The pages of the journal were old, yellow, and fragile. My fingers trembled slightly as I turned the first page. It was filled with strange symbols and faded handwriting. Most of it didn't make sense… until I flipped a few more pages in.
There, I found a message written in bold ink:
"To the one who finds this journal, beware. You are about to uncover secrets that were never meant to be found."
My heart raced. Was this some kind of prank? Or a made-up story by someone in the family? I had to find out.
The next morning, I showed the journal to Amaan.
"Where did you find this?" he asked, eyes wide.
"In the attic. It was inside a trunk."
He looked nervous. "I've never seen it before. But… that symbol on the cover — I think I've seen it on Grandpa's old ring."
We rushed to Grandpa's study, pretending to be casual. While he was in the kitchen, we snuck in and looked through his drawers. That's when we found it — a ring with the same symbol etched into the gold.
"What does this mean?" I whispered.
Before Amaan could reply, we heard footsteps.
"Quick, hide it!" he said.
We shoved the journal and ring into my backpack and dashed out.
Later that night, we read more of the journal. It spoke of a hidden room, a lost map, and something called The Keeper's Mark. Every word pulled us deeper into the mystery.
And one thing was certain — this wasn't just a story.
It was real.
"WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU FOUND THAT JOURNAL"
"TWO CHAPTERS EACH AFTER TWO DAYS"