'Our Little Treasure'

    As soon as the siblings reached a clearing of the trees, Lucas doubled over the closest one to him to catch his breath. When Lucas found the energy to stand up straight, he glanced around to find where Sally had stopped. Suddenly, over the rushing sound of the river, Lucas heard crying. Sally crying. Thankfully she sounded close by.

    Lucas darted from tree to tree, searching the area around him. He found Sally on the ground next to a fallen tree branch. Tears were falling down her face and she was holding a bloody knee. Lucas looked at Sally with a frozen worried face.

    "Oh my god... Sally. Sally are you okay?" Lucas asked frantically as he rushed over to his sister and knelt beside her. 

    Sally was sobbing uncontrollably, but still tried to explain what happened, "I-I-I tripp-ped and f-f-falled on my kn-kneeeeee!!!!" She wailed, still holding the wound in her hand.

    Lucas took hold of his sister's hand and pulled it away from her leg. Her knee was badly scratched up, and already bruising. Lucas looked around and tried to think quickly of what to do, but it was hard for him to concentrate over the roaring river.

    River.

     "Hold on Sally, I'll take care of it." Lucas said sweetly as he picked up his sister carefully and carried her like an infant. Lucas took Sally to the bank of the river and sat her down in the grass. Sally had held on the crying and now was only sniffling with a few tears falling here and there. Seeing his sister's strength made Lucas smile.

    Lucas looked at his left shoulder and tore the sleeve off his t-shirt. He wet the cloth in the river's water and dabbed it onto Sally's knee. Sally winced at first, but only because the water was colder than she expected. Soon the blood was stopped and washed off, now the wound didn't look near as bad as before. Still bruised, but it wouldn't be a scar.

    "What are we going to tell mommy and daddy?" Sally asked with large eyes.

    Lucas stared at the scrapes on Sally's knee and his now-bare shoulder, but he couldn't think of anyway to connect the two problems for a cover-up. He sighed and placed his fist of his forehead, still trying to come up with something.

    "I falled." Sally pipped up.

    Lucas shook his head, "No Sally, you fell."

    "I fell." She said correctly. "I was pushed. By a bigger boy at the school." Sally started to say. This caught Lucas's attention, Sally could have been pushed. The boys around this town aren't the nicest. But then Lucas shook his head again, "Good try Sally, but what about my shirt?"

    "You gotted mad at the boy and then you pushed him, but he grabbed your shirt and ripped it when he fell." Sally finished with a proud smile.

    Lucas turned to look at his sister and thought about her idea. It could work, it made sense. Lucas definitely would hurt anyone who hurt his sister. He grinned widely and pat his sister on the head, "Maybe you're not such a goody-goody after all, sis." Sally giggled and took off her shoes, dipping her feet into the river's cool water. Lucas laughed and did the same.

    While Sally kicked her feet in the water, something shimmering underneath the water's surface caught the girl's eye. Sally stood up and crouched in the water, careful not to get her clothes wet. Lucas watched his sister curiously, wondering what she saw. After digging around the mud for a minute, Sally pulled a shiny icicle-shaped rock out of the river bed. Lucas stood up with a gawked expression on his face, and crouched next to his sister to get a better look at what she'd found.

    "Oh hey," Lucas began to say, "That's a... Uhm.. Oh yea. That's an onyx crystal." He said as Sally handed him the rock. Lucas held the crystal up to the sunlight. The crystal gave off a dark but charming glow in the light. Sally ooh'd at the pretty rock with an interested look.

    "We learned about crystals and other rocks in my Geology class. Apparently every crystal gives off an aurora of power. Some crystals can increase your happiness if in possession, others can decrease your anxieties, and so on."

    Sally listened carefully with and open mind, "What does the Anix one do?" 

    Lucas laughed, "Onyx, it's a protection crystal. If you keep it close to you, no negative energy can harm you."

    The young girl had a smile spread across her face, she was both excited about the gem and proud that she found it in the first place. "Can we keep the treasure, Lucas?"

    "Of course we can, Sally. In fact, I want you to keep it." Lucas said with a smile. "My little sister needs all the protection she can get. When we get home, I'll find a way to put this on a necklace, so you can always keep it close to you." Lucas stood up and held out his hand to help his sister. When they were both standing, they began walking back through the woods from the direction they came in. 

    "I had fun at the river, Lucas." Sally giggled as she continued to hold her big brother's hand, "Can we do it again? As long as we don't tell mommy or daddy, they'll never know." She said, using her free hand to play with the onyx.

    Lucas looked down at his younger sister and laughed, "Maybe one day we'll do it again, Sally."