Safecracker

It's the last day of our unexpected five day weekend. They cancelled school Thursday and Friday for extreme cold. Today was off for Martin Luther King Day.

So how did we use this gift of time? I always have a list of things I would like to get done around here so I tackled a few of those. One was my bedroom closet which was beyond bad. The only way to deal with a closet this cluttered was to pull every single thing out and start over. As I was shifting through clothes and shoes, I found my safe tucked in the back.

I don't remember how old I was when I got this safe but I do remember that it was a Christmas present. The left lock is fake and spins easily. The right one is an actual combination lock and is so crazy stiff to turn that you end up with indents in your fingertips.

The Girl was hanging around in my room watching me unload my closet. When the safe came out she gave it a healthy shake. Everything in it rattled loudly.

Do you even remember what's in here?

Yes I do. There are three $2 bills, a little piece of metal with my name stamped on it, a slug of nickel and another weird piece of metal that looks melted around the edge.

Those are your treasures?

I wouldn't say that. That's just what's in there.

How long since you opened it?

Twenty-five years at least I would think.

You don't remember the combination at all?

The last number is 23. That's all I've got.

You should try again.

So I tried again. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and cleared my head. I'll just put try the first number that comes to me, I thought. The knob turned stiffly. Another number came to me and then I finished on 23. The little bell of the "burglar alarm" rang as the door slowly opened.

We were both in shock but The Girl came out of it first.

You opened it! That was amazing!

It was amazing. I guess I knew the combination all along. And what was inside? I was almost right.

Three $2 bills, a piece of metal with my name stamped in it, THREE slugs of nickel and the melted piece of mystery metal. There was also a horseshoe nail that Mr. Wooster got everyone as a souvenir from Hale Farm and Village when we went there for a field trip in the fourth grade.

I closed up the safe and tried the combination a couple of more times to make sure I really had it right. All those things are so strange the only thing to do with them is put them back in the safe, so I did. Then I copied the combination down so this won't happen again!

Mamacat says: I knew the combination all along. You should have asked me!