Postcard History

By Vera B.

Tucked deep within an upstate forest there are woods where a narrow stream winds like a ribbon through the underbrush. Sunlight filters through a canopy of leaves and the air hums with the quiet rhythm of nature. To most, it’s just another trickle of water lost in the forest’s vastness. But to four teenage boys, it’s everything: their sanctuary or fortress, their world apart.

            They call it “The Hideout.” Reached only by a winding path known to no adult, the stream is flanked by mossy rocks and overhanging branches that form a natural curtain, shielding their secret from prying eyes. Here, they build forts from fallen limbs, throw stones to see who can make the biggest splash, and whisper plans for imaginary missions.

The stream itself becomes a boundary that separates them from their personal kingdoms. For Max, the oldest and group leader, the stream is a wall between him and his abusive father. Eli, the son of a single parent who can only afford a small apartment that is always too hot over the local pizzeria, looks at the stream as a source of soothing coolness. Leo loves the stream; it offers him an escape from his neat-nick mother. The newest member of the group, Sam, has not yet measured how the stream can change his world.

            In this hidden haven, time bends. Hours pass unnoticed as they trade stories, invent games, and share secrets too tender for the schoolyard. The stream listens without judgment, its gentle babble a constant companion. It’s a place where scraped knees and muddy shoes are badges of honor, and where the world feels both infinite and safe.

            For these boys, the stream is more than water—it’s memory in motion. One day, they’ll grow up and drift away, but the Hideout will remain, etched in their minds as the place where friendship was forged and adventure was always just a splash away.

            One day in August, there was a thunderstorm that brought very heavy rain. There were puddles everywhere but at the “Hideout” the stream was working hard to drain the water from the forest. Max was first to arrive.

            When Leo arrived with Sam right behind him, Max assigned roles for their latest mission: to build the ultimate fort before summer ends. But, Sam, eager to fit in, suggested exploring a part of the woods they’ve never dared to enter, the cave at the bend in the stream. It was rumored to be haunted.

            After some wild speculation they decided to wait for Eli, they would honor his vote.

            It turned out that Eli was late because his mother got fired and he had a feeling that it may be necessary to move “away.” But that could wait, today Eli wanted to explore.

            The boys set out at once. They ventured off upstream to the bend with Sam in the lead. They were enjoying each of their discoveries, but when they stumbled upon an old, half-buried metal box near the stream’s edge, everything changed.

            Max suggested that the heavy rain washed the box out of its hiding place. The others agreed and Eli wanted to be the one to open the lid. The hinges were rusted, but Eli soon managed to lift the lid. That old metal box was a true treasure chest; there was an old, faded map that showed a cave next to a stream, a dozen marbles and just as many old coins. Eli set about examining the coins. Leo tried to decipher the map, and Max took to a thorough inspection of the rusty old box.

            There was a journal from a boy who used a place along the stream as a hideout decades ago. Inside the cover was an old Hershey Chocolate bar wrapper with a message that read: Look Up to Find a Real Treasure.

            The journal hinted at a hidden cave upstream, said to hold something valuable, but the cave was guarded by some strange force and that extreme caution should be used before stepping inside.

            All at once tensions rose: Max wanted to resume leadership of their expedition, but Sam rebuffed the challenge by saying his instincts and knowledge of the woods were good enough to proceed and try to find the cave. Fortunately, it was a very short journey. Just a few steps further up the stream Eli spied a cave on the short side of the bend hidden by a fallen tree. Could that tree be the guard mentioned in the journal?

            To heed the message on the candy wrapper Sam gently pushed a branch aside and stepped into the cave’s opening. The first thing he did was to look up. He smiled and called his friends to join him. He sat and watched as the others came to see for themselves what he had found. The message was painted on the ceiling of the cave in white paint; it read: “Friendship is the only real treasure.”

            As the others enjoyed the success of their adventure, Sam soon realized he had talked himself into being the one to find a safe way back to the Hideout. His first decision was a wise one. He suggested that they take the newly found treasures and return to their Hideout. The day was winding down and he was sure he didn’t want to lead his friends downstream in the dark.

            Back at the hideout, they rebuilt parts of their fort using some of the prizes from the cave so it would be stronger than ever. Max thanked Sam for keeping them safe. Eli suggested they bury their own “time-capsule.” Leo began to gather the contents that they would leave for future explorers.

            It was then they remembered that school started again next week, and they promised each other they would return to “The Hideout” next summer. They would be a year older and maybe wiser, but they already realized that their journey and their friendship were more valuable than anything they found.

* * *

My name is Vera Buckhinski, everyone calls me Vera B. After college, I became a teacher of the visually handicapped. My father passed away in 2022 and left behind his collection of postcards. I always wondered why he collected postcards but now that I have seen them, I understand.

Appropriate stories that can be read to the blind are scarce, so I write stories for my students using my father’s postcards as inspiration.

I contributed one of my first stories to Postcard History; it was published on January 16, 2025. I entitled it Arthur and Bridget, A Piano and A Lute, A Love Story.

This story is one I wrote after receiving a scan of a postcard sent to me by the editor of Postcard History Online Magazine. I hope you enjoy it. My students applauded when I finished reading it to them.