The park stretched wide and green under the morning sun. Wooden climbing frames rose like giants between the trees. Ravi ducked low and crawled beneath the tallest one.
Something bright caught his eye wedged between two wooden beams. A comic book. The cover showed a treasure chest with an arrow pointing toward a twisted oak tree. Ravi picked it up and flipped through the pages.
He followed the arrow in his head to the old oak tree at the edge of the park. Its trunk was knotted and thick, its branches twisting toward the sky. Ravi pressed his ear to the bark and searched every hollow.
His fingers found something small and folded inside a knot. A tiny paper. He unfolded it carefully. 'Where the swing's shadow points at noon.' The paper smelled like old ink and damp leaves.
Ravi ran to the swings. The sun was high and the shadow of the nearest swing stretched long across the grass. He followed it to the tip and dug with his fingers.
Something hard clicked under his nails. He pulled out a small metal box with three numbers on the front. 7. 3. 9. He remembered — each digit was on a different page of the comic. He turned the dials and the lid sprang open.
He studied the sketch. A birdhouse. Star-shaped keyhole. Ravi looked around and spotted the old birdhouse near the sandbox, perched on a post like a tiny house for birds who never came.
Something glinted above him. A silver star-shaped tag dangled from a low branch on a nearby bush, swinging gently in the breeze. Ravi reached up and popped it into the keyhole. Click.
The birdhouse lid sprang open with a cheerful click. Inside, snug and dry, sat a tiny wooden chest painted with bright stripes. Ravi lifted it gently from its perch.
Smooth painted stones spilled out, and beneath them a note: 'Your turn to hide the next treasure.' Ravi arranged the stones in a circle on the grass. He pulled a blank comic page from his pocket and began to draw.