-At the park-

"So, I guess this is where I can leave you?" Changjo asked.

You nodded, "Yep, I should be safe enough here that you won't have to worry about me." You said as you stuck your tongue out in a teasing gesture.

Changjo laughed as he turned around to walk away. Your smile faded a bit as he turned because it had actually been fun talking to him. You didn't know it, but he was also disappointed about having to part ways so soon. You sighed as you watched his retreating back.

"Well, at least I have a reason to look forward to school on Monday now," you mumbled to yourself while swinging slowly on the swing set.

It had only taken 10 minutes to walk to the park and it wouldn't even take 5 minutes to walk home, so you still had a little more than 25 minutes all to yourself. Being bored and not wanting to head home right away, you decided to take this chance to look over the box some more. Earlier when you were inspecting it, you hadn't seen the key to wind the music, so you wanted to see if you could find it now.

Flipping the box over, you examined the bottom of the box where a key would normally be found. However, you saw nothing. Sighing, you ran your hand over the bottom just to make sure that it was smooth and didn't have any hidden latches or anything. Still nothing.

You turned the box back over and flicked open the lid. Of course you hadn't seen anything the first time, but you were hoping you had overlooked something. Once again, you were disappointed to find everything the way you had seen it the first time.

Exasperated, you were about ready to throw the box far away no matter what it was worth, and there was no doubt in your mind that you would've thrown it if something hadn't something stopped you. As you were raising the box over your shoulder, you had heard a tiny shift in the contents of the box. Which meant that something was definitely inside it. Opening the box once more, you examined the tiny doll on the inside.

You hadn't noticed before, but now you realized that she was standing inside a tiny circle of red velvet that was surprisingly well-disguised. It blended into the rest of the velvet as if nothing was different, but she was in fact standing on top of a "stage" of sorts. You also now realized that the raised platform the whole thing was on was actually a box-within-a-box. How clever! you thought with excitement.

Upon this new discovery, the first thing you tried to do was lift the top part of the platform. You were hoping it wouldn't have any kind of lock on it, but you weren't surprised to find that it did not open.

Since the platform also needed some kind of key, you decided to figure that out later. For now, you wanted to see what would happen if you used the girl as a key to wind the music. With that in mind, you carefully used your index inger and thumb to twist the girl clockwise.

At first the girl wouldnt turn because of lack of use (you had no idea how long it's been since the last time the music box was wound), but with much persistence on your part, she loosened and gradually became easier to wind. Once she wouldn't turn any more, you released your grip and allowed her to spin in the opposite direction. The turning of the child released a chorus of haunting notes from within the box. Behind the surprisingly clear notes, you could faintly hear a steady ticking sound like a clock keeping time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpljm2msbEk Of course it wouldn't have been quite so long, but this is more or less what the tune played sounded like).

Closing your eyes, you allowed the music to wash over you as you listened and you felt a cold chill run down your spine from the mood of the melody. The music sounds as though it's reminiscing. It kind of makes you feel sad...

And then it stopped.

The music ceased and you heard a loud click right after the last note. Looking down, you saw that the surface on which the girl stood on had been unlocked and was opened a crack. Inhaling deeply, you could smell dust as if the compartment had not been opened for at least 50 years. It also smelled a little musty and it made you cough, so you pulled one of your sleeves down to cover your hand and you then used your cloth-covered hand as a sort of filter over your mouth. Setting the box on your lap, you used your free hand to push up the lid of the compartment inside the box.

Wrapped carefully around the bedplate of the components of the music box was a thick black ribbon with an oval-shaped purple stone. A mysterious necklace to be found in a place such as this.

Unwinding the ribbon from the bedplate and lifting it out of the box, you stared intently at the charm hanging from the ribbon.