Found Treasures
In the murky river water, Val can't see his hand in front of his face. He doesn't dare open his eyes underwater anyhow - there's too much muck and debris, he's likely to get an eye full of something. So he swims blind, toward the muted sound of Ellis moving, trying to surprise him by coming up behind him and splashing.
The plan backfires, of course. Ellis's hearing is way sharper, and Val's not the most stealthy of swimmers. Not only is Ellis waiting for him, but he gets a good splashing in the process. He dives back under to avoid the barrage, swims down close to the bottom. His hands brush over something that feels strange and wooden, so he stops there. Pulls it up with him. It's a piece of wood, all gnarled and pitted, half rotten in places. But it looks like it had been smooth cut at one point, and it fascinates him.
It could've been a piece from a pirate ship, or a steamboat. Or maybe someone had a house by the river, and a flood came and took it away - washed this piece over and over till it came to rest on the river bottom. Maybe fishes nibbled on it, maybe a crawfish made its home underneath. He wants to take it home, to ponder over it some more, to wonder over the possible pasts. He's starting to understand why it is Ellis holds on to objects, no matter how inconsequential or strange they may seem.
Each one of them holds a hundred possible pasts, a mystery that may never be unlocked.
Though with Ellis, Val muses, it's possible that he knows just what they are and where they come from. He does seem to sometimes. Val holds up the piece of wood to show him, runs his fingers over the carved surface. "Where do you think this came from?" he asks, inviting Ellis to either play along in his guessing game, or perhaps tell him some fascinating story to go with his found treasure.
The plan backfires, of course. Ellis's hearing is way sharper, and Val's not the most stealthy of swimmers. Not only is Ellis waiting for him, but he gets a good splashing in the process. He dives back under to avoid the barrage, swims down close to the bottom. His hands brush over something that feels strange and wooden, so he stops there. Pulls it up with him. It's a piece of wood, all gnarled and pitted, half rotten in places. But it looks like it had been smooth cut at one point, and it fascinates him.
It could've been a piece from a pirate ship, or a steamboat. Or maybe someone had a house by the river, and a flood came and took it away - washed this piece over and over till it came to rest on the river bottom. Maybe fishes nibbled on it, maybe a crawfish made its home underneath. He wants to take it home, to ponder over it some more, to wonder over the possible pasts. He's starting to understand why it is Ellis holds on to objects, no matter how inconsequential or strange they may seem.
Each one of them holds a hundred possible pasts, a mystery that may never be unlocked.
Though with Ellis, Val muses, it's possible that he knows just what they are and where they come from. He does seem to sometimes. Val holds up the piece of wood to show him, runs his fingers over the carved surface. "Where do you think this came from?" he asks, inviting Ellis to either play along in his guessing game, or perhaps tell him some fascinating story to go with his found treasure.