The morning sun spilled through the window, bathing Tina's room in a soft glow. She hadn't slept much. The weight of her father's unfinished story loomed large in her mind. Roy was already up, pacing back and forth with nervous energy.
"Tina Didi, we should leave now! What if Auntie forgets or changes her mind?" he said, clutching the diary as if it held the key to everything.
"She won't," Tina assured him, but her voice wavered. She wasn't sure what her mother would reveal, and the uncertainty gnawed at her.
By the time they arrived at Tia's home, the air between them was thick with anticipation. Tia greeted them at the door, her expression calm but guarded.
"You both look like you haven't slept," Tia said, ushering them inside.
"We haven't," Tina admitted. "Mom, you said there was something Dad left behind. Something we needed to see."
Tia hesitated, then motioned for them to follow. She led them to a small, locked cabinet. Pulling out a key from a chain around her neck, she unlocked it and retrieved a weathered wooden box.
"This," she said, placing it on the table, "is what your father asked me to keep safe. I wasn't sure if I'd ever show it to you."
Roy leaned in, his curiosity blazing. "What's in it?"
Tia slowly opened the wooden box, the hinges creaking as though resisting her touch. Inside lay a collection of aged papers, their edges frayed and stained with time. A map, marked with cryptic symbols and faded ink, sat atop the pile. Nestled beside it was an object that drew the eye—a smooth, dark stone, cool to the touch, its surface etched with intricate, almost hypnotic designs.
Tia's fingers hovered over the stone as she spoke, her voice trembling slightly. "This map," she began, lifting it with care, "was the last thing your father was working on before he died in front of Roy." She hesitated, glancing at Tina. "And this stone… it's connected to everything."
Tina's gaze shifted to the aged papers, their markings strange and unfamiliar. As she leaned closer, she noticed something odd—patterns of signs and symbols scattered across the pages, almost like a language waiting to be deciphered.