The Gamemaster

Evan got up and ran away as fast as he could to make sure his reproductive organs were still intact within the safety of his lofty apartment, escaping the able-bodied grandma with haste. Frankie was caught shivering, not spotting the soft, wrinkly hand extended to her until the woman addressed her again.

“Come on, dear. You don’t got all day.”

At last she took the staff member’s hand, riding back to her flip-flops as she immediately looked down at the scattered and torn pieces of the clue.

“Uh… thanks, Miss…?”

“I’m a staff member, it’s my job. You can call me Willow.”

Something about this woman felt unique. Make no mistake, she was old- but her age was hard to pin down for either of the siblings. She had characteristics of both someone who had seen all life had to offer and somebody who wasn’t yet even fifty years old. Wise and lively, their first guess was that Willow was just really, really cool.

“Thanks, Willow.” Katie corrected.

“You two are doing the treasure hunt, right?”

“Oh!” Frankie shuddered, hurrying to scoop up all the pieces of the photo. Willow did not watch.

“How’d you know?” Katie asked the senior employee.

“I made it.”

Frankie stopped in her tracks with only a fourth of the scrape collected.

“You… what?”

“I set this up. I left the note. I hid the treasure.”

“And… you’re just going to tell us that?”

The old woman nodded. Frankie’s interest was piqued.

“So isn’t… um. You being here with us, like, a conflict of interest?

“No, there’s nothing to worry about. That wouldn’t be a conflict of interest, sweetie. Because there is no possible chance that anything I do could help you.”

“None. Not at all?”

Willow shook her head in a teasing way she’d done plenty of times before. Frankie’s eyes were glued to her as she picked up the pieces. She still didn’t watch her. She didn’t so much as glance at her, the woman’s eyes fixed to the sky. Frankie groaned. Somehow, she looked like she knew exactly where all the pieces fell.

“No, that one goes at the top!”

On top of a nearby exhibit sign for a bunch of wolves, the sisters pieced the photo together after spending at least thirty minutes collecting its components.

“Does it? Katie, that seriously looks like part of the ground.”

“How can you tell? It’s so faded… miss, how old is this thing?”

“Older than your grandparents.”

Frankie looked at her again, but Willow still wasn’t watching them as they worked tirelessly to form the image. She could tell that no matter what she said, she wouldn’t get a word of useful info out of the tricky organizer.

“Uh… okay. I think you were right. Does that look right?”

“It does! I think it’s perfect now.”

“Okay.”

Frankie had been looking at the complete photo for a while now, but it wasn’t hitting her.

“So just… what is it?”

In a strange and parallel ancient world, a little boy sat on a swinging bench atop a wooden porch.

A message was written on the back of the photo.

The crow holds one of the two special keys, out of sight from the prying eyes who seek it. To approach the crow, you must find it first. To find the crow, you must learn its ways.

But humans don’t have wings.

“Uh, Miss Willow…?” Katie asked.

“Yes dear?”

“Could I ask you just… one question?”

“I don’t see how it will help you. So go ahead.”

“I thought… you don’t have any crows here at the Wildland Expedition… do you?”

Willow smiled and shook her head again.