Sunny turned incredulous eyes on Jason. He said, "Honey, looks like your intuition was right on."
She whispered, "I guess I never really expected to find anything. This…this is like a storyline in a fantasy novel."
He chuckled, "And that makes you the heroine, so…what do you want to do now?"
"Do we have any options other than to remove the box?"
He chuckled. "Not really unless you want to take photos first."
Sunny thought about that and then reached for her cell phone. "That seems like a good idea."
Jason shrugged, "Who knows, maybe someday you'll write a book about your discovery and make it a page turner with pictures."
Sunny snapped photos from every angle and then snapped a few more with Jason kneeling beside the secret opening. He then took pictures of her. She said, "If I do write an account of this, I'll be sure to give you credit. I couldn't have done this without you."
Jason paused in positioning the cell phone for another picture and said seriously, "Sunny, I have a feeling you can do whatever you set your mind to." He quirked a smile that deepened the creases at the sides of his mouth and eyes. "Even find treasure on property owned by a cantankerous owner."
For some reason, his words put a lump in her throat. It meant a lot coming from him.
He studied her face and asked quietly, "Are you ready to remove your treasure?"
"Yes, but I want you to do it while I snap a photo."
"Sure?"
"I'm sure."
Jason reached down and grasped either side of the metal box with barely enough room to accommodate his hands and slowly lifted their find. Sunny kept snapping photos, but when he set the box on the floor, she pocketed her phone and went down on her knees again.
On the opposite side of the treasure she met Jason's gaze. He said, "There doesn't appear to be a lock, but the clasp looks rusted. It may be difficult to open."
She said, "You open it, Jason."
"No, honey, it's your discovery. You should open it. If it's stuck, I'll help you."
The fact that he had called her "honey" for the second time was not lost on Sunny, but she couldn't think about that right now. With shaking hands she attempted to lift the latch. It was stuck. Before she could apply more pressure, Jason placed his hands over hers and together they tried again. The latch shifted and Sunny gasped. He removed his hands and whispered, "Go for it."
Sunny held her breath as she opened a box into the past. She couldn't breathe when she saw the contents.
Jason snapped a picture with his phone and said low, "Holy mother…"
Sunny's body started to shake. The contents appeared not to have deteriorated nor weathered in over a hundred years of hiding. The treasures were so pristine the lid could have been shut only seconds ago. She stretched her hand to touch the tip of a gold nugget. Then she trailed her fingers over precious and semiprecious stones—emeralds, diamonds, jaspers, turquoise, rose quartz, milky quartz, clear quartz. Finally, she touched the many leather pouches she knew were filled with gold dust.
Placing her hand over her heart as if the action would embed the souls of her ancestors within her, she said, "I now share in my family's heritage."
Jason responded softly, "Yes, you do." A moment of silence passed before he said, "We should take more photos of the contents before removing them."
Sunny fumbled for her phone. "Yes. You're right." After the pictures were taken she said, "I don't want to remove anything yet. Let's take everything back to your house."
He nodded. "That's a good idea."