Anton Finds A Treasure

Note: This story gained recognition when it received an Honourable Mention in the Hamilton, Ohio Writers Guild 2009 Fiction Contest.

In this story Anton’s weekend assignment is to write a paragraph on what he treasures most in life. He can’t make up his mind whether to choose his toy train, his special knife or one of the many possessions that he considers a treasure. He’s anxious to finish his assignment so that he can have the boys over for a sleep-over on Saturday night. On Friday night, Mom goes to a meeting and leaves Dad babysitting his 2 year old sister, Miliana. Dad falls asleep on the chesterfield and when Mom comes home she is horrified to find that Miliana has climbed out of her crib and is wandering around the neighbourhood in the dark. Anton is instructed to stay at home in case a neighbour brings Miliana home. Mom and Dad go looking for Miliana. However, Anton is so worried about his little sister that he imagines all sorts of things happening to her. He disobeys his parents and goes looking for her himself. He finds her in a building site and brings her home. He feels like a hero until the next morning when Dad informs him that due to his disobedience his sleep-over with the boys is cancelled. He phones the boys to explain . They understand and when Anton has time to think about it he realizes that he found a treasure in his little sister. It was the easiest assignment he ever had to do.

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