Black Buick

Holly stood taller than most of the women in her family at 6’2. It was for this reason that she always felt like a bit of an oddball. It was a self-proclaimed title, but one of which she was fond. She didn’t mind standing out and it was a good thing too because she certainly did. Not only was she tall, but she was also stunningly fair. She had bright blue eyes and a smile to match though her beauty wasn’t necessarily drawn from the fact that she had raw physical beauty. Her attractiveness came more from her personality and charisma. A good word to describe Holly would be warm.

Holly had always wanted to write. This was one of her great passions in life, though she seldom shared anything about it with anyone. She either didn’t think anybody would be interested enough to read anything that she had written or she thought that what she wrote wasn’t quite good enough, at least to her mind. She was critical of her talents and to no surprise to anybody, she was a perfectionist.

Many nights she stayed up late honing whatever she was working on at the time as if it were her last night on Earth. She sharpened each piece obsessively as if she were sharpening her favorite writing implement. During one night in particular while she was taking a short break, she stumbled upon a writing contest while she was browsing the nightly news. She had been working on a piece which she had actually loved, or at least spent less time obsessing over than most. She decided to enter the contest because she thought this particular piece would be perfect for it.

She thought to herself briefly that it was almost as if she had been fated to see this particular contest at this particular time. She didn’t believe in such things so she quickly dropped the idea and went back to work making the finishing touches. After the story was completed to her liking, she submitted it to the judges.

Three weeks later she received a knock on her door. Not expecting anybody, she was flustered. She quickly lit her favorite lavender scented candle to freshen up the air, composed herself, and walked to the door. The old mahogany door creaked inside and she saw a handsome stout-framed man standing there in nice formal wear holding a folder of some kind. With a visibly confused look and a tilted head, Holly said, “Hi, can I help you with something?”

The man replied in a mid-ranged, kindly voice, “Actually, I was thinking that I could help you.” He laughed. “That is, if you are Holly Faulkner.”

She came back with an understandable and firm reply, “I don’t get too many unexpected visitors here. May I please know your name and who it is you represent?”

Again the man chuckled and said, “Oh of course! I’m Vince Anderson. I am here on behalf of the writer’s voice company to let you know that you won the contest.” He pushes the folder forward motioning for Holly to take it.

Holly looked down in disbelief, partially because she couldn’t believe she had won and partially because it was strange in this day and age for somebody to actually come to a person’s house for such a reason. She then took the folder and opened it to find a small certificate stating her victory and a small single-use cash chip to upload her winnings to an account of her choice. She looked up, still a little shocked and thanked the man.

Vince congratulated Holly and told her that he was in a hurry and that she would find all of the details she needed within that folder. He then wished her goodbye and left.

Holly went back inside to sit on her couch. The lavender scent had filled the room by this point, which made her relax immediately. She sank back into the couch and said to herself, “Well that was unexpected. I can’t believe I actually won. I didn’t really expect much of anything.” She then remembered the chip for the prize money and decided she had better deposit it as soon as she could. Twenty-thousand dollars is more money than she usually has in one place at one time.

Just after Holly had made the deposit, she received a call from her dad letting her know that her grandfather had just passed unexpectedly. The news hit her hard. She and her grandfather were close and she confided in him regularly. Her face grew pale and once the knowledge had really set in, she burst into tears. She cried herself to sleep with her face buried in the throw pillow her grandpa had made for her.

The next morning she was lethargic and zombie-like. She felt outside herself and was moving throughout the day mechanically. She kept trying to grasp and hold onto a thought but she just couldn’t shake herself out of that trance-like state. She slowly walked through her daily routine and eventually passed out onto the floor from a combination of shock and exhaustion.

Later that afternoon she was awakened by her uncle Matt shaking and yelling at her to wake up. “Holly, are you okay? You have to get up. Your dad found a note from your grandfather and he requested that you be given something from his estate. It just looks like an ordinary box to me.”

“That’s weird. I wonder what it could be?” Holly said.

“I don’t know” said her Uncle. “Nobody knows. All anybody knows is that he wanted you to have it.”

“Is it heavy?” Holly continued.

“It’s not all that heavy” Holly’s uncle proclaimed. “Knowing him it had to have some kind of special meaning. I’m sure you’ll know when you see it.”.

Holly replied, “Hmm. I guess we’ll have to see.”.

“Come with me and I’ll take you to it” uncle Matt said.

Holly prepared her things and got in her uncle’s old beat-up truck. They drove off in the antique and had enough time for a short conversation to catch up on old times and to talk about their lost loved one. She hadn’t seen her Uncle in what seemed like years. It was good for both of them and it put them more at ease.

Upon their arrival to granddad’s estate, they were greeted by Holly’s dad Joe.

“Hey guys! Good to see you!” Joe yelled excitedly. His face then became downcast and the tone of his voice became melancholy as he said, “I just wish it weren’t under these circumstances”. He put on a face of toughness and sniffed strongly as if to breathe in the tears that were starting to well up in his eyes. Seeing the two of them triggered all sorts of emotions. “Follow me and I’ll take you inside” he said as he turned around with an over the shoulder wave of his hand. They began to walk up the path towards the entrance of the large and ancient dark-colored Victorian home.

They entered the warm and inviting home with their feet creaking over the floors as they walked. “The box dad wanted us to give to you is over there on the kitchen counter Holly.” Holly’s father said in a low subdued tone. “You really had a special place in his heart. He loved you very much. Maybe he saw a bit of himself in you. We all saw it too. I’ll let you alone. Come on Matt.” Holly’s uncle Matt and her dad walked into the other room to talk about how to handle the funeral arrangements.

Holly sighed deeply while her empty glazed eyes stared down at the box. Her hand hovered over it for a few moments as memories of her grandpa flooded her mind. She snapped herself out of that vision as she also began to shake away some of the initial shock that had carried on. It was time for her to be strong now.

With box in hand, Holly decided to go to the toy room where her grandpa used to read stories to her regularly. She sat down on his old rocking chair and took a letter opener from the table sitting next to the chair. She deftly cut the edges of the box so she could view its contents.

As soon as she lifted the newly released tabs of the box, she peered down to see a rather thick black leather-bound book. It was mostly nondescript aside from the stunning blackness and beauty of the leather cover. It was well worn but in good shape as if it had been cared for specially.

She slowly opened the cover while pushing the occasional fond memory back into her mind so she could focus on the matter at hand. She opened the cover with care as a folded up piece of old lined paper fell out onto her lap. It was as if her grandfather’s spirit was there with her and had brushed the note out of the book in that way so that she would be sure not to miss it. She jerked slightly to catch the paper before it fell to the floor. She had a sudden rush of excitement mixed with sadness as if her heart had jumped out of her chest only to be pulled back down by the weight her grandfather’s death had left.

She unfolded the note and chuckled as she began to read his finest chicken scratch as he always liked to call it. She could hear him say it with that wry smile that always preceded one of his eye-rolling zingers. The note read as follows:

Dear Holly,

I’ll start this off with that old cliche of a line, “If you’re reading this, I’m a goner.” Not to be too dark though Haha. Anyway, lighten up. I’ll be okay. You’ll be okay. We’ll see each other again one day. Can you keep a secret? Good. Don’t tell anybody this but I’ve decided to leave you a special present. You’ll have to go on a bit of a hunt to find it but trust me it will be worth it to you. Below I’ll list some clues that will start you on your way. Try not to worry about me. I’m just fine where I am believe me.

Now onto the clues:

1. Walk over to that little false floor panel under your old toy chest in the toy room. You know the old one with the bunny ears.

2. Lift it up and take the key that you find. It’s the key to my old Buick. You can find it parked in the garage back behind the house. Don’t do it until everybody leaves. Just tell them that you want to stay awhile longer with me alone like old times or something. You’ll think of something.

3. That’s it for now. You will find the rest of the clues in the car.

Good luck Holly! I love you so much. Tell everybody I said hello. We’ll meet again.

Love you always,

Grandpa Faulkner

P.S. That black book contains many clues and anecdotes that will help you. Have fun with it! Bye for now.

She smiled fondly, folded the note carefully, and shut it back into the book. “That’s just like him.” Holly said. I really will miss him.”. She caressed the cover smoothly, stood back up and walked down the stairs to go on one last adventure with her granddad.