“I think…I think there’s something in there,” she said as she moved closer to the hole and looked inside of it. “There is!”
“There is? What is it?” he asked as he moved closer to her so he could see, also.
“I’m not sure. It looks like a small box,” she replied as she reached her arm into the hole.
“Be careful,” he said as he placed his hands gently on her shoulders.
Her eyes were rolling around as she moved her hand inside the hole. “I think I…feel something…yes!” she said triumphantly and pulled out a small, wooden box.
The both of them looked at it wonderingly and Emma blew the large amount of dust that had accumulated on it away.
“It looks like its a hundred years old…at least,” Rudolph finally said. “How did it get in there? Why was it in there?”
“I don’t know. Let’s see what’s in it.”
“Careful. It’s so old; it looks like it could break apart just by touching it.
She gently set the box down and slowly opened its lid, both of them staring at the contents inside of it.
Only two items where there - an old envelope and a cell phone, both of them covered in dust.
Rudolph and Emma looked at each other and then back at the contents.
“I don’t understand. The box and the envelope are obviously at least a hundred years old, probably older. What’s a cell phone doing here?”
“I don’t know,” Emma said wonderingly as she picked up the silver cell phone and clicked it open. Surprisingly, it was in perfect condition. Not surprisingly, nothing happened. It had no charge whatsoever. “This phone is just like mine. We can charge it up and see who it belongs to. It might even need a new battery. Maybe there are some pictures inside.”
“Probably. That will take hours, though. See what’s inside the envelope.”
Emma carefully opened the envelope and peered inside.
“There’s a letter inside. Two, I think,” she said looking at Rudolph.
“Maybe there’s a clue as to who the cell phone belongs to. See what it says.”
As delicately as she could, she pulled the folded papers from the envelope and opened the first one. It was some pieces of sheet music that was only halfway completed with a handwritten composition. Written on the top of it was a woman’s name, obviously the name of the piece.
“Who is that?” Rudolph asked.
“I don’t know. I suppose it’s the name of…the person that influenced the piece. A song written for her.”
“It seems that way. But…why is it only half completed?”
“I don’t know,” she said as she gently folded the paper and set it aside. She then picked up another other piece of paper, opened it, and held it so that the both of them could read it. As they did so silently, the looks on their faces changed from interest…to confusion… to something that they could not believe what they were seeing. Once they were done, they looked at each other at the same time.
“Forever yours…Ludwig,” Emma said slowly as she spoke the final words of the letter.
Rudolph picked up the cell phone and inspected it, now treating it as gently as he would a baby.
“We have to get this thing charged,” he said in amazement.
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