First Steps to Cahokia

Maya flipped through her history textbook, her long black hair slipping across her shoulder. The thin pages whispered under her fingers. "I don't get it, Felix. How could a city just... disappear?"

Felix pushed his untamed red hair from his green eyes and looked up from his tangled yo-yo string. "What city?"

"Cahokia. My teacher said it was huge, bigger than London back then. And now it's just gone." She closed the book with a soft thump.

Sketch, Maya's sleek black cat, had been pretending to nap but now padded across the wooden floor of their treehouse with sudden purpose. The boards creaked softly as he nosed the ornate puzzle box from its hiding place. Corn stalks and tiny buildings were carved into the wood, smoothed by touch and time.

"You think we should have a trip there, Sketch?" Maya crouched, the box cool against her palms. The room seemed to hold its breath.

She looked up at Felix, who'd abandoned his yo-yo battle to sit beside her. "If we open it, we go. Are we ready for that tonight?"

Felix glanced from the open textbook to the window, where the leaves trembled in the evening breeze. His grin was nervous and excited at once. "Then let's go see Cahokia."

"What if it sets us down somewhere dangerous?"

"Then we stay together." He scooted closer. "We always do."

Maya's thumb found the tiny sliding panel, and Sketch settled between them with a knowing purr. "On three?"

Felix moved beside her, close enough that she felt the warmth of his shoulder.

"One. Two. Three."

She lifted the lid.

A soft hum rose from the box. Warm light seeped from the carvings and swelled until it filled the treehouse. The dust in the air turned to glittering specks. The floor tilted. Maya grabbed Felix's hand. Sketch's tail brushed her wrist. 

The treehouse spun around them, and adventure began.