When spring returned, the ice melted and left hollow pockets beneath the metal. Loose soil and small pebbles slipped into the empty spaces, allowing the chest to settle slightly, only for the cycle to repeat. Inch by inch, year by year, the mound had grown, announcing the buried secret.
The explanation made sense, almost soothing in its logic. Nature, not human hands, had revealed the truth. Yet Walter felt no relief. The real mystery wasn’t how the chest surfaced, but why a cache of weapons lay hidden beneath a suburban backyard in the first place.