Water

With the hope chest in place, I could gather some items I liked and put them on top of the hope chest. But what if I needed to get into the hope chest. My mother stored curtains and linens in her hope chest. As of yet, I haven't been able to bring myself to go through and get rid of the items I don't need or want.

If I had a tray, I could place my items on it. If I needed to open the hope chest, I would just have to remove the tray and not disturb all the items. I had found a half dozen or so silver trays in my parents' house. My mother loved all sorts of knick knacks. I found an octagonal tray and liked the unusual shape. As I polished it, I could see a beautiful shell pattern engraved  in it.

I thought I would gather items that would revolve around the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. The tray had the shell pattern and now that it was polished it had a reflective surface like water.