A to Z: T is for Treasure

For A to Z 2015 I will be posting flash fiction, all random, all the crazy musings of a crazy mind. Hope you like them.

This is the finale of a three part tale. Read part one: L is for Larry’s Quest here, and part two: Q is for Quest here. And now:

T is for Treasure

Larry tucked the letter into his pocket, leaving the rest there. That was his first mistake; his second was going back to his car. He’d suspected that his mother’s neighbors had been watching him, and he’d been right. They were waiting for him by the building when he rounded the corner.

Larry skidded to a stop.

Leon, the ringleader, spotted him first. “Hey, you’re Alberta’s boy, ain’t you?”

“That’s him,” a voice answered from behind him. Larry turned to see a man coming at him, carrying the box of discarded letters.

Larry silently swore under his breath as his mind tried to come up with something, anything, but he didn’t have to bother. Leon came up with it for him.

He grabbed the box from the other man and rummaged through the letters; letting most of them spill to the ground. He looked like a man with a purpose, like a man who knows what he’s looking for.

And he was. Leon’s eyes lit up as he grabbed a single letter, as he let the box fall to the ground.  Those with him seemed to recognize it as well. They, all of them, knew Larry’s parents and their treasures much more than Larry ever could, as Larry himself was just beginning to see. 

Regret was the extent of Larry’s treasure; shame his only prize.

-Mel