Ten-year-old Jason stood before a huge mansion that looked like an old European castle. The giant building made him feel as small as a toy action figure.
He imagined archers perched on top of the stone walls, their bows notched with arrows to fire at intruders below. A blitz of arrows whizzed past him. Swish! Swish! Swish! Then the archers crouched behind a wall covered with crawling vines.
Jason and his younger brother Fred had just finished a summer Bible camp on the mansion’s grounds. He and Fred were waiting for a ride home. The camp director, Logan, got a call from their parents. A flat tire was delaying their arrival.
Logan offered to give the boys a tour of the castle until their mom and dad could come. It was normally off-limits for campers.
“Wahoo!” Eight-year-old Fred pumped his fist in the air when Logan mentioned the tour. Fred’s cheer snapped Jason out of his imaginary castle attack.
“Do you think there are any secret passages?” Jason asked Fred. “Or hidden tunnels?” His mind whirled with excitement at what they would discover. Jason had read about castles for a school project. He’d learned that many of them had secret passages and hidden tunnels.
“Is this a real castle?” Jason asked Logan.
“Not quite,” Logan said, stroking his gray beard. “It was built to be like a castle.”
“Why?” Jason asked, blowing a brown curl out of his eyes.
“The owner wanted a summer home outside the city for his kids,” Logan said. “A place to spark curiosity and enjoy nature.”
“That explains the location,” Jason mumbled, his finger tapping his chin. “But not the castle part.”
Fred hopped from foot to foot. “Can we see it now?”
Logan smiled. “Let’s go explore the castle.”
Jason’s bright, green eyes darted toward Fred. There was more to the story. And he wanted to know the answer. But for now there was a castle to explore and a brother to chase.
Fred dashed ahead toward a door that stood beneath an aging archway. The sunlight bounced off his golden hair. Jason sprinted after him, with Logan close behind.
Logan held open the heavy wooden door for the boys.
Slam! Everyone flinched as the door snapped shut behind them.
Their eyes adjusted to the dimly lit area. From two narrow windows above a mounting stairway, sunlight beamed down.
“This house was built in 1928,” Logan said.
That number revealed the castle was old! The oldest person Jason knew was his grandpa. And he was 71-years-old.
“The man who built the house ran a newspaper in the city,” Logan said. “He published stories about big companies or powerful people doing wrong things. And this made some people unhappy.”
Jason tapped his foot, thinking. “Did those people try to find him?”
Logan nodded. “To protect his family, the house was built like a castle.”
“So they could hide in secret passages if bad guys came?” Jason asked, his voice rising. Now things were getting interesting!
Logan clapped his hands together. The sound echoed off the walls. “Exactly.”
Jason and Fred looked at each other in amazement.
“So, are you ready to find a secret passage?” Logan said. “Follow me!”
He led the boys up the staircase. Their shoes clomped on the steps. At the top, they took a winding narrow hallway and turned into a room lined with windows. Sunshine splashed across the wooden floorboards.
“How do you know so much about this place?” Jason asked.
Logan chuckled. “Because the owner was my grandfather.”
“So your family owns this place?” Jason asked. Owning a castle would be so cool!
“Yes, along with my brother and sister.” Logan said. “But they don’t live in the area anymore. I always wanted to run a Bible camp, so I started one here.”
“Why don’t you let all the campers see this place?” Jason asked.
“The house is old,” Logan explained. “ My siblings and I agreed to reserve it for camp staff trainings—or to give tours to campers whose parents are late.”
Jason tried to hide his smile at Logan’s joke. Fred giggled.
“Can you find the secret passage?” Logan asked. “The entrance is hidden somewhere in this room.”
Jason loved a good challenge. Today kept getting better and better.
Ring! Ring! Logan pulled his cell phone from his pocket. “Let me take this,” he said. “I’ll be right back.” He stepped out into the hallway.
Left alone in the room, Jason and Fred started their search. They crawled on hands and knees to peer under couches, end tables, and rugs. Then they looked inside a closet, but found nothing there. They even tapped and tugged along the walls and floorboards.
“Where could it be?” Fred asked, scanning the room.
Jason knew Fred’s expression all too well. It was the same one that flashed across his face right before checkmating him in chess. But he couldn’t get upset at losing to Fred. His little brother never bragged about winning. Instead, he showed Jason how he could have checkmated him.
Fred walked to the closet and opened the door. Light from the window shone into the shadows. There on the wall, in a back corner near the floor, was a framed square.
“Could this be it, bro?” Fred asked.
Jason squatted low to pull on a corner of the square frame. He pried the square open with his fingers. It felt like they’d just found buried treasure.
Fred leaned over Jason’s shoulders. “Checkmate,” he murmured.
“Seriously, bro!” Jason said. “This must be it! Let’s crawl through the hole. I’ll go first.” He entered the hole on hands and knees. Fred followed. Only the barest light shone behind them through the opening into the closet.
After giving their eyes time to adjust to the darkness, Jason led them onward. The crawl space led to a more open area just big enough for the two of them to stand. A little light filtered down from above. Wooden slats were nailed to the wall, spaced like steps on a ladder.
“Ready to climb?” Jason asked.
“Can I go first?” Fred blurted out.
Jason grinned. Typical little brother move, but he didn’t mind. After all, Fred was the one who actually discovered the secret passage. “Sure.”
Fred climbed up, with Jason right behind. But at the top, there was only another crawl space, just as cramped and narrow as the first one below.
“This is so cool!” Fred hollered.
Jason agreed. “Wait for me!” he called back. He felt like he was inside a tunnel slide made from wood. He could barely make out where they were going with Fred blocking the light.
Fred scooted faster, with Jason close behind. Traces of light came through cracks between planks that blocked their way forward.
“Now where to?” Fred asked.
“What do you mean?’ Jason asked.
“Well, it’s blocked by boards,” Fred said.
Jason’s hand touched something smooth and square tucked against the tunnel wall. Something like a box. “I found something!”
“Really?” Fred said.
“I can’t make out much in this light,” Jason said. “Let’s head back. We’ll get a better look once we’re out.”
Jason led them back through the passageway. Eventually they reached the closet’s square exit and entered the brightly lit room.
Jason carried back his discovery. “Let’s see what we found!”
It looked like a box for a game. Silver lettering was etched on the blue top.
“To the Ends,” Jason slowly read.
