FOREST SECRETS

Sophie looked at her watch, then scanned the forest around her and realised that her kelpie-cross friend was nowhere in view.

“Come on Olive, time to go,” she called out but there was no response. No bark or excited yelp. No rustling in the undergrowth, or flock of distressed birds frantically taking to the skies.

The walk through the forest was a favourite for both of them. For Sophie, the symphony of woodland sounds that accompanied the ever-changing landscape made her feel as though she was treading a very privileged path that offered peace and calm. Today, shades of brown, and green and rusty yellow, with dried and wilting leaves crunching under foot, made for a picture-perfect autumn day. For Olive, it was akin to a wonderland of smells and wildlife and she’d learned which paths took her where so she could choose a different adventure each time.

Sophie called again, but still no response, which was out of character for the usually disciplined, obedient Olive. It was clear that a search would be like looking for a needle in a haystack so she decided on another vocal appeal.

“Come on Olive”, she called out again. If we don’t get going we’ll be in trouble because Josh said he’s ordered the pizza delivery for 6.30 and I need to have a shower, and ring mum first, and you know she won’t settle for less than a half hour chat”.

Sophie realised that she was thinking aloud and that anything passed ‘come on Olive’ was a waste of words but, after a few long minutes, Olive emerged from the cover of the trees, dragging what looked like a suitcase. Her face was covered with dirt and remnants of undergrowth and it was with a jubilant ‘see what I found’ look that she positioned it at Sophie’s feet.

Sophie’s initial reaction was to laugh out loud then, looking from Olive back to the dust covered baggage, curiosity crept in. The bright pink case didn’t look that old, and was in reasonable condition. It was of medium size with a strap around it, but no name tag, so what was it doing in the middle of Balim Forest?

Where did it come from? Who does it belong to? What’s in it? Should she even touch it because it might be a bomb? They were all questions that ran through Sophie’s mind.

She then started to answer the flurry of her queries. What if it’s full of drugs or money, and it’s been hidden by a crime gang and they’re going to come back to pick it up at some point, was a thought that unnerved her. “You stay right here Olive”, she instructed, glancing around her, and assessing potential avenues for a quick getaway.

Fuelled by her fertile imagination, the potential answers kept coming. Being a bright pink case, she figured, the chances were that its owner was female, so perhaps she was planning to run away? Being such an ‘out there’ colour though, it could belong to a gay man, or a transexual, or even an hermaphrodite, though Sophie wasn’t quite sure what that involved, and anyway, why would they stash it in a forest?

It could be a little girl’s suitcase that was stolen from an unlocked car, or in a burglary, so it might be full of the child’s favourite clothes and toys and she might be absolutely devastated at the loss.

What if it was a prop in a film set? It could have been featured in an A-grade movie, or the case could have been in the backdrop for a ‘find yourself in the forest’ shoot.Might even have been in an Attenborough documentary, and the crew didn’t clear up properly after themselves.

Then the ideas became darker. What if it does contain a bomb? It could be part of a planned terrorist attack, or it might be set to go off purposely to set the forest on fire so that a developer can move in and build a woodland getaway resort.

When the prospect that the suitcase might contain body parts came to mind, Sophie put a stop to the spin and took a deep breath.

“OK Olive, there’s only one way we’re going to find out what’s going on here isn’t there?”

She spoke aloud, awaiting Olive’s input which came by way of her tapping the case with her paw. Sophie smiled affectionately, and gave her pat. “You’re wasted with me you know Olive. You could have been a really top sniffer dog”.

Bending down and holding in another deep intake of breath, Sophie slowly undid the strap around the suitcase. Nothing happened, but then Sophie had never had cause to take a bomb disposal course, so it was all new territory. Next were the latches, and still nothing.

Sophie stared at the final challenge before her. “Well, this is it, Olive. I’ll say goodbye now in case I end up in small pieces that can’t be put back together. You’ve been a great friend and I know Josh will look after you, though you might have to change your dinner time because he doesn’t usually get home until 6”.

She squeezed her eyes closed as she lifted the lid and then screamed in shock as she was hit in the face by a large red inflated balloon.

Olive was immediately alerted and was desperate to respond but wasn’t sure how, and Sophie, expecting to be dead, or at the very least unconscious, was equally as confused. Shaking her head and gaining her composure, she noticed an envelope attached to the balloon.

“What the f*** is this?”, she asked Olive, who was still considering her moves. Security and protection was her thing, and she was ready, willing, and able to defend her owner and her territory, but the lines were not clearly defined

Taking a moment to process the craziness of the previous few minutes, Sophie undid the tape holding the balloon and sat back on the ground with the envelope in her lap.

“I don’t know whether I can take much more excitement Olive. Should I take it home and open it there, and then Josh will be there if it turns out to be something weird?”

Olive was completely out of her canine comfort zone so she just laid down beside Sophie and gave her a ‘don’t ask me’ look.

“No, we need to know now don’t we Olive?” Sophie decided out loud, and opening the envelope, she drew out a multi-coloured card which revealed a popup message. This is getting sillier and sillier, she thought.

“OK Olive get this”, she said and went on to read the message which said. ‘Congratulations, and welcome to the International Secrets of the Forest Hunters Club. Your next search-and-find test can be found on our website, so get to it and have fun’.