Aim to Engage Prompt, December 2021: "Rumour in your school has it that if you write a secret, put it into a hole of the oldest tree in the school backyard, the next day you will receive a treasure. Many say it works and just as many don't believe. But one day you were dared to try it yourself."

Story word count = 499

A treasure for a secret, it promised. Some believed, some did not.

I gazed at the old oak tree that sprawled behind the soccer practice field. Gnarled branches reached wide to catch sunlight, enough that grass would not grow beneath. A jagged knothole opened into a dark hollow that ran deep within the trunk. As the legend goes, if you place a written secret within the hollow, the next day you will receive a treasure, if the tree wills it. Adding to the fable, they said that the tree keeps the secrets safe. Those that tried to retrieve the secrets found the hollow empty.

"Hey Joy, how's your sis' doin'?" Zack plopped down on the wooden bench beside me, dropping a backpack on the grass.

"Same," I muttered, without turning my head away from the tree. I shouldn't have dismissed him so brusquely. He really did care, but I didn't want to talk about it.

Zack pointed. "Maybe you should try the treasure tree?"

I huffed. "Don't want a treasure. I just want my sister back."

"Well, a treasure might pay the medical bills." He shrugged. "Couldn't hurt."

Zack's suggestion hung in my mind for the rest of the day. What could it hurt? I tore out a piece of notebook paper and scrawled my secret. Actually, it was a confession.

I hurt my sister.

While nobody watched, I made my way to the tree and tossed in the crumpled secret before catching the bus. The driver dropped me off at the hospital like usual.

Faith, my twin sister, laid in perpetual sleep as she had for two months. The monitors drew the same colored lines, and the room had the same antiseptic smell. At least her hair was growing back after the surgery. The doctors said she might wake up at any time, or never.

Mom left a text message that she had to work the night shift stocking shelves. I knew she wanted to be here, but she didn't dare lose her job and the health insurance it provided.

The hours stretched past midnight while I slumped into a worn chair beside the bed lost in sullen mood. The incident rose again in my mind and I wiped away guilty tears. We argued about something stupid. Faith pushed, and I pushed back. She stumbled into the street. Then screeching tires and a sickening thud...

And here we are.

A flash of light outside caught my attention, and I peered through the window blinds. A cold drizzle had settled in the darkness, matching my gloom. Across the street, the dim lights of a run-down storefront church marquee flickered. 'For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also'.

Treasure...

"Joy? Is that you?" A faint voice ripped me from despair.

Could this be? But the disbelief lasted barely a moment as Faith's glazed eyes locked onto mine. I jumped up and embraced my sister, whispering between sobs of happiness. "I love you, Faith. You are my treasure."