Next

What do you do next? The words replayed in my head after each tool was packed into my bag. I ensure my black notebook with everyone’s tickets is in the side pouch. Who cares what’s next? I have to do this now. Upon placing the final chisel into the bag I noticed the time on my watch. I was late for the expedition. Now, this wasn’t unusual, I was never one for being prompt or sticking to a strict schedule. Yet, this discovery may be worth the extra effort. What do I do next? I grab my things and get to my car. Speeding through traffic I don’t notice anyone else on the roads. I was late, but the world was asleep at this moment. Not for long, I thought, these roads will be backed up on my way home. Maybe, I’ll never go back. What would you do next? Arriving at the airport, I notice the rest of my team unloading their vehicles and they appear to be ready for the ensuing 16 hour flight and the rest they still haven’t received. Some business types pass us by on their way in. We catch up with each other quickly and begin to wheel our bags inside. I pull out the little black notebook with all my notes from previous trips and take out everyone’s tickets. We hustle to our gates to make it in time. Luckily, we arrive at the gates as they are doing a final boarding call. What’s next?

After a long flight we are already looking well rested and ready for whatever we may find. Beyond the airport nothing but sand and a weathered road can be seen for miles ahead of us. Next we do the impossible. Three dune buggies are sequestered on the side of the airport left for our travel. The team locks their bags in and we set off for discovery. I use my notes from my notebook to locate where we need to go. The terrain is very unbalanced and makes the travel much more difficult than expected. Not to worry, there is plenty of gas in these and we don’t have to go that far. We arrive at what looks like an empty field of sand. My team looks unimpressed. They have not seen what I have seen in the past. It will be exciting for me to see their faces, but still more exciting for them. I unload all the tools in my bag and the team follows suit. We begin digging and at first, it seems like I may have been off on my calculations. That is until Roger kicks his shovel down into the deepest part of our dig site. A metallic thud rings out as if an angel began to sing on high. We begin to brush away sand until the object is able to be removed. The box is large and takes everyone to pull it out. Next, we begin working at the lock. After multiple attempts to get the box open it was Roger who came to the rescue. Roger is very good at one thing, kicking shovels. One swift kick to the lock and it popped right off. I scanned my teams faces, the smiles were sizable and I hoped the contents of this box would not be empty. Opening the lid, I was taken aback. The box was not empty. In fact, the box held many riches from a time long forgotten. Roger announced his excitement with expletives. It’s exciting to know you’re about to be richer than you had ever imagined. But even after that realization, the only words that replayed in my head were, what do you do next? What would you do?