When my toy hippo came to life part-3 The secret message

 

The Day My Toy Hippo Came to Life – Part Three: The Secret Message

It had been three days since Bubbles, Jen’s tiny stuffed hippo, mysteriously came to life. In those three days, he had already refused biscuits, demanded pizza, and declared pigeons his mortal enemies.

Now, as rain drummed against Jen’s window, Bubbles lay on his back, tossing a crumpled bit of paper in the air.

“I’m bored,” he groaned.

Jen, curled up with a book, barely looked up. “We spent all morning building a blanket fort, solving a fake mystery, and making hot chocolate. How can you be bored?”

Bubbles sighed dramatically. “I was hoping something exciting would happen.” He tossed the paper again, and this time, it bounced off Jen’s head.

She frowned and picked it up. “What is this?”

Bubbles shrugged. “Dunno. Found it under your desk.”

Jen smoothed it out. It was an old, yellowed note, the edges torn like it had been crumpled up for years. And written in messy, looping handwriting were three words:

FIND THE KEY.

The Mystery Begins

Jen’s eyes widened. “Where did you find this?”

“Under your desk,” Bubbles repeated, sitting up. “Is it a treasure map? A secret code? A shopping list that someone really wanted to keep hidden?”

Jen studied the handwriting. It wasn’t hers. It wasn’t her mum’s. And it definitely wasn’t Bubbles’ (his handwriting was mostly just squiggles).

“This is weird,” she murmured.

Bubbles’ eyes gleamed. “We finally have a real mystery!”

Searching for the Key

They turned Jen’s room upside down. They checked under the bed, inside books, in drawers, and even in the sock drawer (where Bubbles got temporarily trapped under a mountain of mismatched socks).

Nothing. No key. No more notes.

Jen flopped onto the floor, frustrated. “Maybe it was just a joke. Or maybe the key is long gone.”

But Bubbles wasn’t listening. He had wandered over to Jen’s bookshelf, staring at something. “Jen…” he said slowly. “Your book is glowing.”

Jen sat up. “What?”

She followed his gaze to an old, dusty book on the shelf—one she hadn’t touched in years. And sure enough, there was a soft golden glow coming from the pages.

Heart pounding, she pulled the book out and flipped it open.

And there, nestled in the pages, was an ancient-looking silver key.

The Door That Wasn’t There Before

Jen and Bubbles stared at it.

“Okay,” Bubbles whispered. “This just got interesting.”

Jen turned the key over in her hands. It was small, ornate, and cold to the touch. It looked like it belonged to an old chest or…

She turned toward her bedroom door—only to freeze.

Because next to her door, where there had always been a plain wall…

Was a new door.

A door that hadn’t been there before.

Bubbles grabbed Jen’s arm. “I have exactly two questions,” he said. “One—are we going through that door?”

Jen swallowed. “And two?”

Bubbles grinned. “Do you think there’s pizza on the other side?”