darted their way and
they both screamed aloud. They realised their mistake when they saw the
gatekeeper flashing the torch inside through the window. They hid in a corner
immediately. Once he left, they examined the portrait next to them. It was the
portrait of the Weinsheimer family! Anto tried to take the portrait down so
that the gatekeeper will not be able to see them examining it.
When Anto took it down Alice noticed a kind of an aperture
in the wall. They inspected it closely. Although Anto was trembling with fear,
he bravely extended his hand into the hole. Alice held his hand fearing if a
snake or a spider would be hiding inside. But then let it go. At first he couldn’t
feel anything except cold cement and dust. But as he extended further into the
hole he felt a box like structure and pulled it out with great difficulty. Then they cleaned the dust on it with Alice’s
handkerchief. “Get the pendant out Anto.
I think today is indeed a lucky day”. Alice noticed that the box has a jagged
depression where the locket of Elisabeth would fit like a glove. Anto placed it onto the lock and it
surprisingly clicked open. Excitingly they peered inside. There was an astoundingly
beautiful handcrafted emerald ring surrounded by diamonds in it. On the top of
the box was engraved “The key to my soul”. Suddenly a hand rested on Anto’s
shoulder and they screamed out loud.
To be continued...
