The Time Capsule

Twenty-five years ago, the students of class 6B at Hillside School in Dunedin, New Zealand, wrote letters to their future selves. They put the letters, some photos and a few toys in a metal box, and they buried the box under a tree in the school garden.

Last Saturday, the box came out of the ground. Twenty of the old students came back to the school. Some of them haven't changed much; others have changed a lot. Their old teacher, Mrs. Hall, sat in the front row with a big smile.

First, Ben read his letter. "When I grow up, I want to be a doctor." Everyone looked at him. Ben has worked at Dunedin Hospital for ten years. "Well, I did it," he said, and everybody clapped.

Then Hannah read hers. "I want to live in a big city, far away." She laughed. "I've never left Dunedin! I've lived in the same street all my life. But I've had a very happy life here. And now I teach at this school."

Sam's letter was short: "I want to see the world." Sam wasn't there, but he sent a video from a beach in Brazil. "Hi, everyone! I've visited sixty countries. I've climbed mountains in Nepal and I've worked on a boat in Norway. Last year I sailed across the Atlantic. Sorry I couldn't come!"

There were funny things in the box too: a music cassette, an old phone with big buttons and a class photo with terrible haircuts. "Have you ever seen a cassette?" Hannah asked her son. He looked at it for a long time. "No. What is it?"

At the end, Mrs. Hall stood up. "I've taught for forty years," she said, "and I've opened a lot of time capsules. But this one is my favorite. You haven't all become what you wanted, but you have all become good people."

Then the class wrote new letters, put them in a new box and buried it under the same tree. "See you in twenty-five years," said Ben. Mrs. Hall laughed. "I'll try!"