Seven for a Secret Never to be Told

They cleaned off their find with warm, soapy water and an old toothbrush while they waited for their pizzas to cook, drying it off with kitchen roll. It was the size and thickness of a small biscuit and made of wood. Lines had been scored around the edge and roughly marked notches and grooves had been made with a knife on one side to form the image of a bird and on the other to scratch the letter T. Mia and Safi looked at it in wonder.

‘What d’you think Nan?’ asked Mia as her Nan put a plate of pizza slices in the middle of the table and gave them a plate each with instructions for them to wash their hands and tuck in.

‘It looks like it’s hand-made,’ she said turning it over. ‘What do you think?’

‘That’s definitely a T. I reckon that’s the initial of the person who carved it,’ said Safi taking a big bite of pizza.

‘That’s a good idea. Um… there’s Tilly, Tamsin, Tammy, Trina…’

‘Could be a boy though,’ said Safi. ‘What about Tom, there’s a Tom in my class and a Toby.’

‘Trevor?’ offered Mia’s Nan standing by the kitchen door holding a cup of tea.

‘Or Tyson,’ said Mia gulping back cola and supressing a burp. ‘D’you think its Roman?’

‘Or a Viking token from a game or something. We’re doing the Vikings at school and they made wooden pieces for board games,’ said Safi.

‘I don’t think it’s that old,’ said Mia’s Nan, ‘it would have rotted away in the ground if it was that old. It’s probably less than a hundred years old. And what about the other side? Is that a bird do you think? A bird with a long cloak…look at that straight line there.’ She pointed at the bird and traced her finger along the line.

They passed the wooden token between each other until Mia’s Nan took out her magnifying glass and handed it to Mia. Mia peered through the lens then suddenly drew in her breath in recognition.

‘I know what it is. Look here.’ She passed the magnifying glass to Safi so that he could see what she meant. ‘Can you see? It’s a magpie. Nan, look. It’s a magpie.’