“Pirate Treasure,” Anna says. Sarcasm drips from her voice.

“Yes,” you say, although it wasn’t a question, “Pirate treasure!”

“In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re not six anymore. And we’re not living in 1105, or 1654, or 1862, or whenever they had pirates.”

“Come on Anna, at least look what I found,” you plead, pulling out the old papers you found in your grandparents’ attic and handing them to your best friend.

Anna takes the papers reluctantly, handling them a little too roughly so that a corner breaks off one of the pages.

“Careful!” you exclaim. It comes out a bit like a squeal.

“Okay, okay,” Anna says, settling down to read.

You wait, watching a fly buzz against the pane of Anna’s window, then disappear behind her lacy white curtains. Anna is looking at the map now and you can see excitement begin behind her eyes.

“Look,” you say, “I think these are compass points, here. And here’s a riddle, but it’s hard to read. I copied it out on this page:

The first sign will come in the morning:
Head to the island by the sailor’s warning.

Maybe they weren’t pirates on the high seas, but the Ten Lakes had lots of piracy - and we could find their treasure!”

“Well, our summer jobs don’t start for another week,” Anna agreed, still trying to hide her excitement. “We might as well look. Where should we start?”

You think about this for a minute. You are fairly certain the map shows your lake, with its seven islands. Anna’s parents own a sailboat and you could begin by going out for a day’s sail and scouting for clues. Then again, maybe you should try to decipher the riddle – you could spend some time trying to figure out what the “sailor’s warning” might be, and perhaps learn more about the Ten Lakes piracy at the same time. Another option is talking to your grandfather and trying to learn more about the old papers.

Where should you and Anna begin?  

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I am imagining a choose-your-own-adventure style story, so I hope people will follow many different branches.

updated Jul 8 by midnight