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The Prize by Pent Ghelsburg

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to people alive or dead is purely a coincidence. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. Some of them are depicted as underage. I use them with permission and respect. You have been warned.

"Adventure is worthwhile

in itself."

-Amelia Earhart

The disposition of newness is something new to those who are presented with the aspect of an otherwise alien situation. Some walk into the challenge fully aware, able, and ready to take it on despite all the nuances that might arise from it. Others might pose walk into a conundrum where they are both afraid and uncertain. Regardless of how you feel about it, one must be ready to face the unknown when it shows itself to you. This is even more true when youth is at the center of it all, for they are more susceptible to fear as well as the need for guidance. But there are times when they can manage themselves.

Lucas was a young boy who lived in a rural town set among the sprawling woods of the wilderness. At 11 years of age, all he knew were the woods. Both of his parents were park rangers for the government and they were rather fond of life away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The family of dogs lived quite comfortably among themselves but when it came to Education, Lucas fell a little behind the curve as his parents had opted out of the public education system. As such the puppy was a little immature for his age.

Lucas did have some schooling for what it was worth but it was mostly virtual. Most of the friends he made were only online ones as his parents very rarely let him go into the suburbs for a play date. In fact, he had only actually seen his maybe a dozen or so occasions. However, there was one other kid who lived this far removed from society. Henry was his best friend and the two were quite close to one another. They were similar in most ways except that Henry had a much more socially involved family.

Henry was a chipmunk whose own family was basically the polar opposite of Lucas' in every way except they lived in the same neck of the woods. The rodent was even bused to a nearby private school and was allowed more chances at forming long-lasting relationships on a regular basis. As such Henry was a little better equipped for the future in front of him. Regardless the two boys got together even despite that and Henry even preferred the companionship of Lucas since they had more in common than many of the other kids who he knew at school.

One day Lucas invited Henry over. It was the weekend so he knew the Chipmunk would have little else to do besides hanging out. The puppy knew better than to ask during the weekday, even if his parents didn't have him in physical school they still cared about him getting somewhat of an education. Both sets of parents already set it was alright and Lucas had been looking forward to it for a while. He had planned an extravagant event that he had worked out in his head over the last week or so.

Henry arrived before long knocking at the door. The puppy shot out of the chair and ran straight to the door. Lucas had already gotten ready and changed into what he considered his hiking gear; some cargo shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt. He even picked out a stick to walk with, which he wasn't really sure he'd need considering it was mostly flat around where he lived. When he opened the door Henry couldn't help but smile at the other boy.

"Hiya, Hen. How are you?" The puppy asked the bigger boy.

The chipmunk smiled. "I'm good. So what have you got planned? You've been telling me about it for the last week and I can't wait to do whatever it is."

"Well, I was thinking we could go on an adventure. The park put out a scavenger hunt today and the first kids to find it get a prize." The dog's tail wagged slowly behind him.

The rodents eyes opened wider. "A prize? What kind of prize?"

"I dunno but who cares. Wanna go explore and find it? Supposedly they hid a golden pinecone. Here take a look at this." The smaller cub handed over a map.

Henry took a look at the piece of paper. "Oh I see, they marked a few spots on the map but why just give away the location?"

"Well, these are the locations of hints. Each of the three gives you another idea of where they hid the pinecone. I kind of think it might be in the middle of the area created by the hints." The dog drew a line with his finger between the points.

The bigger cub nodded. "Maybe but that sounds neat. Let's give it a shot."

"You're not going to change clothes?" Lucas looked over his friend who was wearing mostly casual garments.

The chipmunk shrugged. "I'll be fine. Let's go."

The smaller cub made his way out of the door into the open. Immediately the breeze struck against his fur and he shivered a bit as his body tried to accommodate for the change in temperature. It didn't take long before he felt comfortable again. The two began walking with Henry still having his face sticking to the map. It was apparent he was going to be the navigator. But this was no city where there were obvious landmarks. The only thing in the area that distinguished itself was the oldest pine tree in the area which was known for its bent over slump.

The first spot on the map looked like it was a little to the north of where the old tree was. As the two friends approached the elder treant, they couldn't help but look upon it with reverence. Both boys respected the woods and this was perhaps the most widely known resident despite its rather lacking in appearance. They bowed their heads to it for a moment before continuing on their way. With each step they took, they made sure not to step on any of the old tree's roots for that was considered taboo.

Once they circled around it, Lucas again looked at the map. The mark to the north of the tree also appeared to be the closest.

"Come on, it can't be far!" The dog made a waving gesture in the direction of where he thought it would be.

The two continued walking in a forward direction, looking for any sign of something that might indicate there was a hidden object around. Eventually, they entered an area devoid of much sunlight. The small enclosure was completely darkened out by the tree branches above.

Lucas thought this might be a great area to hide something and began to look around. Henry saw what he was doing and followed in suit, the chipmunk was much more diligent about digging through piles of leaves. The chipmunk was soon distracted by an acorn he happened to find and brushed it off before beginning to nibble on it. The puppy on the other hand continued to work as he wasn't as easily distracted as his friend was.

Eventually, the dog found a small pile of branches that seemed to be in the shape of an X. He considered this to be too coincidental. He pulled back the branches and found a dark red leaf underneath. It was far from the natural color of foliage that he was used to so he picked it up. Flipping it around he found something written on it. It appeared to be some sort of riddle.

"I can hop through the branches, I can stream through the trees, I skim over rivers and speed through the forests. Follow me and I shall show you the way."

Lucas wasn't too sure what this meant and looked back at his friend who was wiping his mouth. He took the leaf over to Henry and showed it to him.

The chipmunk grabbed it and read it. Before he even had a chance to finish reading it, they heard a distinct humming from above. The two boys looked up and saw a falcon. It was unusual in this part of the woods. Henry smirked a bit as he immediately understood the riddle and the appearance of the bird. He shot up from his semi-squatting position as Henry took the other cub by the hand and lead him in the direction of where the bird was flying.

Occasionally the bigger boy looked up to be sure he was running in the correct direction. The jog lasted for a bit before the bird flew finally flew out of sight and into the horizon. When they finally came to a stop, they found themselves near a lake. The two hunched over together in a collective moment of catching their breath. Lucas took a look at the map once again. He found the spot where the lake was and saw that there was another mark on the map nearby where they were. It was a little to the west of where they were.

Lucas' tail wagged excitedly. "We're close. Come on, slowpoke."

Henry picked himself up and followed the other boy until they began walking around the area surrounding the lake. Soon they came into an open area, where the sun shined through an opening in the canopy of branches above. It was warmer here and the two kids continued to scour the area looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Henry wondered if it might be somewhere in the bough of the branches and started to climb one of the trees.

Once he ascended it, he got on the strongest branch and looked down. Before long he spotted something that looked promising.

"Lucas go check over there by the pile of pine cones." He pointed in the direction of where they were and hopped off the tree excited to see if he was right.

The dog made his way over and sure enough, there was some moss arranged in the shape of a Y.

They began to dig through it together until they happened upon a green leaf. Now normally this wouldn't be odd but this time of year, riper leaves weren't as common especially on the floor of the forest. Lucas picked it up and flipped it over. Just like the last one, it had a riddle on the back.

"A path winds before you. In one direction the wind carries with it the breath of life. The other stagnates to the point where you find see no signs of existence."

Lucas shrugged unsure of how the wind could lead them to anything. There wasn't much of a breeze out today and to control the weather would be beyond anything of his understanding.

A moment later a breeze picked up. The leaf quickly shot out of the boys hands and Lucas couldn't help but smile. He took Henry by the hand and the two began to follow the path which the leaf was taking. It was bright enough that they could keep track of it. The breeze continued to shoot along, able to maintain keeping the leaf moving along. After a few minutes, the leaf finally settled down and the two boys found themselves in a new area.

They were now near the area known as the "Face". It was known as such because there was an outcropping of rocks that resembled the head of a human. It had been deformed over the years but it was still considered a unique feature of the area's geology. Lucas regarded the map again. Sure enough, the last mark was close to where they were situated. This time it seemed to be south of their location near where a stream was located. The dog's tail was wagging, realizing that they were getting ever closer to their goal.

"Come on, we're almost done!" The puppy rushed forward in the direction of the stream.

Henry kept a close distance behind and was just as eager to see the search through to its completion. They were able to cover the distance o the stream in no time. As they got closer they could hear the sound of running water. They began to look around the shore thinking they might find signs of the last clue that would lead to another coveted leaf. The chipmunk then got the keep idea to look in the water. It wasn't an incredibly deep or strong stream, so he figured it would be manageable.

The rodent sat down for a moment to take his shoes and socks off so he didn't get that part of his clothing wet. Once he was bare pawed he treaded towards the water and began to wade inside it after he broke the surface with his feet. The water was a little bit chilly but it didn't bother him that much. He leaned down a little bit so he could see through the shallow water to the base. The feeling of the rushing water on his limbs tickled him a bit as he walked through it.

After a few moments, Henry came onto a strange outcropping of stones. They were in the shape of a Z. It was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

"I found it!" He declared with glee out loud.

The dog came sprawling towards him, forgetting all about his own shoes. Lucas galloped through the water, sloshing it to the side as he broke through the stream with surprising speed. The chipmunk dug through the rocks slowly as he wanted to make sure the leaf wasn't washed away.

Sure enough there it was under the bed of stones, a bright yellow leaf. The cub collected it and brought it to his eyes so he could better read it. Some of the ink had washed away but he could mostly make out the riddle inscribed on it.

"Always twisting and sometimes turning. Usually quiet and others loud. It can provide life but also take it away when ignored. At my end, you will find what you seek."

Henry looked down and immediately understood the riddle. He headed to the side of the lake where he had set down his shoes and socks so they could be on their way. For the first time all day, the chipmunk would take the lead.

Once he was ready, the two of them began walking down the stream. At no point did it become too deep that they had to get out of the water. Occasionally they jumped through it, enjoying the feeling of splashing the water on their own body. After they traveled for a while, they came to the point where the stream came to a gradual end. Little by little the width of the stream shrunk until it came to an end. When they reached the end, the two cubs looked before them and saw the same billowed tree that they started at.

Now they were behind it. The billowed branches sagged above them and provided them more shade than most of the other areas of the forest. In front of them, they could see a small pedestal where a golden pine cone sat on top. As they approached it, they saw yet another leaf affixed underneath it. Once they were close enough, Lucas grabbed it and read it. This time there was no riddle.

"Your journey has come full circle and though you ended where you came, that matters not. We hope you had fun and hope to see you next time!"

Lucas cheered and Henry picked up the pinecone holding it up as if it were a trophy. The two shared a moment of jubilation together.

"Well, that was fun but it's getting late. Let's go home?" Henry handed the pine cone to his friend.

Lucas nodded and the two began walking together back towards their homes. It had been a long day but both of them had fun. It didn't seem to matter to either of them that they ended where they started. After all, it's not about the destination of a journey but rather how you get there. The two recounting the tale of their days as they walked back. Once they got back to Lucas' place, Henry saw his friend at the door. The two stood there for a minute before sharing a hug, glad that they'd share the day together.

"See you tomorrow?" Henry asked with a smile.

The smaller boy nodded. "Uh-huh."

Henry waved and saw the other boy off. The puppy's tail wagged as he watched the Chipmunk walk into the distance. He shared his story with his parents who were glad that he enjoyed themselves. The pair even going as far as putting the poorly painted pine cone on the shelf to show their reverence for the simple deed. The family sharing a hug and staring at the trophy. Both mother and father sharing a sweet moment with their son who had accomplished the feat through teamwork and perseverance. The two happy that he was finally maturing socially and hoped for more of the same in the future.