It was a cold night. Snow was falling hard outside, and the wind was making a lot of noise. I was sitting on a wooden chair, trying to draw a mountain on a piece of paper. My desk was a total mess — pencils, papers, and some old sketches were all over it. There was also a cup of coffee that had gone cold a long time ago.
The yellow light from the table lamp was the only thing keeping the room warm and calm. After some time, I started feeling hungry. I put my pencil down and stood up to go to the kitchen to find something to eat.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
I stopped for a moment. "Who could that be right now?" I said quietly. It was already midnight, and no one should be out in such a strong storm. The bell rang again.
I walked to the door and opened it. A cold blast of wind hit my face. To my surprise, it was my friend Chakshu, standing there, his jacket covered with snow.
"You!? Why did you come here at midnight when it's storming like crazy?" I asked.
Chakshu smiled and said, "It's worth it, trust me!" as he stepped inside.
I sighed. "Don't tell me you came again with some stupid plan."
"Oh, it's not stupid this time," he said quickly.
"Well, okay," I replied, closing the door. "Are you going to stand there all night or come sit with me?"
He laughed a little and sat down on the couch. "Alright, alright."
I sat back in my chair and looked at him. "So, what do you want to tell me so badly?"
"Okay, so," he said, trying to catch his breath. "I just checked the town hall notice, and guess what?"
"What? Maybe some boring tax thing?" I said.
He shook his head. "Nope! Way better. The notice says they're organizing a treasure hunt event this week!"
I sat up straight. "Wait, really? What's the prize money?"
"About the prize..." he said slowly, "they didn't say anything. They just wrote that the treasure itself is the prize."
"Oh wow," I said, looking surprised. "That sounds fun. But are there any requirements? Like a fee or something?"
"No, it's free," Chakshu said. "And people from other towns can also join!"
I smiled a bit. "There's no way we can win this."
"Something is better than nothing, right?" Chakshu said. "Trying isn't a bad thing."
I laughed softly. "I guess you're right for once."
He laughed too. "Yeah, sure. You're so smart, huh?"
We both laughed for a while. The storm outside was still strong, but the room felt warm and peaceful. Even though it sounded like a simple event, something about that treasure hunt stayed in my mind. I didn't know why, but it felt like this was only the beginning of something much bigger.
After a while of chatting, Chakshu stood up, said goodbye, and went home. I closed the door behind him and went to the kitchen to get something to eat. I found a packet of chips and walked back to my desk. Sitting down again, I opened the packet and started eating while finishing my sketch.
After some time, my eyes started to feel heavy. The sound of the wind outside slowly faded away as I leaned back on the chair. Before I knew it, I drifted into sleep, my pencil still lying across the paper.
The next morning, I woke up with a stiff neck. The chair wasn't made for sleeping, but I guess I was too tired to care last night. The storm had stopped, and sunlight was peeking through the window. The quietness after the noisy night felt strange but peaceful.
I stretched my arms and stood up. My pencil was still lying on the desk where I had dropped it. The sketch of the mountain looked fine, but I decided to clean the desk before doing anything else. Papers were all over the place, and some had coffee stains on them. I threw away the useless ones and neatly stacked the rest.
After cleaning up, I made myself some breakfast — just toast and eggs. I ate while looking out the window. Everything outside was covered with a thick layer of snow. The trees, the ground, even the small fence around my house looked white and frozen.
After finishing my food, I decided to step out into the backyard to get some fresh air. The cold hit me right away, but it felt nice. My shoes made soft crunching sounds as I walked through the snow. The air smelled clean and quiet, almost too quiet.
As I looked around, something caught my eye near the corner of the yard. It was a small piece of paper lying half-buried in the snow. At first, I thought it was just some old trash blown in by the wind, but something about it looked odd. I walked closer and picked it up.
The paper was damp and a little burned around the edges. It was also torn in half, like someone had ripped it roughly. When I turned it around, I noticed some strange markings on it — lines and shapes that looked like part of a map. The paper itself looked very old, the kind of old that makes it feel fragile in your hand.
"What's this doing here?" I whispered to myself.
I wiped off the snow carefully and tried to understand the markings, but only part of it was readable. It looked like the corner of a map showing a mountain and some symbols near it. The lines were drawn by hand, not printed, and the ink had faded in some places.
The strangest part was that the mountain on the paper looked almost the same as the one I had drawn last night.
I stood there quietly for a few seconds, staring at the map piece. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it didn't feel like one. I looked around the yard again, but there was no one nearby — just snow, trees, and the sound of wind.
I decided to take the paper inside. I placed it on my desk and sat down, looking at it closely under the lamp. The burn marks, the torn edges, the faded lines — everything about it felt mysterious.
"Where did this even come from?" I said quietly.
I thought about calling Chakshu, but then I remembered how he talked about the treasure hunt last night. Could this be related? That sounded crazy, but something about the paper felt important.
I folded it carefully and kept it inside my sketchbook for now. Whatever it was, I was going to find out.
After some time, I went out to the backyard again. The air was still cold, but the snow had stopped falling. Everything looked calm and quiet, like nothing strange had happened the night before. I just wanted to get some fresh air after sitting inside for too long.
As I looked around, I saw the spot where I had found that piece of paper earlier. The thought of it still stayed in my head. I had already kept it safely inside my sketchbook, but I couldn't stop thinking about how it looked — old, burned, and almost like a map.
While I was lost in my thoughts, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Hey! What are you doing out here so early?"
I turned around and saw Chakshu walking toward me, wearing the same thick jacket from last night. His face looked red from the cold, and he had that same big smile as always.
"Oh, it's you again," I said. "Didn't expect you to come back so soon."
He laughed. "Yeah, I was just passing by and saw you standing here alone. Thought I'd check if you froze to death."
"Very funny," I said, shaking my head. "What brings you here this time?"
Chakshu walked up beside me and looked around. "Nothing much, just wanted to talk more about the treasure hunt. I can't stop thinking about it. It sounds so cool, doesn't it?"
I nodded slowly. "Yeah, kind of. But I'm not sure what to think yet."
He looked at me carefully. "You look like you've been thinking about something else though. Everything okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," I said quickly. "Just had a weird morning, that's all."
He raised an eyebrow. "Weird morning? What happened?"
I paused for a moment, wondering if I should tell him about the piece of paper. Then I decided it wouldn't hurt. "Well, I found something strange earlier — a piece of old paper in the snow. It looked like it was burned or torn, but I think it had part of a map drawn on it."
Chakshu blinked. "A map? Wait, are you serious?"
"Yeah," I said. "I already kept it safe in my sketchbook. It looked too old and weird to throw away."
He looked surprised but also kind of excited. "Man, that's crazy! You find a random old map right after the town announces a treasure hunt? That's not normal!"
I shrugged. "It could be nothing. Maybe just some trash blown here during the storm."
"Or maybe not," he said, sounding more interested now. "You should show it to me. Maybe it connects to something in the event."
I looked at him, thinking for a second. "Alright, come inside. I'll show you."
We walked back to my room. The floor creaked softly under our boots as we stepped in. I went to my desk, pulled out my sketchbook, and carefully opened it to the page where I had kept the paper. The small, torn piece of map lay flat against the page, still looking mysterious under the soft light from the window.
Chakshu leaned closer and stared at it. "This is... wow. It really does look like a map. Look here — this part looks like a mountain, doesn't it?"
"Yeah," I said quietly.
Chakshu couldn't take his eyes off the paper. "This is crazy," he said softly. "We have to go to the town hall and check if this is related to the treasure hunt."
I looked at him and said, "You're really taking this seriously, huh?"
He nodded quickly. "Of course! I mean, how often do you find a half-burned map in your own backyard right after they announce something like this?"
I thought for a moment, then sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's go. But if it turns out to be nothing, you're buying me lunch."
"Deal!" he said with a smile and rushed toward the door like an excited kid.
I grabbed my jacket, locked the door behind me, and followed him outside. The snow had almost stopped melting, but the roads were still wet and slippery. The town was quiet except for the sound of dripping water and a few people walking by, trying not to slip.
The town hall was about fifteen minutes away from my house. It wasn't very big — an old stone building with a tall clock on the front and a wide wooden door that creaked when you opened it.
When we stepped inside, the air felt warm compared to the cold outside. The place wasn't crowded, just a few people standing near a large board that had some new notices pinned on it.
Chakshu pointed at the board right away. "That's the one! The treasure hunt notice!"
We walked up to it. The paper looked new compared to the others around it. It said:
"Treasure Hunt Event!""All are welcome to join.
The only rule: work in teams of three or more.The prize is not money, but the treasure itself.Details will be revealed on the event day."
I read it twice. It didn't say much, but something about it felt strange — like the people who made it wanted to hide something.
"Teams of three or more," Chakshu said. "We need one more person, at least."
I nodded slowly. "Yeah, but who?"
Just then, we heard a voice behind us. "You two seem serious about this thing."
We turned around and saw Palash standing a few steps away. He was wearing a dark hoodie and had a calm, straight face. I knew him from school — he wasn't exactly talkative, but he always had something sharp to say when he did talk.
"Palash?" Chakshu said. "You're joining the treasure hunt too?"
Palash shrugged. "I was thinking about it. It sounds fun, and I could use a break from boring weekends."
"That's perfect!" Chakshu said. "We were just talking about needing one more person."
Palash looked at both of us for a moment. "You two? Hmm. I don't know if that's a good idea."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
He smirked slightly. "Because one of you runs into trouble, and the other one probably causes it."
Chakshu pointed at me. "Hey! That's not true. He's the one who always worries too much!"
"Yeah, sure," I said. "And you're the one who rings doorbells in a snowstorm."
Palash chuckled softly. "You two sound like a fun pair." He crossed his arms and said, "Alright, count me in. But if this turns out to be a waste of time, I'm blaming both of you."
"Deal," I said.
We stood near the notice board for a while, talking about the event. Then, out of curiosity, I asked, "Hey Palash, where do you live nowadays? Haven't seen you around much lately."
Palash looked calm as always and said, "I'm still in the same area. I just don't go out much. I prefer staying home most of the time."
I nodded. "That's kind of relatable, actually. I also like staying in unless I really have to go out."
Before I could say anything else, Chakshu jumped in. "What's the fun in staying home all day? You sound like an animal doing hibernation!"
I laughed, and even Palash gave a small smile. "Maybe I just enjoy peace and quiet," he said. "Not everyone wants to run around the town like you do."
Chakshu crossed his arms. "Hey, I like living life, man. You guys are wasting your time hiding inside your rooms!"
"Sure," I said with a small smirk. "And yet, you came knocking on my door in a snowstorm last night."
"Exactly!" Chakshu said proudly. "That's called dedication."
We all laughed. For a moment, it didn't even feel like we were talking about something serious like a treasure hunt. It just felt like old friends messing around again.
After the laughter faded, Palash looked at the notice board again. "So, we'll need to fill the form tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah," I said. "It says registration starts in the morning."
"Alright," he replied. "Let's meet here tomorrow then. We'll sign up as a team."
We agreed and walked out of the town hall together. The cold air hit our faces again, but this time, it felt nice. The three of us walked down the road, talking and joking like everything was normal... but the uncanny feeling remains within me... about the map...
Something about that old map, feels odd. Like it was all intentional...