Divers

The attic was full of divers treasures that Caitlin had seen only once before. As she moved around the dusty space, ducking to avoid crossbeams and cobwebs, she wished her grandfather were here again to take her by the hand and show her each item he had collected. She recognized the porcelain gourd from China, the elephant tusk from Africa, the large hunk of Stone from Berlin. As a girl she'd been transfixed by her grandfather's wild tales of adventure and secret missions. And then she'd been heartbroken when he sighed at the end and said in a dull monotone, "Now, Catie, this is all make-believe, of course." She'd felt slightly betrayed, as if the stories were lies rather than harmless entertainment.

Only now, twenty years later, when two men in dark suits and darker shades showed up at her door with a carefully folded American flag, did she realize the truth. Her grandfather had lied, but not about what she had once thought.