Ronald and Spike.

Ron and Spike were best friends. They were like peanut butter and jelly; like two peas in a pod. Earlier that day, Ron had gotten the idea of digging for buried treasure from watching that day’s episode of Dinosaur and Friends. If it hadn’t been for his older brother John, who had kicked him out of the room, he would still have been at home watching his favourite show. But they settled just fine on the idea of going to Hillcrest Park. It was a beautiful July afternoon, with the sun high up in the sky. Ron had a back-pack slung over his shoulder, equipped with two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a mini shovel and bucket to dig up the sand, and a leash for Spike. On the way out of his house, Ron’s mother had given him specific instructions: to be home in time for snack time and to make sure not to remove Spike’s leash or he’ll try to bite someone again. He politely told his mom no, that Spike would never bite anybody and that the reason why he bit the other boy last time was because that boy had tried to hit Spike with his school books. His mother looked concerned but she said okay. Ron pulled out the leash from his bag and attached it to Spike’s collar. Slowly, they strolled along the sidewalk. Ron called out to everyone he knew and said hello. But as he walked by old man Jenkins’ house, he quickened his pace and began to jog. Ron was afraid of old man Jenkins. Every time Ron and Spike came around, he would yell at them. But not even the word yell could exactly describe it; it was more like a scream. A little while back, Spike had run all over old man Jenkins’ tulips and they had not been forgiven since.

When they arrived at the park, Ron ignored the advice that his mother had given him and took Spike off his leash.

“Spike! Spike! Come back!” Ron yelled as his dog ran off.

Within minutes, Spike came back and together they raced to the sandbox.

“Okay Spike, we’re going to dig for buried treasure ‘kay? Just like they did in Dinosaur and Friends. We’re going to pretend that we’re on a secret adventure! Anything you find, you give it to me to put in this bucket okay boy? Bark boy, bark!”

Spike barked.

“Good boy,” Ron said.

Together, they dug and dug. But after ten minutes, Ron got tired of finding nothing but branches. But at least Spike seemed to enjoy finding the branches, thought Ron. He decided to take a break and took out the sandwiches out of his bag. He had packed two, one for him and one for Spike, but Spike didn’t seem the least bit interested in eating the sandwich so Ron ate his alone. After having finished his sandwich, Ron decided that it would probably be better if they dug somewhere else. Who ever heard of lost treasure buried in a sandbox anyways? He thought. He decided that it was probably best if they dug somewhere underneath a tree. Afterall, that was where the characters on Dinosaur and Friends found their treasure.

So off they went to find the biggest tree in the park. They settled on a weeping willow for it did seem like it was the biggest out of the whole lot of them. They circled around the tree, trying to find the best spot to start digging.

“Spike boy, use your nose to sniff out the treasure. Common, you can do it!”

Spike circled around the tree and finally came to a stop at one particular spot in front of it. He wagged his tail playfully so Ron assumed that that was where they should start. So he put his bag and bucket down and began to dig with his shovel. It was harder to dig the dirt up than the sand but they managed to do it and after about ten minutes, Ron’s shovel hit something.

“I found something Spike, I found something!” Ron said excitedly. “We’re going to be rich! Rich I tell you!”

He reached down into the hole and pulled out a small box. He pulled as hard as he could until the box finally gave way and fell into his lap. He was bursting with excitement and joy.

“Oh no Spike. There’s a lock on it,” said Ron disappointed. “We have to go home right now and get mom to open it. Common boy, let’s go!”
Hurriedly, he gathered up his things and began running back towards his house. Spike ran so fast a head of him that Ron could hardly keep up.

As soon as they got back to the house, Ron dropped all of his things on the floor and called out for his mom.

“Mom! MOOOOOMM! I found treasure at the park! I really found treasure! We’re going to be rich! MOOOOOMM!”

“What are you screaming about now you little brat?” sneered Ron’s older brother, John.

“N.Y.O.B.! None of your bee’s wax!”

“What ya got there?”

“Treasure! Me and Spike are going to be the world’s richest six-year-old and dog! And you’re not going to get any money. HAHA!” said Ron triumphantly.

“Hey, that’s not fair! Give that to me! Give it!”

“No! NO! MOM! MOOOOOMM!”

“What’s going on here boys?” said the boy’s mother. “Oh, what do you have there Ron?”

“Look mom! I found it at the park. Can you open it mom? Can you? Can you? It’s buried treasure, isn’t it? I know it is,” said Ron impatiently. “Open it mom, open it!”

“Okay darling, hold your horses. Let me just go get your father’s toolbox. There must be a hammer in there somewhere….”

Ron and John’s mother went down to the basement and got out the hammer. Five minutes later, she was back in the kitchen hammering off the little lock on the wooden box. When they finally got the lock off, they carefully and slowly opened the lid. Ron reached in and felt around inside. When he pulled his hand out, only a photo came out. It was a photo of a boy and a dog. On the back of the photo, some words were written in very precise penmanship: Jake, age 6, and Miles. Disappointed, Ron handed it to his mother.

“Oh, it’s just a crummy old picture!” said Ron angered.

“Oh honey. I can’t believe this,” said their mother with a surprised tone. “Why this is a photo of your dad when he was a six with his dog Miles. I guess his parents must have taken this picture of him, put it in this time capsule, and helped him bury it. It’s amazing how you were the one that found it!”

“Dad? Is this what he looks like? He had a dog too mommy? Really? Kinda like Spike?”

“Maybe. When your father was still alive, he told me wonderful stories about Miles. He told me that Miles was a very good dog, the best that any boy could ever ask for.”

“Wow, Miles must have been a really good dog.”

“You betcha darling.”

“But, I thought there was treasure. I really wanted to find buried treasure!” whined Ron.

“Oh but Ronald honey, you did find buried treasure! Buried treasure doesn’t have to mean gold or money. Buried treasure can mean anything you want it to be.”

“Oh whatever,” said John as he rolled his eyes and walked away.

“How?” Ron was intrigued.

“Buried treasure can be anything as long as it means something special to someone out there in the world, and sweetie, this sure would have meant a whole lot to your dad.”

“Really? Wow… I didn’t think of it like that. Then maybe… can you take a picture of me and Spike and put it in that box like a time capsule? And maybe we can bury it in the exact same spot that dad did? Oh could we mom?”

“Oh, I think that’s a wonderful idea sweetie.”

And with that, Ron’s mother took a picture of Ronald and Spike. Ron gleaming with his two front teeth missing from his wide mouth and Spike looking like he was just about to bark. They got the picture developed and stuck it into the wooden box. They found a lock for it and brought it back to where Ron and Spike had originally found it. Ron put it back in the hole and covered it up with the dirt that they had dug up before.

“Maybe your future son will find it just like how you did,” exclaimed Ron’s mother.

“Maybe,” said Ron. “Maybe right Spike?”

Spike barked in agreement.

(written on December 3rd, 2009)