Silverware

The fork swung to and fro, dangling from the chain that hung around her neck. Ava eyed the necklace, two tables away. She’s lost in her date’s eyes, good. Still no dancing though, and they look way too comfy. Hmm, change of plans. Maybe a trip to the bathroom will suffice. Ava sent three more drinks over. Each of them sent the pair’s eyes swarming around in search of their anonymous benefactor. In time, the moment Ava patiently awaited arrived. She bolted to the bathroom the moment the woman stood. Crap. How do I do this? I can’t let her go, she’ll be able to follow.

“Hey,” she yelled, the words spilling from her in a panic.

“Oh my, you scared me. Hello. Do I know you?”

“No, sorry. I was just wondering about that odd necklace you’re wearing?”

“Oh yea this,” the girl said, pulling out the fork. It’s polished silver twinkled in the restroom’s dingy lighting. It held tight to every incident ray, embracing each one and stealing away their anguish, stealing their fatigue. It encouraged the ray to grow a little brighter and live a little longer before letting go, finally letting them reflect off the surface. The result was a wonder. It made the fork more art then tool.

“Funny thing isn’t it?” She said.

Do I just take it? Does she know? Should I tell her?

“Can I see it?” she asked.

“Sorry no, It’s of great value to me, I never really put it down.”

Disgusting. Claiming stolen property as your own is one thing, pretending to care for it is something uglier.

“Oh no worries, could you just hold it up to the light. It’s so sparkly.”

“Yea, I’m not sure what type of metal it’s-”

Once in reach, Ava yanked the fork away. The utensil snapped off its chain. The girl was left paralyzed. She stared at the dangling chain in disbelief, watched its links as they fell.

Ava got away. She drove wildly, heart pounding. She’d never stolen before, never done anything this fiendish. Her mind raced, fluttering through memories of past wrong doings. None compared, but one came close. The thought brought back the tang of heart break and the stink of those vile words hung in the air.

“You need to let go…”

“You’re running away…“

“you never even really knew him.”

“This is not living…”

“Stop hiding from it…“

“He already stole your childhood, don’t let him steal the rest of you…”

“I just wanted to know! You never talk about him…”

“Go ahead, you’re right to blame me, I’m your trauma right?…”

“You knew and you lied about it for years…”

“So everything that killed him I set in stone…”

“You never loved us.”

You never loved us. The words followed her home that day. They kept following her and never stopped. They followed her now. Her biggest mistake.

“Whoa, do we not knock anymore?”

“Adam, I found the fork.”

“Oh wow, alright. Give me five minutes then, meet you in the basement.”

Ava paced back and forth, kicking up dust. The single bulb’s lights shone through the cloud, revealing each wake she drew in the air.

“How’d you find it?” Adam asked on his way down.

“Saw some girl wearing it like a necklace, I told her about the quest and she gave it to me.”

“What? A random girl you bumped into? And she just handed it over? Even after hearing its worth?”

“Yea, it’s mine by right, why wouldn’t she give it to me?”

“I don’t know, guess I don’t have that much faith in humanity.”

“Yea, well anyway, Here it is.”

Adam stared at it for a while. He looked back up and the two shared a fit of uncontrollable laughter, one that eased into cheers.

“Alright then. Give me your spoon. There’s no letters on the tine like I thought, but it’s got an inscription on the handle. Look at this thing,” He said, holding the forks tines to his eyes. Peering at Ava through them. ”Who makes a fork with uneven tines?”

“Do be careful.”

“Ava, it’s silverware, I’m not gonna break them.”

“I know, just don’t scratch them idiot.”

The two worked through theories, plugged numbers and letters into a plethora of ciphers, and expended all the knowledge they’d built about puzzle solving up to this point.

“Ava, any chance I could just hold on two the pair? I’m sure I could think of something. I just need time.”

“Hell no,” She said, ripping the two gems from him. “I need this done now.”

“Well, I’m out of ideas. I need to do research. The letters and numbers on the spoon’s bowl look random. I think it’s a red herring. The inscriptions on the back of the handles must point towards the treasure mentioned in your story.”

“u-p-u and d-u-m-g-c-h-y. If there was something there, we’d have found it by now.”

“No, trust me. Some combination of the two must form a clue.”

Adam went through the list again. He tried different ciphers and used different combinations of letters. Ava stared at her spoon, drowning in thought. Adam’s sporadic comments and random mumbling grew distant. In its place rose her late father’s voice. A faint whisper that she clung to. It sung to her again, those same words that fueled her. The same words that pushed her forward in life.

A present from me to you.. One of two keys… The other to a princess far away in another world… And remember me… One day when the two are brought together again, a wonderful treasure will reveal itself to you.

She bathed in the words, soaking them in. She listened to her father whisper, again and again. His soft soothing voice, hypnotizing. She felt her subconscious whispering back. An answer to question, an echo to voice. Her hands moved as if on their own. Her father’s touch guiding them. They took the fork, overlaid it onto the spoon. She hadn’t noticed the size difference before. The spoon was bigger. Just slightly. Just enough to spoon the fork seamlessly. The forks handle matched the spoons. Its tines cloaked lines of text that laid sprawled across the spoons bowl. Through the gaps peeked out four lines of numbers and letters.

“Oh my gosh,” Ava exhaled. “Adam, I think I just-”

A knock at the front startled the two.

“Are you expecting someone?”

“No, It’s probably just the mail.”

“No wait,” Ava said, grabbing his hand. “Don’t answer it. You’re not home.”“What? Ava you’re shaking. Who’s at my door?”

“No time to worry about that. But look at this.”

“You solved it?” Adam yelled throwing his hands up.

“Quiet! Not so loud.”

“Sorry, sorry.”

“My dad said, once the two meet, a treasure would reveal itself. It seems obvious now. Just had to bring the two together.”

“Look at the symbols, Ava. Look what we’re left with now. These first two could be coordinates, fifty-one and one”

“Then what are all these things? Stor2, L3, B121?”

“No idea.”

“Well, check where those coordinates lead.”

Another bang sounded at the front door, its volume doubled.

“Ava, we know you’re in there. Stop this nonsense. I need to talk to you,” A voice yelled out.

“Is that your mother?”

The pair ran upstairs. Ava checked the peep hole, Adam the window. Ava’s mother, accompanied by the couple from earlier sat outside the door.

“Ava, What’s your mom doing here? And that girl. Is that… I guess she didn’t hand the fork over then?”

“Let them in.”“What?”

“Once I’m gone, let them in. Tell them I’m in the bathroom or something. Get me the address of those coordinates while you’re at it. Don’t tell them anything about the quest.”

“What? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to claim my treasure.”

She noted down all four lines and headed towards the back.

“Don’t you want me to come with?”

“No, I need you here. Just get me the address and stall as long as possible.”

Nancy went out the back and waited for Adam to let the unwelcome guests in. She snuck into her car, started it, and started down the drive way. Before driving off, she caught site of the thief of a woman running out of Adam’s front door.

Stupid engine.

“Where’s Ana?” Asked a strict, to the point, voice.

“Hello Mrs. Starling, you look lovely today.”

“Not in the mood Adam. I need to talk to Ava. Where is she?”

“Oh, how’d you know she was here? She’s in the bathroom.”

“Alright then. Has she told you about the-”

The loud roar of an engine silenced the room.

“Jasmine, it’s the girl,” the boyfriend said, peering out the window.

“I’ll go after her,” she said. “Stay here and question this guy, find out where she’s going.”

“I’m coming with you,” Ava’s mother demanded, rushing for the door.

“Alright, be quick.”

The two got in the car and flew down the street. Slowly gaining on Ava.

“Here, take my phone. Eddie will call with directions once he gets them out of that kid.”

“Alright. Sorry again about all this trouble, this is not like her at all.”

Jasmine didn’t respond for a while, eyes trained on the road ahead, and Ava’s car in the distance.

“So, how long have you had this fork of yours?”

“Since I was four,” she said. “A gift from my dad.”

Mrs. Starling went quiet, tears welling up in her eyes.

“You okay?”

“Yea, just worried about Ava.”

Ava drove wildly. Swerving from lane to lane, making abrupt U-turns, and nearly running reds all in an attempt to lose her pursuer. In time, Adam sent his text. He’d just managed to send half an address. Luckily, maps auto filled the rest for her.Ten minutes. Just ten more minutes dad.

“How’d your daughter find out about my necklace anyway?”

“She has one. A matching spoon. I’m not sure how she found you but she’s been looking for your fork for a while.”

Jasmine eyed Mrs. Starling, processing her words, nearly forgetting to mind the road.

“My dad mentioned another. He said he had them made for him and his best friend. That his friend moved far away and lost touch. When he gave me the fork, he wanted me to find the spoon. He said they were magic. That whoever I found it with would instantly become my best friend. He said they’d be the only friend I’d ever need.”

“Yea,” Starling chuckled. “That sounds like him.”

When Ava got out and saw the storage facility, everything clicked. She remembered the place. He’d taken her here ages ago. She charged into Storage center two, following the oddly familiar route. She ran up the stairs and into level three. There, she started her search for Bin number 121.

“What do you mean sounds like him?”

“I’m sorry Jasmine,” Mrs. Starling cried. “I couldn’t tell you. I couldn’t tell her. But I will. Soon enough.”

The two got out of the car and went inside.

Ava stared at the lock in despair. She needed more time. She needed to go back to the front. She needed to convince them that she’s the daughter of the bins owner. They’d believe her, they needed to. She was so close. She was too late. She fell into a pile in front of the bin and cried for the first time in a long time. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her wail filled the empty hall with acoustic echoes. She failed him. Soon a thief would come to steal away her own father.

The two walked into storage building two, took the elevator to floor three, and found Ava in the hall.

“Ava,” her mother whispered. “Stand up. I want you to meet someone.”

Ava’s mother picked up the fork and spoon from the floor. Ava stood, eyed Jasmine, and turned to her mother.

“What are you doing with her?”

“This is Jasmine. She owns half of what you seek.”

“Half?” Jasmine said? “Half of what?”

Starling handed the utensils to the girls, the fork to Ava and spoon to Jasmine.

“He always wanted you two to swap. He thought It’d be cool. He imagined that moment being very different then this though. He engraved each of your names on them, but encrypted them for some silly reason. That man was always so complicated.”

“My dad gave you this?” Jessica said. Before Ava could answer Starling pulled out a key and handed it to the girls.

“Open the bin, everything will make sense.”

One twisted the key, the other pulled open the lock. In the bin was a single dusty picture. An old picture of their father. His smile beamed through the ages that separated now and then. He held tight onto two little girls. They held each other in one hand and held utensils in the other.

On the back of the picture was a note.

To Ava and Jessica.

If your reading this, I failed to right my biggest wrong. I was a stupid kid who did stupid things. I fell in love too many times. I always meant to fix things but one lie sprawled into thousands. Two loves, Two lives, Two girls. You’ve lived too long without each other. If your reading this I’ve failed to right a wrong, but you can still fix it. I hope this little adventure I made for you, this quest to find what you both dreamed of as kids, is enough. I loved you both. Share my love,

- Love dad.

The two eyed each other, dropped their cutlery, and sister embraced sister.