Rrrrinnnnggg went the doorbell. Emily was home alone and wasn’t expecting company. As she walked to the door she wondered who it could possibly be. She opened the door slowly and peered through the crack, to her surprise it was a UPS man with a large package.
“This is for you,” said the man. Emily quickly took the package flipping it around to find the address the package was sent from.
“Have a nice day,” said the man as he turned and walked back to the truck. She shut the door and stared at the package for a decade. Emily was not sure if it would be safe to open it. She scanned the label carefully without missing a word. She tore the tape off the center, took the two flaps in her fingers and pulled. The package opened. Inside was a bunch of styrofoam peanuts. Emily pushed them aside and pulled out a wooden box. She looked at the box puzzled. She found a tiny slit where the box would open and peeled the top of the box from the bottom. Inside was a shiny glass bottle with a note neatly folded inside. The note read:
Find me it is your will
I will tell you I’m on a hill
Hidden in the red tree far beyond your know
I will show
Emily’s face glowed with a smile as she read the note. Her favorite thing to do is play outside and she was always up for an adventure. She quickly grabbed her coat, boots, backpack and sprinted toward the hill with ease. Minutes later the huge hill stood in front of her and she began to climb. The tall, red tree was seen from where Emily was standing and she ran to it. The red tree was standing right in front of her when she reached the top of the hill. The sun’s light was shining down on the tree and it was such a pleasant sight. Emily ran for the tree with open arms. When she reached the trunk of the tree, she looked up in awe. Emily’s eyes beamed at a tiny wooden box that glistened in the sun's golden rays. She started climbing the tree. Finally, Emily reached the branch and pulled down the box. This time the lid had ¼ of a circle completed in golden lining. She opened the box and found another glass bottle with a neatly folded note inside. The note read:
Congrats you have found the second clue
The next will have a blue hue
Far down where the horses graze
You’ll find the clue in a maze
It took a moment for Emily to process what the clue meant. After a while she had realized there was a pasture down the hill from her house. She sprinted as fast as her long legs would carry her. Out of breath, Emily came to a sudden halt. She was standing in front of a corn field that was much taller than herself. The corn was cut in different shapes that created a pathway. Emily realized this is the maze the poem was talking about. Emily started off at the right end of the path, to come to a dead end. She tried the left side of the maze and it worked. The path split and she took the right path hoping she would not run into another dead end. She came to the center of the maze and the box was sitting there. Emily stared at the box with gleaming eyes and ran to it. The lid had 1/2 of the golden circle completed. She opened the wooden box and to find another glass bottle with a neatly folded note inside. This note read:
You're doing great
You're gonna need some bait
Down where the river flows
Next to the musk rose


The river was Emily’s favorite place to go as a child. She loved the fresh air, the canopy the trees made, and the sound of the river flowing. It was very quiet and peaceful. Emily was exhausted from today’s long journey, but she decided to go on and find the last two clues. When she got to the river, she was unsure where to look. She read the poem again trying to figure out where she would find the next clue. Musk rose...musk rose… “I know!” Emily screamed. She remembered when she was a little girl she would go to the river and pick out a musk rose and bring it back for her mother. She stumbled over some twigs but managed to reach the rose patch. Underneath the bush was another wooden box. Emily dragged it out and saw that the lid had ¾ of the golden circle completed. “This is the last clue,” Emily mumbled. When she opened it was a glass bottle with the last neatly folded note inside. The note read:
This is the last but not the least
On the hill to the east
At the red tree
I will be
Emily was anxious to find out what was waiting for her at the red tree. She walked the whole time trying to put the pieces together. “Ugh, I have been walking for an hour when will I reach the red tree?” Emily grunted. In reality she was only walking for five minutes. When she reached the bottom of the hill, she sprinted for the top. When she reached the top of the hill, out of breath, she looked side to side. Her smile slowly melted off of her face and she realized nothing was different. Emily was suddenly very disappointed, she slowly turned around and started to walk away. A man came around from behind the tree dressed in a very formal camo uniform.
“Hi Em!” said the man. Emily’s head shot up instantly, she could recognize that voice anywhere. She whipped her body around and screamed,
“Dad!” Emily ran into her father’s arms and he embraced her. She could feel the warmth of his big muscles protecting her and her lips drew a broad smile. She missed the comforting feeling of his presents. Emily questioned her father asking why he was home. She was spitting out questions so quickly her father could not understand what she was saying but she managed to say,
“I thought you were going to be stationed in Afghanistan until November?”
“We were let off our base early!” Her father’s smile covered his face as he beamed down at his daughter answering the question. He was so happy to be able to spend some time with Emily.
“Did you like the scavenger hunt? I had taken so much time to perfect it!”
“I loved it!” Emily answered very quickly and swung her arms around her father. She was so suprised her father did all this for her.
“Good I’m glad. Let’s go home, bud, I have another surprise waiting for you there,” He waved his hand toward their house and held out his hand for Emily to grab.
“Let’s,” Emily smiled and grabbed his warm hand and held it in hers’ as they walked all the way home. Emily told her father all about her summer and adventures outside. She was so grateful to have him back home, and he was so grateful to be home in her company.