Kingsman Return novel Chapter 3

It was late into the night but considering that it was the eve of the new year, the night sky was filled with dazzling light that gave one an illusion that it was still daytime.

All around the streets were filled with festive decorations and from the homes of the city's residents came the joyous sounds of laughter and cheers as families sat down together to wait for the coming of the new year.

At a certain park, in a corner where the lights and festive mood did not reach sat a teenage boy all on his lonesome.

In the darkness, the boy could be seen looking around suspiciously and with caution. Making sure one last time that his immediate surroundings were free from any interference, Arran finally got around to examining the box.

The polished surface of the box was decorated with fine grain patterns as well as frescoes and inlaid carvings depicting various wildlife. There was a deer with huge antlers branching out to the skies like a huge sky-reaching tree, and various birds of different species making their nests on its antlers. There were giant lions and sabretooth tigers, woolly mammoths and tiny rodents and all of them could be seen drinking harmoniously from a small stream without any signs of discord.

The stream ran across the entire length of the box like the legendary water of life spawning boundless vegetation and life.

The box was made up of two different kinds of wood which was made in such a way that they were conjoined seamlessly together as if they were carved from a single tree. There were no signs of an opening and it looked like the edges and corners were fused together so tightly with nowhere to insert a key, or depression to make use of.

Looking at the box of such exquisite craftsmanship, Arran could not help but to comment, "the person who crafted this box must be nothing short of a grandmaster in his trade!!"

'if I didn't know better, I would have thought that this box was cut out of a single tree.' Arran thought to himself in appreciation.

'well, I can understand what would give such an impression as the edges are so tightly joined together and it bears a considerable weight which suggests that It may not be hollow inside.'

Usually, when carving a box from wood, the original weight would change since the craftsman would have to hollow out the inside of the wood in order to leave some space inside for storage, but judging from the weight of the box in comparison to its size and the type of material used to craft it, there could only be one of two outcomes. One the box was not hollowed out and as such does not contain a space inside or there was a space inside but it had already been occupied.

'if there is something inside, then the question now would be what is it and how can I get it out?' Arran thought to himself.

Looking at the box closely, Arran was having an indescribable feeling that he had seen this box somewhere before. It was not until he took another look at it again that it finally struck him where he had seen it before.

'Aha!! I knew this box looked very familiar to me' Arran thought excitedly.

Thinking back to when he had first laid eyes on the box in the station, Arran had always felt a sense of familiarity towards this box, that along with an intense sense of longing. a longing he always felt whenever his parents told him stories in his childhood.

Growing up, Arran had never lived an ordinary childhood.

He and his parents always moved from place to place, be it the arid Arabian desert or the snowcapped mountains of the Himalayas, or getting involved with African guerillas or making deals with South American drug lords, his family had done it all.