A masterpiece from the past

In a dimly lit room, the students began discussing what had just happened.

"Where are we?" asked Amnay.

"Wait, is it possible that the old man kidnapped us? I doubted him because of his mustache," said Assoulil.

"Are you serious? Just because of his mustache?" replied Arinas.

"Guys, calm down. There are six of us. If someone tries anything, we'll defend ourselves," said Titrit confidently.

"Silly museum," grumbled Assirm angrily.

Suddenly, the room was illuminated as someone switched on the light. The sound of an elevator descending echoed through the air. Moments later, the elevator doors opened, and Mr. Mano entered, greeting them as if it were the first time they had met.

"Sorry, I prefer using the elevator. Being an old man, I can't keep up with you youthful folks," he said, letting out a hearty laugh.

"Mr. Mano, you need to explain what's going on," demanded Amnay.

"Oh, mustache man! We need to get out of here," exclaimed Assoulil.

"But not before seeing the museum's treasures. Oh no, no, no. You have all been selected to start this adventure—one that will change the world."

"Just explain what this is all about, and then go change the world yourself," said Assirm, rolling his eyes.

"Don't be rude, Mr. Assirm. Everything will be revealed in due time," replied Mr. Mano, maintaining his composure.

"Mr. Mano, we can't take any more of this," said Arinas.

"Yes, I completely agree with Arinas," added Titrit.

"I think you should tell us the truth," said Erna firmly.

Mr. Mano's expression shifted. He pulled up a chair, sat down, and began, "Where should I begin? The owner of this museum received numerous letters from an unknown sender claiming that there is a time machine hidden in this museum. Of course, it's in the restricted section, hidden away from the average visitor."

"But why?" asked Amnay.

"With a time machine, we could change everything—history, the future, everything!"

"Not to mention we could bring back artifacts from any time period, which means… money!" said Titrit, her eyes lighting up. "Let's find this machine. I've already read a lot about it."

"That's my dream—time travel! It's going to be real!" said Erna excitedly.

"This is going to be a flashy adventure," said Assoulil.

"That's amazing! I can finally see how ancient museums were built. It's inspiring," said Arinas.

"And finally, a little excitement," said Assirm sarcastically.

"Now you know why I asked you about your dreams. You are the right people for this task. My work here is done. See you soon," said Mr. Mano.

"Wait, where should we go?" asked Amnay.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot," replied Mr. Mano.

He pulled a large key from his pocket and unlocked a secret door. Gesturing for them to enter, he left in the same elevator.

The group—Amnay, Erna, Assoulil, Assirm, Arinas, and Titrit—were still confused but ready for the mission. They walked through a dark tunnel in silence until Assoulil spoke.

"We should appoint a leader. We need to be organized."

"I agree," said Erna. "I suggest Amnay. He's intelligent, dependable, and has all the qualities of a leader."

"Come on, Erna, I can't be a leader," said Amnay.

"Who should it be then?" asked Arinas, but no one answered except Assirm, who expressed his lack of interest.

"I can be the leader, but you'll have to pay me," joked Titrit.

"Come on, Titrit. Are you serious?" said Assoulil.

"Okay, guys, calm down. I'll be the leader. Does anyone object?" asked Amnay.

No one answered.

"First of all, our goal is to find the time machine. We must search every inch of this place and preserve any artifact we find. If anyone discovers anything unusual, they should call the rest of us. Our next meeting will be in two hours to discuss our progress. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded and replied, "Yes."

They began walking, flashlights in hand. As they reached the end of the tunnel, they entered a vast room. It was magical—a library, but instead of books, it was filled with artifacts. Their eyes sparkled with amazement.

"Now, let's search. If anyone finds something strange, let us know," said Amnay.

"Okay, leader," they all agreed.

Each student took a different path, and the adventure began.

Amnay marveled at artifacts he had only read about in encyclopedias. While amazed, he couldn't help but wonder why some artifacts belonged to other countries. He dismissed it as coincidence and continued searching.

Arinas started drawing a map, marking each artifact's location with an "X." She planned to use this to organize her future museum.

Assirm, though bored, inspected every artifact with a magnifying glass, looking for hidden buttons or mechanisms.

On the fourth path, Titrit excitedly began estimating the value of each artifact.

Assoulil started categorizing the artifacts chronologically, hoping to identify the oldest ones.

Erna studied his phone, staring at a picture of a strange open box with a number plate.

"Wait… is this the time machine we're searching for?"

Let's delve into how Erna came across this picture. Before winning the chance to visit the national museum, Erna had noticed that his father often came home very late, which made him curious about the reason. One evening, his father came home late again, but this time, Erna was still awake. He watched as his father went into his office and opened a picture, but Erna couldn't see what it was. Suddenly, his father's phone rang, and he went outside to answer the call, leaving the office unattended. This was Erna's perfect opportunity to sneak in and take a picture of the mysterious object.

The next day, Erna began researching what he had seen. He searched online and in books but couldn't find anything related to the object, except for a peculiar number plate. The box seemed ancient, almost like an artifact, and Erna started forming hypotheses. As the saying goes, "The cub inherits from the lion," and Erna seemed to have inherited his father's detective skills.

He remembered stories about mysterious blood drops discovered in the museum twenty years ago and wondered if they could somehow be connected to the box. Could it be a time machine? Erna had always been fascinated with the concept of time travel, and this discovery felt like his golden opportunity to investigate—especially now that he had been selected to visit the national museum, a treasure trove of artifacts.

At the museum, Erna meticulously searched for anything that resembled the box in the photo. Eventually, he noticed a large box sitting in a corner. Cautiously, he approached it and started to open it. What he found inside made his jaw drop in astonishment.

"Wait, is this for real?" he muttered.

Inside, he found a piece of paper that looked ancient, written in a language only archaeology students might understand. Erna began deciphering it, but something seemed off—the text was incomplete. The first line hinted at something profound, but the second line didn't seem to connect. Then, a crazy idea struck him, and he smiled. Maybe the rest of the text was scattered elsewhere, and he or his friends could find it.

Erna decided to share his discovery with his friends. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Assoulil exclaim:

"Guys! Guys! I found something interesting!"

They all rushed toward Assoulil one by one.

"Look!" said Assoulil. "It's another piece of text! I found it in a box, written in the same language we studied at university. But it seems incomplete."

Amnay, Arinas, Assirm, and Titrit froze in disbelief. Then Arinas said:

"Wait, I found something similar a while ago, but I didn't pay much attention to it. I thought it wasn't important or connected to the time machine."

To everyone's shock, Amnay, Assirm, Titrit, and Erna pulled out similar papers from their pockets.

Erna exclaimed, "Yes! This is exactly what I was thinking!"

"Wait," said Amnay, "are these papers interconnected?"

"It seems so," Erna replied. "This could be our first clue to finding the time machine."

Erna then explained the story behind the mysterious photo and asked if anyone had seen anything resembling the box. Unfortunately, no one had. Then Amnay suggested:

"Let's collect all the papers we have. Titrit, can you organize them?"

"Of course," said Titrit.

Titrit carefully arranged the papers on a small table. To their amazement, the pieces fit together to form a text—or perhaps a puzzle meant for archaeologists to solve.

Amnay began thinking deeply. Why six papers? And why did the museum's owner choose us? A strange feeling crept over him as he stared at the assembled text.