the secret of the rosewood box

If Caitlin had not been home from school that Thursday , her life would have been completely different. She would have gone to the dismal private school she attended , gone to college, got a job, settled down, and never known the secret of The Rosewood Box.

But, she was home that Thursday, and you shall see what happened because of it.

Caitlin awoke to the crashing of hail. She bolted upright. she glanced at the clock. 10:00?!? She was supposed to be there two hours ago! She got dressed so fast her shirt got turned inside out. She ran down the gigantic spiral staircase and burst into the dining room, where the usual buffet was being devoured. she ran through and was stopped by her stepmother , Georgia. "where do you think you're going?" asked the skeptical Georgia. "school." Caitlin panted. "cancelled. go to the dining room. NOW. how would it look if people thought i didn't feed you?" She dashed back and was tripped by Lucille, her adopted sister. "good morning." said Lucille in her sweet, aggravating little voice. then she went back to talking to Denise, Caitlin's other adopted sister. she sighed. "i wish i had never been adopted." she thought as she was drawn into her past.

her mothers face. her fathers laughter. these memories like jewels studded the hard , unforgiving rock of her life. the orphanage. the matron. the cellar she had been locked in for misbehaving. the children being adopted. she was sent to her first foster home. she'd run away. she'd been caught. a new foster home. a new escape. this time they caught her faster. more homes. more tries. eventually they gave up trying to catch her. then... a blank space where she should have memories... but didn't. the mansion, the mean new siblings,the hand me downs, the scolding , the tiny room in the attic. she was forced back to reality. David was poking her. "Caitlin? you in there?" Caitlin smiled. David and she were inseparable. they were best friends, and did everything together. they looked oddly alike,too. "c'mon." said David imploringly. "lets go explore."

an hour later, they were looking around when they wound up in a wing they hadn't realized was there. they were wandering around when they saw a door unlike the other ones. it was ornate and old, the doorknob rusted with age. they were surprised to find it unlocked. they heard footsteps and managed to get inside just in time. then they heard voices. "we cant risk them finding out." said their stepmother. "we need to get more publicity." said a man they'd never heard before. "its too dangerous! it ruined us in the 1940's and it will ruin us again." she insisted. "if they found out the truth about them..." "they won't." the footsteps receded and the two locked eyes. the same thought occurred to them at the same time. "they were talking about us." they looked at the room and caught their breath.the room was beautiful. there were gem sculptures and gold encrusted lamps. the headboard on the bed was made of diamonds. And on an emerald-and-silk table sat a beautiful rosewood box. Caitlin walked over to it and opened it. inside lay a paper with three words on it .make a wish. they looked at each other. "i wish... for a tub of ice cream." said david. nothing happened. david laughed."and i thought it might actually come true! ha!" Caitlin stared. she gulped. And she wrote something down on a grubby scrap of paper. she put it in the box and closed the lid. when she opened it the contents had changed. "how?" she muttered. David came over "what is it? oh my..." the box was now full of newspapers that hadn't been there a moment before. The top one said "Oxley twins missing. 1867" the next one was from 1890. again it talked about missing twins, the MacArthur's. then the Georges, (1917) the Lemocks (1939) the Lambors (1952) the Mentuaks (1974) the Andersen's (1998) and finally...David and Caitlin caught their breath. the bold headline read "Carmichael twins missing." and underneath it was a picture... of them. "what?" said Caitlin. they unfolded it and found a picture of Laura and Jacob Carmichael. Caitlin nearly screamed. "my mother!" "wait... " said David "but that's... my father?!?" "were related?" they say in unison. "and the children of the Carmichael's? the famous scientists?" says David. "wait..." says Caitlin. she picks up the oldest article and the second oldest. "David look!" she points to the name on the oldest article. it says there that the only child who hadn't disappeared was Lois Oxley. and in the next article the twins are... the daughters of Lois Oxley?!? and then the next are the son and daughter of... carol Georges?!? the pattern continued up to the Carmichael's. they were the only children of the Carmichael's. thier lives were never the same after that. and to think it all happened because of a rosewood box.

authors note

the rosewood box is a strange and wondrous thing. but it is quite mysterious as well. if you wish to understand it, listen carefully.

no one knows quite when it appeared. some say it came into being only recently. some say it was created at the beginning of time itself. and some say it was created when the first Chosen One needed it. but who is a Chosen One? you ask. well, i will explain. in a nutshell, a Chosen One is a person whom The Box decides is worthy. The Box's first Chosen One (that we know of) was a girl named Marie-Jeanne valet , also known as the maid of gevaudan.

In the eighteenth century french town of gevaudan a beast was ravaging. it was ruthless, dangerous, impossible to track down or kill. until The Rosewood Box selected Marie-Jeanne valet. She was the perfect host: kind, brave, charitable. and smart. she found the rosewood box on her bed. inside it said fais un voeu. (make a wish.) she said her wish and, when nothing happened, wrote it down. when she reopened the box there was a note in it.go to the wood, read the note, take only a spear. there wait for the beast. Marie did as she was told. she made a spear, and went into the forest. There the beast found her. A low growl pierced the tranquil air. Marie swung around just in time to stab the beast. Contrary to popular belief, the beast did die at this point. The box then went to robert burns, who wished to bring joy and light into other people's lives.

Then Harriet Tubman, who wanted to free her people.

Then it disappeared. We suspect it chose another during this time, but have no confirmation on the subject. 

Then to Barack Obama, who wanted to help others. 

Where will it go next? And what about the twins? Why were they in the mansion in the first place? And what does Georgia know about it? and What did she mean about the 1940’s? Well that, Mon ami, my friend, is a story for another day.