Lofty Adventure

Pale light flashed beyond the clouded windows.

One... two... three... four...

The crack that followed echoed across the roof line and faded into the trees surrounding the property. Lilah tightened her fingers around the corded rope and pulled. The attic stairs swung down with a metallic chorus as the ancient springs woke from a long sleep. She reached overhead and drew the lower portion of the staircase to meet the floor, settling it before glancing into the dark chasm overhead.

Lightning lit the upstairs hall and stairs to the main floor below. Shadows swept in second-floor corridor like searching fingers, flickering beneath the line of closed doors.

Lilah shivered with a mixture of fear and anticipation then witched on her flashlight and surveyed the upper floor. Dust covered the worn carpet and and knobby banister. The mustard-colored wallpaper curled along each seam. A chandelier of cobwebs decorated every corner of the high ceiling and hung like garland over the mantle of each locked door.

Ever since her mother and she had moved into her grandmother's old farm house, the upstairs and attic had been left dormant--a trove of mystery and hidden gems to a ten-year-old girl with an active imagination. "Keepsakes" was what grandma said lay within each locked room. Mama called it "junk."

Thunder boomed outside the old house and made the walls shake. Rain began to pelt the wooden shingles like hungry woodpeckers. They beat a rhythm that drowned out the normal sounds of the aging structure.

Lilah inhaled to steady her pounding heart. Her grandmother had told her that a chest of her personal treasures lay buried in the attic. Ever since then Lilah had made it her mission to find it, but getting away unnoticed was hard to do in a house that creaked with each step. The storm that raged outside, however, was a perfect cover--and it made the journey both eerie and exciting.

She pinched her flashlight between two fingers and gripped the first rung of the ladder. The rivets squeaked and the wood groaned. The old keys she had taken from the key drawer jangled in her pocket.

Just don't look down, she told herself. Think of something else.

Her head poked through the opening in floor and a waft of history met her with an oppressive heat.

"The daring explorer entered the dark cavern," she said in hushed voice.

Lilah swung her flashlight from one end of the attic to the other. White mounds dotted the scenery like ghostly mountains against a black sky. Cardboard stacks littered the powdery floor in disjointed patches between garbage bags and loose lumber.

With a final creak of the stressed wood, Lilah mounted the last step and entered the triangular loft. The smell of old wood mixed with the musty scent of canvas and rust. Particles drifted through the beam of her light as if a cloud of insects. She exhaled the warmth while trying not to cough on the disturbed dust.

The age of the space made her heart race even as another flash filled the hall below. The accompanying clap of thunder made her shake with the trembling walls.

"All the clues said the treasure would be here, hidden away and kept safe by a magic spell placed by a local tribe," she continued.

Her pulse quickened as she moved deeper into the gloom. Between the exposed rafters hung thick webs, their strands glinting in the light of her torch.

"The explorer came with the blessing of the tribe and their knowledge of what lay ahead."

Lilah let her light drift along the roof and off the left side.

"Poison darts were embedded in the walls and ceiling. One false move and it would all be over."

She stepped over a pile of loose chair rungs. Rain pounded the cedar roof as another boom of thunder shook the frame. Lilah gasped as the beat in her chest sped up.

"The explosion rocked the cavern as the pirates tracking the explorer found the hidden entrance. Soon they would make their way inside and try to claim to the treasure."

She swung her flashlight around then wiggled behind a shrouded piece of furniture.

"But they couldn't be the ones to find it first. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands."

Boxes gray with disuse were shoved into a side an alcove with a boarded window. Behind them--just lit by the beam of her light--sat a cedar chest. Lilah maneuvered around a wicker chair whose seat was missing and crawled into the cavity. She swiped a finger across the top of the nearest cardboard column and examined the accumulation of dust with her flashlight.

"The key was to unlock the protective barrier holding the treasure chest without setting off any traps. But had the explorer been given the right combination?"

Lilah moved her flashlight along each side of the boxes then trapped her chin. She rotated the top one to the right, then left, then right again.

Thunder roared outside the house as rain drummed against the walls and roof. The sharp taps rattled the window frame as if fists pounded it from the other side. She held her breath.

More thunder. More rain. The groaning snap of a large tree branch echoed outside the house. Its whine ended with a grating scrape against the wall that made Lilah clutch her flashlight with both hands. She pinched her eyes shut trying not to let fear destroy her adventure.

The crash of the downed limb battled the rain and continual thunder. Lilah suppressed a squeak as voices echoed from far below.

"The pirates are close," she whispered.

Lilah pealed her eyes open and stared at the boxes. She set the flashlight aside with trembling hands and yanked until she had moved the stack away from the hidden chest. Scooping up her torch, she crept forward on her hands and knees.

"The explorer drew near the chest, mindful that another trap may lay inside."

She drew first her light and then her fingers along the seam of the lid before tracing the keyhole. Upon the dusty surface she traced the name engraved there: J-A-N-E-E-N.

"This was it--the queen's hidden treasure." She blew the dust away and coughed in its cloud.

Thunder rumbled amidst the howl of wind.

Lilah ignored the creaks coming from the floor below and the sound of her name muffled in the folds of the storm. She dug in her pocket for the keys. Surely, one of these has to work.

"Lilah?"

The first key Lilah tried was bronze with a long neck worn from use. Nothing.

"Lilah!"

The second key was black from age and heavier. No change.

"Lilah, if I have to call for you one more time..."

Lilah stared at the six keys she still held. It was too soon! The pirates were here. There's not enough time to recover the queen's treasure! But could it be re-hidden and sealed away for a later time? Could the pirates be distracted from their quest?

Lilah pocketed the keys and shoved the boxes back in front of the chest. She crawled out from behind the white blankets and flickered her flashlight off as another bean bounced across the ceiling.

"Lilah, I swear..."

Her mother's voice cut off as her head popped through the opening. Lilah stepped into view.

"I've been calling for you," her mother said with an edge of anger. "It's storming out and I've been looking all over the house for you. Didn't you hear me?"

"I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you answer? Do you want me to have a heart attack?"

"No, mama."

The flashlight in her mother's hand lit Lilah's face. "You get down here right now and go to your room."

"Yes, mama."

Thunder and lightning cracked around them. Lilah could feel her mother's dark eyes bore into her even though she could not see them. "You know I'm upset because I love you," she said after a sigh.

"Yes, mama."

"Good, now let's get out of here before the whole roof comes off. There's already one tree busted and I can't imagine how many more will be by morning." The rain beat a rhythm that made it hard to hear her descend the steps. "Land sakes," she said as she reached the floor, "it sounds like the storm's right overhead up there."

Lilah glanced behind her at the path she has taken to the cedar chest. She did not want to upset her mother any more than she already had, but neither was she ready to leave. She twisted the flashlight around in her hands then jumped as another thunder cloud roiled overhead.

At least the treasure was still secure. It had not been found by the pirates so there was a chance it could still be recovered.

Lilah brushed her hair back over her shoulders then grinned as her fingers gripped the keys in her pocket. She would be back. The explorer would return. Then the queen's treasure will be uncovered and returned to protective care.