Chapter 6
Masie has found a strange artefact stitched inside a Unicorn stuffed toy she won at the fair and is taking it to show her best friend's dad, who is a university professor.
Masie went through the secret door in the fence and knocked on Leoni’s back door, and Leoni answered it almost immediately.
‘Can I have a look?’ Leoni said, all excited.
Masie gave it to her, and Leoni walked to her living room, examining the stick. Leoni’s house was an exact mirror image of Masie's house, which always seemed odd to Masie. She followed Leoni into her living room. Leoni’s mum stood by the kitchen door, and her Dad sat on the sofa. He immediately stood up when he saw Masie.
‘Can I see it? Can I see it?’ Mr C said to Leoni urgently, holding out his hand.
Leoni passed the stick to her Dad. He started to examine it, rotating it slowly in his hands.
‘Oh my, I do believe it is. This is incredible.’ Mr C said as he sat back down on his sofa.
‘What? What is it?’ Masie said.
‘Sorry, Hi Masie, how rude of me. Anyway, Leoni showed me the photo you sent. I got very excited. I needed to see it to confirm. And I now believe it is.’ Mr C said.
‘WHAT!’ Masie said a little too loud.
‘Sorry Masie, it’s called a Scondi. It’s very old, very, very old.’ Mr C said.
‘Whats a Scondi?’ Masie said.
‘They date back thousands of years. Scondi is Latin for Hide. That’s what the Romans called them. We don’t know what they were called before then, but we do know with the help of carbon dating, they can be as old as 5,000 years. And this one is pristine.’ Mr C said.
‘Hide? You are supposed to hide them?’Leoni said.
‘No, No, No, IT hides something. There is something inside it. The markings are a clue as to how to open it. In ancient times, nothing was secret. Getting a private message to someone was almost impossible. So these Scondi’s were created. The messengers or couriers were always chosen from the, let's say, less fortunate ones. They couldn’t read or write, so they could not decipher the text. Which meant they couldn’t open them. They didn’t even know they did open. It was the safest way to send secrets. Once it was open, it couldn’t be closed again, so the recipient would know it had been read. This one is still closed, which means…..’
Mr C continued in a very dramatic tone. ‘there is still a message inside, probably thousands of years old.’
‘Dad, how do you know all this? I thought you did literature?’ Leoni said.
‘Another Professor at the university, Professor Mickleson, he teaches Archaeology. Our paths cross quite a bit; he brought me one of these, holding up the Scondi a few years ago. The one he showed me had been opened. It had been found in Southern Italy. I asked him, then, if there were any closed ones, and he said there had never been any found that were still closed. He wanted a text translation to determine what might have been inside. It turned out the text and symbols were a test or instructions of how it opens. They all open in different ways. They are not hard to decipher now. We have a fantastic computer program that can scan all known languages and try to make sense of them. Let me scan it.’ Mr C said, taking out his phone.
He took many photos of the Scondi, opened an app and uploaded all the images to the app, which responded with a few beeps.
‘Now we wait.’ He said.
Masie was standing there, gobstruck, staring at the thing. She sat on the sofa beside Mr C and took the Scondi from him.
‘Let me get this right: This’, Masie waved the Scondi in the air.’ is the only known Scone, sorry, Scondi. to be found that is unopened, which is most likely to contain some message. That is THOUSANDS of years old, and I found it in a stuffed Unicorn I won from a travelling fair?’ Masie said. ‘Have I got that correct?’
‘I can’t explain it either, Masie. These were mainly used around Africa, Egypt and the Mediterranean. This is the only one I know of that has shown up in the UK. Give me a few minutes. I’ll phone Professor Mickleson.’ Mr C said. He then stood up and went upstairs.
Mrs C said she’d get some drinks from the kitchen. Masie and Leoni kept passing the Scondi to each other, shaking it, pressing things. Nothing happened.
Leoni’s mum reappeared with two glasses of orange. Which Masie and Leoni took.
‘Thanks,’ Masie said.
After a few more minutes, Leoni’s dad came down the stairs.
‘Right, more information. Professor Mickleson said there has definitely never been an unopened Scondi found anywhere in the world, and no open ones have been found in the UK. This is a first. Also, he is emailing me a schematic drawing of how to stop the one-way trap from going off when it opens. Which means we can close it again without any problem. So if the computer does its thing, we can open it. Exciting times.’
At that exact moment, Mr C’s phone pinged.
‘Bingo!’ Mr C said. Let me squeeze in between you and Masie,’ he said to Leoni.
He sat down, and Masie passed him the Scondi. Mr C put it down on the coffee table. He opened the app on his phone. Masie and Leoni could see the screen, and Mrs C could see it over Mr C’s shoulder. The app said,
‘1 Result Waiting.’
Mr C clicked the icon, and a results page showed. The result was much bigger than the screen, so he had to move it around with his thumb.
The text ran down the length in three lines. The three lines were in three different Languages.
‘This is clever stuff. It must have been made and filled by either three people or someone who could speak all three languages. There weren’t many people that could make these at the time this one was made.’ Mr C said. He continued. ‘The three languages are all from African Tribes. I know of two. One was quite a large tribe. Many of the tribespeople could read and write. Another one is a bit of a mystery; several writings have been found, but from what we know, the tribe was short-lived, about 2500 to 3000 years ago. I’d have to get more details from the university on Monday. I have never heard of the third tribe, but again, I’ll look into it on Monday.’
‘Ok, so, the first line translates to Inverted. That seems straightforward. It needs to be upside down to open. The second line translates to Depress Eye. The third line shows an error. The computer deciphers it as Strike-look-bird-spider. That makes no sense.’ Mr C said.
Masie took the Scondi from Mr C and examined it. After a minute, excitedly, she said.
‘Look on the stop. Is that a bird?’ Showing everyone what looked like a bird, And it pressed in. Nothing happened. ‘And on the other end is a spider, see.’ Again, they all looked at what was obviously a raised spider. Which also pressed in, but again, nothing happened. ‘ Dam it, I thought that was it, ' Masie continued.
‘We still need to know what Look means.’ Mr C said.
‘There’s a symbol that looks like an eye here.’ Masie pointed out.
‘Let me have that a second,’ Mr C said.
Masie passed him the Scondi.
‘According to the computer, the symbol for the Eye means Look.’ Mr C pressed the Eye symbol. It pressed in. ‘I think I’ve got it. We invert it, press in the Eye symbol, then tap the bird, so tap it upwards, then the spider, tap it on the table. Wait on,’ Mr C said.
He got his phone and opened his email app. He had the email for Professor Mickelson. He opened it, and an image showed a Scondi with the one-way lock parts expanded like a blueprint. He laughed a little to himself.
‘This is such a simple lock if you know before you open it. I need about a foot of string.’ Mr C said.
Mrs C disappeared into the kitchen. She returned with a length of string.
‘Perfect,’ Mr C said. ‘The Scondi will open somewhere along its length. As soon as a gap appears, we need to tie the string in the gap. This will stop four prongs from flicking out and pulling all the mechanisms.
Mr C tied the string loosely around the Scondi with a slip knot. He also asked Leoni to get a hard-backed book from the bookshelf, which she did.
‘I want you to hold the book above the Scondi. I need to keep the Scondi inverted when I strike the Bird symbol, so I need the book above it. Then, when I open it, Masie, I want you to pull both ends of the string. It will tighten up around the spring mechanism and stay tight, got it? Mr C said.
‘Got it.’ Masie replied.
Mr C took hold of the Scondi, making sure it was inverted. He pressed and held in the Eye symbol. He then brought the Scondi upward until the bird symbol struck the book. He then brought it down, so the end with the spider symbol struck the coffee table. There was a noticeable click. The Scondi separated in the middle.’
‘NOW,’ Mr C said a bit too loudly, but Masie was already on it. She pulled the string ends, and the knot tied perfectly around the gap. Nobody moved for a moment.
Mr C placed the Scondi on the coffee table and slowly separated the two halves. After about half an inch, a small gap appeared. The destructive lock had not gone off, so he pulled them apart some more. There was something inside. It looked like rough paper or parchment. He pulled the two halves apart and picked up the half with the paper. He looked up. Everyone was staring silently at the paper.
‘That piece of paper or whatever it is has been inside that device for over 2500 years, and we are about to see the message. This is so exciting.’ Mr C said.
He slowly took hold of the end of the paper and slid it out of the Scondi, placing the Scondi on the coffee table.
‘Leoni, I use two pieces of glass on my desk upstairs to examine old documents. Can you get them?’ Mr C said, not taking his eyes off the paper.
Leoni ran up the stairs and was back down in seconds.
‘There you go, Dad.’ She said, holding them out.
‘Can you put one on the coffee table? I will un-roll this paper when I flatten it out on the glass. Can you place that glass over the top, like a sandwich?’ Mr C said.
Leoni placed a piece of the glass on the table and held the other piece ready. Mr C unrolled the paper. It was in remarkable condition. Considering how long it was in the Scondi, it was like new. Mr C wasn’t sure what it was, though. It definitely wasn’t paper, and neither was it parchment. Leoni placed the glass over the top as he finished rolling it out. This pressed it perfectly flat. Revealing the 2500-year-old message.
It was about 5 inches wide and 8 inches high and looked like it had been torn off or out of something. Three sides were relatively straight, and one was very ragged.
‘Great, more symbols.’ Masie said.
‘They are not symbols, Masie. That’s Tamil.’ Mr C said.
‘Tamil?’ Masie replied, puzzled.
‘It’s the oldest language still used today. It's easy to recognise when you know what it is. This is easy to translate, but that’s not the puzzle.’ Mr C said.
‘What's the puzzle?’ Leoni said
‘This is modern Tamil. And wasn’t spoken for about 1500 years AFTER this Scondi was locked.’ Mr C said
‘That’s impossible.’ Masie said.
‘Yes, it is.’ Mr C said
‘What does it say?’ Masie said.
Mr C got his phone and scanned the paper.
‘It Says.
‘Embrace change, and your true path can be seen.
This world needs you more than you could know.
Your destiny is beyond imagination.’
Masie looked at Leoni for a long moment, then started smiling, like she had just worked something out.
‘This is it. You know that thing I keep looking for? Masie said, getting excited.
‘Masie, you just found an old thing. it's not the missing link, sure, it’s exciting, but it’s just a bit of a mystery.’ Leoni said, trying to calm her down.
‘Come on, Leoni, I’m about to move across the country. How much of a change is that? And to embrace it so I can see my path? That could have been written for me.’ Masie said.
‘But 2000 years, that’s a pretty slow postal service. And a strange way to get it to you.’ Leoni replied.
‘Suppose, but this is all pretty amazing. Mr C, would it be okay to keep these for a while? I want to go back to the fair and ask the guy on the stall.’ Masie said.
‘Masie, they are yours to do with what you want. When you are done with them, if you want to donate them to the university, we could study them for years. But they are yours, not mine.’ Mr C said. ‘But please, be very careful with them.
‘Oh, I’ll be very careful. Do you want to go back to the old man at the fair,’ Masie said, looking at Leoni.
‘You bet ya I do. This is amazing.’ Leoni replied.
‘They open at 10 am. Do you wanna come to mine? We’ll go and see what's going on.’ Masie said.
‘Sounds like a plan to me.’ Leoni said.
‘Let me get some tape. I’ll tape the glass together. It’ll protect the message.’ Mr C said.
He took the message sandwich upstairs and returned a minute later with the edges of the glass taped up. It made a sturdy display for the message. On the back, he taped a translation of the text.
‘I’ll put the Scondi back together. It’ll be safer like that. We know how it opens, so it’s no big deal.’ Mr C said.
Masie took the message, enclosed in the glass and the Scondi, and said, ‘Thanks for all your help. This is all very fascinating. I can’t wait to talk to the old man at the stall tomorrow.’
‘Me too.’ Leoni said.
‘is 10 a.m. ok for you?’ Masie asked Leoni.
‘Sure, see you then.’ Leoni said.
Masie and Leoni went to the back door and hugged each other. Masie then walked down the garden to the secret door. She stopped, looked back at Leoni’s house and said to herself.
‘What the hell is going on? This is crazy.’
She opened the secret door and stepped through, closing it behind her.
Masie opened her back door and walked into the kitchen. She shouted through to her parents in the living room.
‘It’s only me.’
‘Ok, love.’ Her mum shouted back.
She was totally knackered and just wanted to sleep, even though it was still early, and her head was swimming with questions. She got a drink from the fridge and went into the living room.
‘Are you OK, love? You look tired. Is everything okay with you and Leoni?’ Her Mum said.
‘Yeah, everything is fine, we’ve had a good talk, it’s all going to be ok. And yeah, it’s been a really long day. I think I’m going to have an early night.’ Masie replied
She went to give them both a hug when the message fell out of her pocket.
‘What’s this?’ her dad said, picking it up off the floor.
‘It was inside that thing I showed you. It’s like a puzzle. Mr C was translating for us.’ Masie said.
‘Embrace change, and your true path can be seen. This world needs you more than you could know. Your destiny is beyond imagination. Sounds like an old Chinese proverb. Maybe the move might show you your true path?’ Masie’s dad said, reading the translation on the back.
‘I’m confused with the second line. Shouldn't it say THE world needs you more than you could know? Not THIS WORLD. That sounds like there are loads of worlds.’ Masie said.
‘Suppose you are right. Maybe that’s the the answer.’ Her dad said, passing it back to Masie.
Masie took the message back and gave her parents a goodnight hug, then went upstairs.
She went into her room, put her drink and message on her bedside table, and quickly changed into her pyjamas. She then got into bed and got hold of the message again. Archie appeared and jumped on the bed. He lay beside her with his head on her belly, looking at her.
‘Maybe that is the answer.’ She said to herself.
She didn’t know why the message was so interesting; she knew it couldn’t have anything to do with her. It really was a puzzle. Someone was meant to get that message, which was important enough to protect in the Scondi. Deep in the back of her mind, somehow, she knew it had something to do with her. Buy why?
Masie put the message down and stroked Archie’s ears for a while before drifting off to sleep.