Lucho has always found homework boring. But when he draws a mind map to plan an essay on stolen gold, something very strange happens. The mind map is trying to tell him something. But what is it?
Eva was sitting on the grass with her back to the library, reading her history textbook. Lucho tried to walk slowly and calmly towards her, but his legs carried him quickly. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the little yellow bird flying from one tree to another.
'Eva,' he said softly.
Eva turned and looked at him. She was angry.
'What?' answered Eva. Her voice was cold.
'You have to believe me, Eva. Something strange is happening. When I was at the computer just now, the words "Take it back" appeared.'
'Take what back?' asked Eva. 'What are you talking about?'
'It's time to show her the pendant,' thought Lucho. His grandmother had told him that one day the pendant would ask him to take it back home. Eva could help him. He put his hand in his pocket and brought out the blue bag.
'Look,' he said. 'I have never shown this to anybody.'
'What is it?' asked Eva.
'It's a pendant. I think it might be guaca,' he answered.
Lucho gave the blue bag to Eva. She opened it carefully and took out the pendant.
'Isn't it beautiful?' asked Lucho.
'It's very beautiful,' Eva said quietly.
'My grandmother gave it to me,' he explained. 'She said I had to look after it, but that one day it would ask me to take it home. I used it to draw the mind map yesterday. I couldn't think what to write in the circles, so I stopped. When I opened my notebook in the library, I saw those words for the first time. I'm telling the truth. I promise, Eva.'
Eva put the pendant back into the blue bag and gave it back to Lucho.
'My grandmother's name was Esmeralda,' continued Lucho. 'When she was working at the hotel, an American man gave her the pendant to take care of while he went to Bogotá. The man never returned. I don't know the name of the hotel but maybe it was the Hotel Continental. I tried to find some information about it on the Internet, but I couldn't.'
Eva's phone beeped loudly and they both jumped. She had received a message.
'What's wrong?' asked Lucho.
'The message,' she said slowly. 'It says "Take it back".'
'The same message as the one on the computer screen!' said Lucho slowly. 'Eva, I'm not sure, but I think the pendant is asking us to help it. I think it's asking us to take it home.'
'But that's impossible,' said Eva. 'That would be magic.'
Lucho didn't know what to say. So many strange things had happened since he had seen the little yellow bird outside the history class window. And now the same message had appeared on the computer screen and on Eva's phone. Eva was right. It was like magic.
'Eva,' he said, 'will you help me?'
