Arelio never expected that afternoon to become the beginning of something that would change his life. At first, he only wanted to clean the old storage shed behind his grandmother's house, which hadn't been used in years. The place was filled with old things, from rotting wooden chairs and stacks of dusty books to several boxes that no one had ever even touched.
"Why do I have to be the one to clean this place?" Arelio muttered as he lifted a small, heavy box.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, then looked around the dim shed. Sunlight only slipped in through the gaps in the wooden walls, which had begun to crack. The smell of old wood and dust mingled together, making Arelio hold his breath several times.
His grandmother, Mira, stood in the doorway with a glass of water.
"If you're tired, take a break first, Rel," Mira said.
Arelio turned and gave her a small smile.
"I'm fine, Grandma. There's only a little left. Besides, I'm kind of curious about the things in here."
Mira fell silent for a moment. Her expression changed, as if she were remembering something.
"Sometimes it's better to leave old things alone."
Arelio furrowed his brow.
"What do you mean, Grandma?"
"It's nothing. I was just saying."
That answer only made Arelio more curious. Ever since he was little, he'd often heard that the shed behind the house was rarely opened. His dad had even always forbidden him from playing around the place.
After his grandmother left, Arelio went back to looking for things that could be thrown away. When he moved an old shelf in the corner of the room, he suddenly saw something covered by black cloth.
"What's this?"
He slowly pulled the cloth away. Beneath it was a small wooden chest with strange carvings on its top. The chest looked old, but it was still sturdy enough. Its color had faded, and there were several scratches along the side.
Arelio crouched and touched its surface.
"Why is there a chest like this here?"
He tried to open the lid, but couldn't. The chest was locked.
Arelio stood and searched for a key around the place. He didn't know why, but he felt a difficult-to-explain curiosity. As if the chest had been deliberately kept there for him to find.
After searching for several minutes, he found a small object beneath a stack of old cloth. It was a black key with a shape unlike any ordinary key.
"That's weird."
He brought the key over to the chest. It fit perfectly.
When he turned the key, a small sound came from inside the chest.
Click.
Arelio paused for a moment.
For some reason, his heart seemed to be beating faster.
He slowly opened the chest. There were no valuables inside, like gold or money. There were only a few letters, old photographs, and a small book with a brown cover.
"What's this?"
Arelio picked up the top photograph. It looked extremely old. Several people he didn't recognize were in it, but one of the faces made him fall silent.
He knew that person.
"Is that... Dad?"
Arelio stared more closely at the photograph. His dad looked much younger. Beside him stood a man Arelio had never seen before.
There was a small inscription on the back of the photograph.
"For whoever finds this someday."
Arelio felt something strange. His dad had never told him much about his past. Even when Arelio asked, his dad would always change the subject.
"What is Dad really hiding?"
He picked up the small book and opened it. The first page contained only one sentence.
"If you're reading this, that means this chest has finally been found."
Arelio immediately stopped reading.
"Who wrote this?"
The sound of footsteps came from outside the shed.
Arelio quickly closed the book.
"Grandma?"
Mira stood in the doorway. She looked shocked when she saw the open chest.
"You opened that chest?"
His grandmother's tone confused Arelio.
"Yeah, Grandma. I found it here. Why? Is something wrong?"
Mira slowly stepped inside and looked at the contents of the chest.
"You shouldn't have opened it."
Arelio looked at his grandmother.
"Why? Who does it belong to?"
Mira didn't answer right away. She sat down in the old chair near the door and let out a long breath.
"It belonged to your dad."
Arelio fell silent.
"Dad's?"
"Yes."
"Why did you keep it, Grandma?"
Mira looked toward the chest.
"Because there's a story that was never finished."
Arelio grew even more confused.
"What story?"
Mira gazed at her grandson with a serious expression.
"There are a lot of things about your dad that you don't know, Rel."
"I have the right to know, Grandma."
Mira said nothing.
Those words made the shed fall silent. The only sound was the wind outside drifting in through the cracks in the walls.
"Your dad used to search for something," Mira said softly.
"Search for what?"
"An answer."
Arelio looked back at the contents of the chest.
"And this chest has something to do with it?"
Mira gave a small nod.
"Yes."
"Did Dad ever open this chest?"
Mira lowered her head.
"He did."
"Then what?"
"I don't know what he found. After that, your dad changed."
Arelio tightened his grip on the small book in his hand.
"I have to read this."
Mira immediately looked at him.
"Rel."
"I have to know, Grandma."
Mira looked at Arelio's face, filled with curiosity. She knew there was no point in forbidding him. That trait was exactly like his father's back then.
"If you've made up your mind, don't do it halfway."
Arelio nodded.
That night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Arelio sat in his room with the old chest on the table. A small lamp illuminated the brown book he hadn't dared to open again until now.
He took a deep breath, then opened the next page.
The handwriting inside began to tell him about something he'd never heard about before.
About a family secret.
About someone who had disappeared.
And about why the chest had been hidden for years.
Arelio kept reading, unaware of the passing time.
Until finally, he found a name that made him stop.
The name was his own.
"Arelio..."
His hands began to tremble.
For the first time, he realized that the chest didn't only hold his dad's past.
It also held something about him.