It was half-term, and Kyri was thrilled—he was going to stay with Auntie Mel in Stroud for a few days. Auntie Mel always had the best ideas for adventures, and her house was filled with art supplies, bright colours, and posters of faraway places.
“Are we going to do experiments, Auntie Mel?” Kyri asked the minute Mum dropped him off.
“Even better,” Auntie Mel said with a wink. “We’re going to solve a mystery.”
Kyri’s eyes lit up. “What mystery?”
Auntie Mel pulled a rolled-up piece of paper from her shelf. “I found this old map in the attic. It looks like it leads to something important.”
Kyri unrolled the map carefully. It was covered in doodles of mountains, trees, rivers, and strange symbols—almost like a pirate map, but different.
“What’s this bit?” Kyri asked, pointing to a spiral in the middle.
“That’s where we’re headed,” Auntie Mel said. “It’s marked ‘The Spiral of Secrets.’ We’re going to follow the map and see where it leads.”
Following the Map
The next morning, they set out on the adventure. Auntie Mel packed a sketchbook, snacks, and her favourite pens (“Just in case we need to draw something important,” she said). Kyri carried the map, a magnifying glass, and his compass.
The map led them through Stroud’s rolling hills and winding footpaths. The fields were green and bright, dotted with sheep that stared at them like they knew something they didn’t.
“Stroud has so many paths,” Auntie Mel said. “Did you know it’s famous for its old mills and valleys?”
“I didn’t!” Kyri said, scribbling that fact in the notebook Auntie Mel gave him.
As they followed the map, Kyri noticed something odd. Each time they passed a landmark—a twisted oak tree, a small stream, a wooden stile—there were symbols carved into the stones nearby.
“It’s like the map is coming to life,” Kyri said, squinting at the carvings.
Auntie Mel grinned. “Then we’re definitely on the right track.”
The Hidden Cave
The map led them down a narrow, overgrown path that disappeared into a small wood. At the base of a hill, they found an opening hidden behind ivy.
“It’s a cave!” Kyri said, brushing the leaves aside.
Auntie Mel crouched down and shone her torch into the darkness. “Looks safe enough. Shall we go in?”
Kyri nodded. “Adventure rule number one: never stop exploring.”
Inside, the cave was cool and damp, its walls covered in strange patterns—more spirals and symbols, just like the ones on the map.
Kyri held up the magnifying glass. “These look like they were drawn ages ago.”
“Maybe it’s a message,” Auntie Mel said, taking out her sketchbook. She started drawing the patterns while Kyri explored deeper into the cave.
Suddenly, Kyri shouted, “Auntie Mel! Look!”
In the very centre of the cave, they found a large stone shaped like a spiral. Light filtered through a crack in the ceiling, illuminating the patterns on the ground.
“It’s the Spiral of Secrets,” Auntie Mel whispered. “We found it!”
The Message in the Light
Kyri stared at the spiral. “But what does it mean?”
“Let’s figure it out,” Auntie Mel said. “Sometimes light reveals things you can’t see otherwise.”
She positioned her torch and shone it across the spiral, and suddenly, the lines lit up, forming a map within the map.
Kyri gasped. “There’s more! Look—it’s pointing to the top of the hill!”
The Final Clue
They climbed out of the cave and scrambled up the hill, following the new clues. At the very top, they found a small stone circle—three stones arranged in a triangle. In the middle sat an old, rusted box.
Kyri’s heart thudded as he lifted the lid. Inside was a notebook filled with beautiful sketches—drawings of trees, animals, valleys, and more symbols, all made by someone long ago.
“It’s like someone was mapping their adventures,” Auntie Mel said, flipping through the pages.
Kyri grinned. “It’s an explorer’s diary! This was their way of leaving clues for people like us.”
Auntie Mel looked at Kyri thoughtfully. “Maybe we should add to it. We can draw what we’ve found today and leave it for the next explorers.”
Kyri nodded excitedly. “Let’s do it!”
Leaving Their Mark
Back at Auntie Mel’s house, they carefully added their own pages to the notebook—Kyri’s map of their journey, Auntie Mel’s drawings of the spiral cave, and Kyri’s notes about the symbols and light.
“What do we call it?” Kyri asked.
Auntie Mel thought for a moment, then smiled. “How about The Map of Hidden Adventures?”
Kyri beamed. “Perfect.”
That evening, as Kyri lay in bed staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, he thought about the spiral, the symbols, and the notebook.
The world was full of secrets waiting to be found—and with Auntie Mel, every adventure was only just beginning.