The Map Under the Stairs

It was a rainy Saturday, and Lina and Sami were bored.

“Let’s clean the cupboard under the stairs,” said Mom. “Grandma’s old boxes are in there.”

In a dusty box, under a pile of knitting, Lina found a folded piece of paper. She opened it carefully.

It was a map of their own garden, drawn in Grandma’s curly handwriting. At the bottom was an X and the words: For Lina and Sami, when you are ready to work together.

“Treasure!” shouted Sami, grabbing the map.

“I found it!” said Lina, grabbing it back. The paper made a worrying ripping sound, and they both let go at once.

They looked at each other. “Maybe,” said Lina slowly, “we’re supposed to do this together.”

The first clue read: I have a trunk but never travel. Start at me and walk five steps north.

Sami frowned. “A trunk? Like a suitcase?”

Lina thought hard. “No… a tree trunk! The old apple tree!”

“And I know which way north is,” said Sami, pulling out the compass from his backpack. “The needle always points north.”

From the apple tree they walked five steps north and found a flat stone with a second clue painted underneath: Turn to face where the sun sets. Walk to where the bees like to eat.

“The sun sets in the west,” said Sami, turning with the compass.

“And bees like to eat… from flowers!” said Lina. “Grandma’s lavender bed!”

Clue after clue, Lina solved the riddles and Sami found the directions. Finally, beneath the lavender, they dug up a small tin box.

Inside were packets of seeds: sunflowers, tomatoes and sweet peas. There was also a note: The best treasures grow when we work together. Plant these side by side. Love, Grandma.

That spring, Lina and Sami planted every seed together. By summer, the sunflowers were taller than both of them.