Once upon a time there was a 35mm film pot. This film pot lived in a plastic bag with many other film pots. They all had very unusual names. There was Rinker, Tinker, Pinker... Our pot was called Stinker. The bag where all the pots lived was in a drawer which was rarely opened. When it was the light would pour in. Sometimes Stinker would see the light, other times the light was blocked by Rinker, Tinker, Pinker and all the other film pots in the shared plastic bag.
When the drawer was closed all the film pots would talk between themselves. They would share their dreams and aspirations. Rinker and Tinker liked the safety of the plastic bag whilst Pinker and some of the others wanted to be out of the bag and free to roll around the drawer.
Stinker was different to all the other pots in the bag because he had a dream. Not only did he want to leave the bag like many of the other pots, he wanted to leave the drawer too.
The other pots would ask him where he would go if he were to ever leave the safety of the drawer. Stinker would sit there quietly, locked in his fantasies, thinking about all the places a film pot could go. He’d heard rumours that some pots had found new homes at the base of fence posts whilst others had made a home in the bole of trees up and down the land.
Stinker had thought about this but he decided he had been in the dark of the drawer for such a long time he really couldn’t see himself at the base of the post in the shade of the grass. Nor could he see himself in the bole of a tree because in the summer, when all the leaves grow, he’d be back in the dark again. No, Stinker wanted to be somewhere high, somewhere where he could watch the world go by.
Rinker, Tinker, Pinker and the other film pots laughed at the notion that a film pot could have such high hopes. They ask if he’d considered the fact that he would get rained on and end up soaked. This didn’t bother Stinker in the slightest. He wanted to be free. He wanted to feel the sun on his face, the wind through his hair and the rain on his skin. He wanted to... live.
One day the drawer opened and remained opened long enough for Stinker to see out of the drawer and out of the window. He could see a tall pole. Half way up this pole he saw what looked like some sort of cup. His heart began to pound and he got all excited as he wondered if there was any way he could leave the drawer and climb the pole. He could make his home in the cup and surely from up there he would see everything there was to see.
That night the drawer was left open. Stinker decided tonight he was going to start his journey to a new life. He made his way to the opening of the bag and rolled right out. He was now free of the bag but still in the drawer. He looked back at the other pots. Most were now fast asleep but his friends were looking his way. Rinker swallowed hard. Tinker and Pinker sat there, wide eyed, holding their breath. You could have heard a pin drop.
Somehow Stinker managed to climb onto a note pad and a hole-punch that were in the drawer. Before too long he was on the lip of the front of the drawer. He sat there for a moment, catching his breath whilst looking at the pole through the window.
He looked back one last time before dropping to the floor.
The seconds rolled into minutes, the minutes into hours. Stinker was more determined than he had ever been in his life. After what seemed an eternity he found himself outside and right there in front of him was the pole.
Hours rolled into days, days rolled into weeks.
Stinker arrived at the base of the pole. He looked up. He could see the cup. It was so far out of reach he started to wonder if he’d done the right thing by leaving the drawer and his friends. The more he thought about it, the more determined he was that he would never go back there. He was free and was going to stay free. He settled down at the base of the pole to consider how on earth he was going to get to the cup. As he sat there he felt a nudge which made him jump out of his skin. He turned to see... Ugh! It was a slimy thing in a shell. Stinker really wasn’t sure about this creature until it started to talk.
“Who are you?” asked the slimy thing. “I’ve never seen you in these parts before.”
“I’m Stinker” replied Stinker.
“What are you doing here?”
Stinker told the slimy thing, who later introduced himself as Brian, that he used to live in a drawer with his friends but was now free. “I’m going to live up there in that cup and watch the world go by” he said.
“And how are you going to get up there?” asked Brian.
Stinker admitted that he had no idea until Brian came up with an idea. “I am really sticky and have no problems sliding anywhere I want to go. If you will be my friend I’ll help you get up there and I can visit you when I’m in the area” he said.
Stinker was so happy that his lid almost fell off. Brian slimed Stinker and together they started to slide up the pole. It took several hours to reach the cup but when they did Stinker dropped himself into it and immediately felt at home. He was so happy because from up here he could see people, animals, cars and lorries but most of all, he could see the drawer. When the drawer was open he would wave to Rinker, Tinker and Pinker but best of all his new friend, Brian would sometimes slide by for a chat.
Stinker was a very happy film pot. Very happy indeed!
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A traditional cache for all of you who like a bit of a challenge.
Think before you retrieve this cache. If you don't think you can replace as found then please don't attempt to retrieve it.
This cache is very close to a housing estate however the residents know its there.
Congratulations to Jaynie15 on being FTF