A Fictional Essay: A Discovery

A Discovery

          It was found lying on its side, being washed by waves. Upon closer examination its cork appeared worn and battered, and the glass had been scratched by pebbles and sand. A coiled piece of paper could be seen inside.

          When I saw the bottle, I thought it was a piece of litter. Holding it closer to my eyes, I saw a piece of paper coiled in it. I tried to take the paper out of the bottle with my fingers but my attempt failed. The coiled paper was stuck at the bottom with my fingers but my attempt failed again. The coiled paper was stuck at the bottom of the bottle. My fingers were too short to reach for the paper. I then decided to hit it against one of the rocks closing my eyes hoping that the splinters of shattered glasses do not enter my eyes. 

          After a few times of hitting the bottle shattered into pieces. I picked up the coiled paper among the shattered glasses. There was a message within the paper. I could not make out the illegible handwriting. It seemed to be scribbled away in a rush.

          Despite not being able to decipher the message, I could not help myself from being in bewilderment and fear. The writer of the message did not sign off his name. I presumed that it was written with an intention to address it to the person reading the message. I turned the paper over to see some lines making a drawing of a treasure chest and a man's face. 

          Feeling excited and nervous at the same time, I ran to my friends to seek their help in decipher the message. They had just finished snorkelling to admire  beautiful schools of fish. I showed the paper to them and shared with them how I chanced upon discovering it. Mixed expressions were on their faces, the paper was passed from one hand to another with each and everyone trying hard to decipher the message examining the drawing. A drop of ink may make a million think! Although it may be a simple message but it brought a huge astonishment to everyone.

         My friends and I were attracted to the drawing because it was beautifully drawn on paper. We decided to show it to the police because we did not have the slightest clue on who wrote the message. The police used the paper as a clue and gave it to a detective to investigate the clues of the mystery. Hopefully with more clues the mystery can be solved. We decided that we would investigate the beach where we found the note.

       After combing the beach for quite some time, I saw a cave in the distance. When we took a step inside, I saw it was not very big but droplets of water splashed to the ground making puddles of water. It was dark and gloomy in the cave. However, I could still see nothing was going to stop us. Our footsteps echoed around us but the noise stopped as we stood still. My eyes grew wide in shock and fear. I could hear my own heart beat racing in my chest. There before my eyes was a man lying against a rock. Dry blood sprayed all over his face with his eyes rolled backwards. There was no weapon in sight. A hole in his chest where his heart is. Examining the unknown man's face closely, be seemed like someone familiar. I dug into my pocket and unfolded the drawing with the man and the treasure. That was when I noticed the man on the paper and the man here are the same person! My friend pointed at the bloody knife on the ground. We did not touch the knife so we could hunt down the murderer.

          We reported to the police of our findings. They came into the cave and took the knife for DNA tests. A few months later, the police found the murderer trying to escape the country with the treasure. They brought him to court where he made his confession of killing the owner of the treasure. In the end, I was glad that my friends and I could play a role in this adventure.

Written by: Laticea
British International School