text: Fated Delivery And in the front door of Efferty Drasso’s house, a letter is being dropped by the postman. Addressed to someone that Efferty doesn’t even know exist, but soon, he is going to find out more than he would bargain for. “Oh man, what a day...how dare he even say those things to me?! All the things I did for the company the whole month went down the river just like that! That asshole!”. These are his thoughts as he steps on his front door. “But the bills and letters keep coming no matter the crappy day you had to endure” he scoffed. And then, he sees it. A red envelope. Being the most different of all the letters, lying in his mat by the door. “What’s this? From Reeven Tally...to Linus Tally..” Efferty matters as he looks the words on the envelope. “Ah the damn mail boy again...mistaking my house like, god, doesn’t he checks anything when he delivers?” Efferty is mattering these words as he enters the house with the red envelope and his other letters at hand. “Well, what to do. Name doesn’t ring any bell...Do I have any neighbor called like that?” he thinks to himself while he stands still and looks the red letter. “Seems like a brother-to-brother letter huh...or perhaps some relatives.” He keeps making these thoughts while he turns around the letter checking it from outside to every corner. Then suddenly, he notices something. “Huh..what’s this?” he wonders. While he was peering at the paper envelope, he notices that some of its red colour starting to dissolve, revealing a symbol that Efferty had never seen before. “Well, let’s search about it!” he shouts while he takes a picture of the circle-like fluted symbol. *** After some research on his computer, Efferty comes across three words and a symbol that looks exactly like the one on the letter: ‘The Copper Scroll’ . “The Copper Scroll? What is that thing?” he mutters with a big, disappointed face. At that moment, his phone rings. The name Tony appears on the screen-Efferty’s best friend. “Yo dude, how you been?” are the words coming from the phone’s answered call. “Bro, they fired me! Said I didn’t do my job right. Can you believe this shit?” Efferty says to Tony while rubbing his forehead. “Yeah dude, I can. Cause you were going wasted half of the days in the one month they hired you! To me, I wonder how you even lasted for a whole month!” Tony replies to him as his starts making fun of the sad-faced Efferty. “Well, whatever, it’s their loss you know! Anyway, come over, will you? We gotta finish building my paladins’s gear!” (He is talking about the game he and Tony play at their free time). “Ok bro, coming right up” says an excited Tony. *** One hour later, the doorbell has rung, both kids have started playing their favourite game, talking excited over high-volumed metal music. Tony stands up and goes to grab a beer. “By the way, you got any bucks to lend to me? Electricity bill came and it’s like 350 bucks! Crazy shit, I am not even at home!” Efferty screams to Tony while playing his game. “How you managed that again?! You will put us in jail at the end, man! Where is the shit, gotta check what they charge you for” Tony says while holding and drinking his cold beer. He spots the letters and heads towards them. The red envelope is covering most of the other letters and it picks Tony’s curiosity. “Yo, who is Reeven Tally? Who is Linus Tally?” he asked Efferty after checking the addresses. “No clue man, mailman confused the houses apparently. Leave that shit, come help me to pick the best tunic here! I need a boost on defence, but I crave for some attack also you know---“are the words that Efferty keeps muttering while pressing his keyboard keys endlessly. “Why haven’t you check it out? Let’s see what it says!” Tony announced all excited as he tries to find a knife to open the letter without damaging it. “Tony, no! Leave it as it is. It is not ours!” Efferty screams to Tony when he notices what his friend is trying to do. “Like come on, aren’t you even a little curious?” excited Tony asks as he is about to open the letter using a kitchen knife. Efferty runs towards him, grab the knife and tries to take the letter from Tony’s hands “No, leave it be! Who cares, it’s not for me” he replies angrily to Tony. “Well, but it did come on your door. You have every right to open it!” Tony announces while making it clear that he doesn’t intend to let it go. “Would you like it if strangers just poked on a personal letter you wrote to someone?” asks Efferty . “Well...no” says Tony. “But we are the strangers here, so I don’t care whose secrets I find”. The two boys start fighting over the letter and they end up ripping it a little on its right corner. “Nice going, douchebag!” Efferty screams angrily to Tony. “You destroyed it!”. “What’s the big deal either way? It’s probably gonna be one of those lovey-dovey letters brothers send to each other over wishes or just to catch up with their lives. Just open it and we’ll just say it came to us like that!” Tony says with a smirk. “You-you..! Fuck...” Efferty starts opening the letter, unfolding it slowly so that he will not damage it anymore. He then starts reading out loudly: October 2, 2022 “Linus... I FINALLY did it! I found it, brother! The Copper Scroll is almost in my grasp! At last! We talked about it for so many years! And dad, he... he wouldn’t stop talking about the treasure. And I did it! God, I would LOVE to see his face! His assumptions and research were correct all along! I finished the map, Linus! All that’s left is to go there and claim the scroll. And then the treasure is going to be ours! We are talking about so much money...millions perhaps!”. At this point, Efferty lift his face up, started shaking and looked at Tony completely frozen. “What did you just....?” asked Tony. “Let me see!” said Tony, while approached the frozen Efferty. “Dude, what’s going on? Did we just...read a letter talking about treasure?!” Tony started to scream happily and jump around all over the kitchen. “Wai-wait! Tony, this can just be...a scam. Hold on, there is more written here...” Efferty replied. He then continued reading out loud while Tony stepped by his side trying to also look at the words written: “...But I’m gonna need your help. You must follow my instructions and go get the map. I don’t want to frighten you, but we always knew that we were not the only ones searching for it. In my despair, I need to inform you that some of them learned about the research and found me. But not to worry, I am alive and have escaped them” . At that line, both young men looked each other with a face filled in terror. Efferty gulps and continues reading: “But the map...and the research...you must not let them obtain anything! Follow my guidelines so we can get the scroll. WE DESERVE IT, LINUS! US! We waited so many years! I am leaving you with some clues because I don’t know who to trust anymore. Baias has betrayed me, and I don’t even know if this letter reaches you. Just to be sure, everything I include in this letter can only be interpreted via specific paths and methods that only us, (hopefully), know about. I am counting on you, little brother. Remember this, trust NO-ONE even if they tell you they know me or being my friends, and don’t go to the police. I can understand that you may not want to be involved, but only you can do it now, Linus. Don’t let our dream end out of fear. We deserve it. For father. With all my love, Reeven” There is a small moment of silence. Tony and Efferty stare into the space of the room and manage to breath slowly. After a while, both start to speak simultaneously: “The fuck bro?!” is the first common thing the two boys shout out loud. “Dude, did we just...” Tony tried to find which words to say to complete his sentences and Efferty, puzzled, continues the talk: “This...was written about a week ago...but... what the heck?” Efferty cannot seem to find the words that he wishes to say. Then, he adds: “Should we just...go to the police...? Or just...ignore it?” he muttered at the end. “Are you crazy?!” Tony screams both in an angry manner but also with a shadowed excitement under it. “Type this ‘Copper Scroll’ to see what this is about!” Tony suggests as they run towards the computer, instantly shutting down the game and typing the words in the search bar. Then, after few clicks, they start reading: “The oldest treasure map in history, the Copper Scroll...found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, containing detailed instructions on how to find buried treasure”. Efferty and Tony paused at that moment. Staring first at the screen and the words they had in front of them, and then staring each other. “Dude, this is...is that even real information? Can we trust this?” Efferty says and keeps staring at Tony. “Let’s go. Come on!” Tony suddenly stands up from the chair with determination. “Huh? Where to?” “Let’s go to the public library! They have got to have something for this on some book or something!” says Tony as he makes a fist out of his hand, determined to exit the house. Efferty grins. “The fuck Tony? You are gonna believe this shit?” he looks at Tony with a disappointed face for believing so easily a scrap of paper. “Aren’t you even a little curious? What if this shit is real?! What if it exists and it is INDEED a map that can lead to a treasure?!” Tony starts talking like an obsessed researcher who just found out that his theory could be valid. “Are you serious right now, Tony?” Efferty starts laughing at his gullible friend. Then, when seeing Tony serious, he continues: “Are you for real? Are you believing all of this?” Efferty tries to reason with Tony who keeps insisting on his thoughts. “Why not? So many things haven’t been discovered you know! People... archaeologists... historians...many have been searching for clues about so many things that haven’t been unravel yet! Every day, something, somewhere in the world, is being discovered! What if this Copper Scroll could also”--Tony gets rudely interrupted by his friend. “Tony, please. Get serious! Let’s just forget this shit and go back into building my paladin, ok?” Efferty turns his back on Tony, approaching his computer and starting up his game again. He looks at Tony, who gets a hold of the letter and checking the other pages. “Tony, for god’s sake!” then he stops, seeing as Tony doesn’t pay any attention to him. “Okay, whatever. Finish with your daydreaming and come play with me, alright?” he says as he starts playing his game. Tony puts the papers in his pockets, grabs his stuff and exits the house. “Tony, what the hell!” Efferty shouts and thinks if he should follow his friend or just leave him be. “Fuck!” he shouts and grabs his keys and exits his house. He spots Tony who walks rapidly and starts running in order to catch up to him. ***(Eventually, Efferty catches up to Tony) “Tony! Ok pal, look. Let’s just go to the library so you can get it out of your system. And then we go back to our game and forget this ever happen, ok?” Tony doesn’t give him any response and keeps checking some papers that the envelope contained. “So, um... what are you checking?” Efferty tries to have a conversation with his friend while they are headed towards the public library. “This was included with the letter. I wanna check what it shows. Looks like some weird language or something. And a code too, there, see?” Tony replies as he continues to check the papers without even looking at his friend. The two boys eventually reach the library and after asking for the librarian’s help, they are sitting on a table, checking the pages of an old, blue, ripped book. Then, Tony talks first. “There, see! It has the same symbol. It is the Copper Scroll’s symbol. Or something like it” he says while comparing the symbol written in the letter with the one in the book. “Unbelievable, right?! Oh man, it feels like a movie! A treasure hunt! And we will be on it!” Tony cannot control his excitement and the people around them look towards them angrily at annoyed for being noisy. “Tony, look... ok. We came here to satisfy your curiosity. But this is going to stop now, ok? There is no treasure hunt. There is no relic and no map to guide you there. Perhaps it’s a prank or somebody’s fantasy, but we don’t have to be idiots like them, ok? Let’s just drop it, come on!” Efferty starts feeling worn out for having a discussion of something that sounds like a pipe dream for kids. “Why are you so negative about it, Effer? You waste your energy and time playing a fantasy game. And now, we may came across something that could be 100% true and could make us filthy rich and you cannot give it a damn chance?!” Tony replies to him angrily. “Are you hearing yourself, Tony? That is A GAME. We know it’s not real, but it gives us fun times. Someone writes a bunch of crap on a piece of paper, and you suddenly feel like Indiana Jones? That you are going to unravel a mystery and find a lost relic?! This is more imaginary than any fantasy game we play, you know!” The tension begins to rise between the two boys. Eventually, the librarian steps in and stops them. “It’s nice that you boys are lively and enthusiastic, but here is a library! You must be dead silent. And, please, leave. We are closing in five minutes”. “Fine” both boys muttered. ***(Towards the alley and Efferty’s house) “You feel alright there Tony?” Efferty asks with a concern for his friend, thinking they haven’t exchanged any words since the dispute at the library. “I just don’t get why you are so negative. I didn’t say we abandoned our homes right now and start searching for it. I just wanna talk about the POSSIBILITY of it being true” replies a lost in deep thoughts, Tony. As the boys take the turn that leads to Efferty’s house, they suddenly hear a gunshot. “WHAT THE FUCK?!” both boys instantly freeze. “Effer...it..it sounded like coming from close to your house...right?!”. “To-Tony...that way...” Efferty manages to get a hold of himself and the two boys turn around, trying to find another way to approach the house so they will not be spotted. From some distance, as they hide behind some huge barrels, they managed to see that the door of Efferty’s house has been breached and they hear several voices coming over from inside the house. Between the sounds of things falling apart, yelling and fighting, they manage to hear these words: “WHERE THE HELL IS THE LETTER, BAIAS? YOU SAID LINUS WOULD RECEIVE IT TODAY”. Cold sweat is running down the boys’ faces. They try not to make any sound. “Lower the gun, I told you already! I followed the guy but lost him. I know he didn’t deliver it to the designated point. I don’t know who informed him, but I’m sure he didn’t deliver it to Linus directly. Someone else must have gotten the envelope. Either by accident or on purpose” said the person who seemed to be the so-called ‘Baias’. “You better be right about it because I don’t see what else you can offer me, Baias”. “Let’s search the whole neighbourhood around” ‘Baias’ replied. “If what you say it’s true, the delivery point was changed, and somebody got the letter incognito”. “Yes” ‘Baias’ replied. “Okay men, listen up! We have some ‘cleaning’ to do. Find the receiver and make sure he ends up buried” said the voice that seemed to command everyone. That was what, Tony and Efferty, two simple young men, heard that evening. And their lives would soon change from simple to complicated.