“We have to give it back.” Leon exclaimed. Toby turned around and glared at him. “No!” He said. “We can’t! You know what they’ll do to us if they find out we stole it!” “I don’t care! I don’t want to be known as the thief! I’m giving it back with or without you!” Just as Leon was about to leave, Toby snatched away the safe and hugged it against his chest. “You’re not doing anything!” “I must!” Leon shot back, his black eyebrows narrowing down as if he were an angry bird. He took the safe and walked away. Toby stomped his foot against the ground like a child, put his hands behind his neck, and looked at the sky, anxiously.

He stared at Leon who stormed off…it was the perfect moment to buy something. That safe probably had thousands of dollars and Leon just had to ruin that for them. They could buy so many things with that amount of money. Food, clothes, and shoes. Ugh! Why did Leon have to be such a goody two shoes? They were too skinny! Toby put his fingers to his mouth and started biting his fingernails. This was a habit he developed a few years ago when the town went into a crisis. The storm was brutal and it caused the whole town to go into flooding…. Many lives had been taking…including Leon’s parents so Toby had to take care of his cousin himself. His parents had died and he didn’t want to get separated from Leon…. He didn’t want to get separated from Leon…. This thought kept coming in his mind. He promised his aunt and uncle once that if something were to ever happen they would always stay together and not do anything stupid.

“Wait!” Toby called out and raced after Leon who was at the bottom of the hill. Leon turned around but rolled his eyes and continued down the rocky path where he went to the house. He rang the doorbell twice and waited, tapping his worn out shoe against the sidewalk. “Oh no….” Leon murmered when he saw Toby was half way down. Leon knocked and rang the doorbell again and a man with grey hair and brown eyes opened the door. “Uhh, hello Leon…is that my safe?” The man asked and Leon gulped with a nod. “Yes Mr. Phillips…I’m sorry. My cousin and I took it….” Leon’s voice trailed off as he handed the safe back. “It was wrong of us, I know. I don’t know what we were thinking.” Toby came running to Leon and Mr. Phillips, panting. He was just about to speak when Leon nudged Toby’s stomach with his fist. “Please forgive us, sir….” Mr. Phillips looked at the safe, studying it before eyeing the two boys. He put it on a small table next to him and did the code.

The boys stood there with their heads low and Mr. Phillips counted the money before sighing and closing the steel door. “No money had been taken….” He replied and the boys nodded unhurriedly. “Did you know the code?” “W-we memorized it many times when you were opening it…but we didn’t touch it.” Toby said. “You could’ve gotten a lot of stuff with this amount of money. You could’ve just run off with it and had the time of your lives.” “The truth is, sir, we stole it because we needed it to buy things we needed. I know that’s no excuse and Leon is smarter than me. It took me a minute to realize that if I wouldn’t have listened to him and be greedy…we would have gotten in serious trouble and I can’t let him get blamed for something like that.” Toby said and Leon smiled. Mr. Phillips nodded. “I see…well boys, I hope you learned a valuable lesson today.” He remarked. “Definitely!” Leon said. “We regret it very much and hope to earn your trust back someday.” Toby added. Mr. Phillips pursed his lips before shaking his head with a light smile. “Now boys, don’t see this as regret, see it as a learning experience. Someday, you might have kids of your own and you’ll come back to this time when you almost ruined your lives. You’ll tell your children the good and bad times and perhaps they’ll learn something new.” The boys nodded and they chatted for a little while longer before they went back to the picnic tables at the park.

Leon stared at Toby whose eyes looked at the table. His hands were clasped together and he continued to think. Finally, he looked up and sighed quietly. “I know that what we did was wrong…but what are we supposed to do now if we don’t have the money?” Leon looked at the ground, trying to think of what to do. The boys looked to their left a moment later. Mr. Phillips was walking over to them and grinned. “Mind if I sit with you two?” He asked. The boys nodded and he sat down next to Leon with a grunt. “Is everything okay?” Leon asked. “Oh everything’s quite alright, thank you.” Mr. Phillips replied and positioned himself. “I want to talk to you about something….” The boys exchanged glances and Mr. Phillips assured them they weren’t in trouble. “I don’t know why I, or no one has ever done this for you two. You both went through a whole lot more than other people in their entire lifetime…there is this couple in the next town over who could take care of you. They are very nice and have a lot of food to give. Would you like that? To live with these people?” The boys scratched their necks and thought a bit. “Yeah…maybe….” Toby said, though his face looked uneasy. “If you’d like, you could meet them. But I have met these people many times and they’ve always wanted children to care for but were always unsuccessful. You boys could meet them in a day or two.” The boys, again, exchanged glances and after a moment of thinking, they both nodded and Mr. Phillips smiled happily. “Perfect!”

“We have to get it back” I cry out in pain, looking at the missing sword, stolen from our grasps. I clutch at the dirt where it once laid, before enemy guardsmen stole it from my bleeding hands. The blood drops into the soil, as I pound at the empty ground. Rage fills me. We were so close, so close to destroying Grindel, the enemy’s evil beast. I was so close to killing the monster who ripped everything from me.

“Lavina,” Damien says worried, trying to hold my hands from beating the earth. “It’s no use. It’s suicide trying to get through Kieran’s gates. Grindel will be waiting for us, and he’ll surely kill us—“ “I don’t care,” I blurt out. Sobs escape my body and tears flow down my face. “I don’t care if I die, Damien. I just want Grindel dead. He—“ my voice breaks. “—he killed my mother, he killed my brother, and he very well killed my soul. I have nothing to live for if he is not dead!” Sudden anguish fills my bones. “I’ve failed, Damien. I’ve failed my mother and my brother, I’ve—“ Damien gently bent down and held me. “We will get it back, Lavina. I promise,” he whispered. “Even if death awaits us there—“ “We’ll try anyway,” I interrupt. And then he picked me up. I washed my bloodied hands. We assembled a plan and gathered weapons.

In the bleak dusk, Grindel guarded the enemy’s castle. His scared monstrous face fueled my anger. Silently, Damien and I approached the gate and slid under. I caught sight of the sword behind a small weaponry box. Damien and I rushed through with bravery and strength. I grasped the sword as Grindel’s footsteps were nearing. And when the beast attempted to eat me whole, I stabbed the sword through his mouth. The magic from the weapon turned the wicked creature into ash. The sword of revenge did its duty.

” we have to give it back ” ” but why !” I replied A tear fell as I tried to look away. Away from the very thing that could change my life. If luck comes your way would it not be foolish to not grab it with both hands, I thought. ” Taylor you in dream land again, those shops in your head are the only ones that you will be seeing ” I looked at my wise bestie as she now beckoned me up the stairs of the police station. She then became my voice as she explained in full detail about my find and that to hand it in was the Christian thing to do .

The police officers eyes expanded as he counted the large bag of money I gave my details and left him to admire the treasure that would never be mine. But I knew my friend was right when she had told me to give up temptation is much greater than the find.

As the weeks passed I had forgotten about the bag of money that was until I received a call to return to the station. I had nothing else to do so I obliged and hoped that whatever lecture I was about to be given would be a short one for I had calls to make to all those constant chasing bills.

I so hoped they would all just give me more time to try to sort myself out. ” Taylor we have traced the owner of all the cash and they have made it quite clear that it is to be finders keepers because the cash had been deliberately planted ”

A large smile now replaced the sad one.

The police then gave me the number of the one who had gifted me.

After spending the rest of the day paying all of my debts I decided to call the one that had changed my life.

I needed to thank them it was the least I could do.

The call was short due to arranging to meet in a restaurant that was more up market than the McDonald's one that I had been accustomed to. No more big macs and skinny fries for me I thought as I walked into the restaurant from another world.

The gifter was the completion of my dream for it was love at first sight. He had also felt the same way so after his long story of being bored and rich and wanting to help another less fortunate than himself he too became memorized.

A loud silence suddenly enveloped us as we gazed into each others eyes.

” shall we ” he smiled as he placed his hand in mine . ” yes lets ” I purred

“We’ll have to give it back.” It was never ours to keep, but merely hold on to until the rightful owner came back. We though it would be any easy task, but if proved to be anything but.

When the owner gave us the object, and told us we would be paid beyond our dreams for keeping it safe, we though “why not?” He was charming, powerful, we didn’t want to say no. Plus, for two broke artists, any income was welcome.

So he left it with us. We tried to ignore it, and just get on with our art; painting and writing. But it called to us. Glowing, mysterious, it promised to reveal secrets to us if we only listened.

So we listened. My roommate painted what he was shown, and I wrote what I was told. Food was forgotten. All we wanted was the knowledge. Until my roommate changed his mind.

“Maybe he won’t return, we can keep it,” I said. “No, it will control us, we should return it.” Was he crazy?! No, it was ours now. I would not let it go. It was mine, mine alone.

I picked up the object, to my roommate’s protests, and walked into the kitchen. He followed me, still saying something about returning it, or even destroying the object. Never!

The large knife was on the counter. Without realizing what I was doing, I grabbed it and attacked. He fell to the ground, throat slit.

What did I do? I loved him, or I though it did. Odd, as I looked down at his body, I felt nothing.

Walking back to the living room, the owner of the object was back. No idea how get in, but I wasn’t surprised to see him.

“What did you do?” He inquired, a cruel grin on his face.

“He wanted to return it. I want to keep it.” I still held the knife.

“Do you? Well, you cannot own it alone. It is too powerful for you.”

“What do you suggest?” I asked.

He merely reached his hand out, and I switched the knife to the other hand, with the object.

We vanished in green smoke.

We have to give it back. I KNOW we have to give it back. But when I'm holding it as the only thing I have, whether it has meaning or not, I can't. We look at each other and study each other's eyes. I stare deep into her light blue, contemplating eyes as I push my eyebrows up from where they sat. I need to look sure. I need my own eyes to say "I know what we're doing. This is right." But truthfully, neither of us were ready. She puts one hand on the box I'm holding and the other under my bottom hand. She rubs it with her thumb and stares even deeper into my eyes. The blue is so consuming that it's all I can see. An ocean of secrets, yet I still feel comfortable sailing over top of them and wondering of their depths. "I'm ready," I say, almost in a whisper. One corner of her mouth turns upward. It is a happiness of our perseverance, but also a hard truth of what we must do next. She takes one breath, saying "okay," as she does. One more swipe of her thumb goes across my hand before she pulls her hand away and onto the top of the box. My hand feels cold now. I try to focus back into the depths of her ocean eyes. With a few large steps uphill, we are on our way. I feel her eyes burning a hole into my cheek. I hold back a smile and try to continue forward. "I couldn't do this without you," I tell her. I leave my stance forward. She turns forward now too. "You know," she says, "you wouldn't HAVE to do this. It's all because of me." This time a turn back to her. I stop our uphill tread. "What?" She asks as if she's unaware of why I stopped. "Let's sit," I say. "My legs are tired and the chest seems to get heavier with every step I take." She knows this isn't true, or, at least, she should. She knows I want to sit and talk and get lost in her again. I want to make her feel better, to stop her self-blame. To heal her heart by giving her a piece of mine. I want to give her all of me. We rest the chest on a stone to stop it's downhill fall. I sit, crossing my legs over hers. We are silent. It's just us, the sky, the mountain, the breeze pulling its way through the summer air, begging to give some relief. And the chest. It sits there against the stone as we both stare it down. "As long as this journey is a journey with you, I'll continue trekking on." She turns back to me again. Her hand cups my hot cheek, pressing her emotions and truths and secrets into my lips. We shift until her outstretched legs hit the stone away. The chest falls.

“We have to give it back!” I yell at him for like the tenth time. “No we don’t, I keep telling you I won it fair and square!” He yells back. The gauntlet lays there, looking, no staring at us. I glance at it and I get a bad feeling, “Alex, what did you do to get this?” I immediately ask. He glances at it then back at me. “I did what I had to. To protect you, to protect us!” “How could you be so stupid? You didn’t have to hurt anyone!” I yell. “How do you know what I did?” He smirks “you were here, safe.” “You know I can’t stay mad when you give me that goofy smile.” I say smiling for a second then realizing the situation. Then as fast as light my head begins to buzz. “What’s wrong Aquaria?” He asks seriously. “It’s another vision thing.” I answer slowly. Images come at me fast and bright. First my mother and my father fighting. The empty gauntlet holder and museum it was in. The last image was very blurry. It was gone by the time I realized what it was. “What did you see?” He asks curiously. “The merworld is in trouble again.”

“We have to give it back,” says Reese. “But I don’t want to,” Betty whines. “It’s the right thing to do, babe.” He kisses her on the forehead, indicating the argument is over.

Betty doesn’t understand. She’s worked hard- extra hours, multiple jobs- to be able to afford this. It also took a whole lot of luck. Why doesn’t Reese understand? She thought he wanted this too. Is their whole relationship built on misconceptions?

Reese sees how sad Betty is. He almost changes his mind, but his stupid conscience tells him they must return it. “It’s okay, Betty. Another opportunity will come along. I promise,” he smiles sadly. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble, Reese?” She looks so scared. “I’ll make sure nobody finds out. I’ll take it back tonight.” He removes the bundle from her arms.

Now he just needs to figure out how to get this baby back to the hospital.

We have to give it back we have to give Love back. Love is something we think about daily is this really love do they love me back. We love are parents are pets are children and we always say I love you too or love you too them but when it come to a relationship love you have to see if there is a spark or something that say he/she I love them. Something we have too give that love away and it hurts like if you are being killed by the same person every day. Sometimes it will stay but that very rare. We have too give it back love.

“We have to give it back.” Lucy told her brother. “We do not know what this thing is, and we might get into trouble if we don’t return it.” Her younger brother, Luke, didn’t pay attention to what his sister said. He was so focused on that thing that they accidentally stole from their neighbor earlier that day. “Hey! Are you listening to me?” She nudged her brother a little harder than usual. “Relax sis. We’ll return it, but not until I find out what’s inside this thing.” Luke replied.

That thing that they were talking about is a little fancy box that is just the size of an average person’s palm. It had weird markings on the side that looked like a ritual in another language.

“I’m telling you, this is no ordinary box. Who knows, this may be witchcraft!” She already had a very bad feeling the moment that she saw the box, and her anxiousness grows as time passes.

“I’m aware, sis. Still, I’m curious.” He said as he was looking for a way to open the box without breaking it.

“I can’t take it anymore!! Give it to me! I’m taking it back.” She shouted angrily as she grabbed the box from her brother’s hand. Unfortunately, it slipped from her hand and it broke. Inside the box revealed a little clump of black hair, and to her horror, it was accompanied by a few stolen pictures of her. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “This is sick. What the hell is this?” She thought to herself. Her mouth went dry and she couldn’t think of what to say.

Earlier that morning, they wanted to see their friend, Martha, so they went to her house. She lives with her father. Her mother died 3 years before they moved in next door. They knocked on the door while calling her name, but she didn’t answer. They were going to wait outside, but Luke realized that the door wasn’t locked. “What’s the harm? We’re her friends anyway!” He said naively. They went inside but no one was there. The house had a very gloomy and creepy vibe. This is the first time that they’d been inside this house. “Martha?” They called. Still no one was answering. Luke’s attention was caught by the weird box that was placed on the coffee table. “Hey, don’t touch that. That’s not ours.” Lucy said. “Hey I’m just looking at it.” Suddenly, there was a loud bang that came from the basement, followed by the sound of metal that was being dragged on the floor. They got scared and ran back to their house, which leads us back to the present.

The siblings stared at the box on the floor. No one dared to talk, they just looked at it in horror. The silence was broken by the sound of the police sirens. Martha’s father was arrested. And Martha? We’re better off not knowing what happened to her.

“It could’ve been me.”

We have to give it back. Give back. What does it mean? They’ll tell you it means to bless to pass on to love to shine; at least that is what their lips will say. They post their prayer requests on social media and share memes of what it means to be a good person but genuine is as far from what they are at heart. Theyre a work of hypocritical art; theyre ugly. Dont listen to their lies just open your eyes and youll see them for who they are! So when youre walking down the street and a homeless man smiles at you remember he just gave you ALL that he can give. Give it back. When someone tells you they love you when youre at your worst but you KNOW that they mean it, give it back. Whether its a hug or a “how do you do” or a hand written note or someone being vulnerable with you GIVE IT BACK.

Give it back- to return. Return the wonderful things so we can stop expecting the bad. Give it back.