The Adventure Journal

My grandfather passed away three days ago. Today was his funeral and the reading of his will. Everyone was there - mum, dad and me. Being here I started remembering our time together - tending to his small garden, hunting mushrooms in the woods, and finding huge snails. Grandpa would jokingly say those snails would be good in a stew which always made me giggle and squirm.

"...to Rowan," the attorney began - his words brought me back. The attorney’s demeanour was dry and unfazed as he handed me a small bundle wrapped in brown paper and twine. "I leave to you my greatest treasure. Our time together..."

A twinge of pain radiated from my chest as my stomach writhed. It was as if my body knew what was wrapped within that coffee coloured bundle before I did. Breathing in a shuddered breath I untied the twine and unwrapped the bundle. There. Lying upon the sprawled out sheets was a little black book. I couldn't stop the tears as the memories came flooding back - it was his adventure journal.

Growing up, mum and dad worked a lot - on days where they’d work late, grandpa would look after me. When he did, he would read to me and we’d re-enact his stories - trudging through the Amazon, hiking the Himalayas, planting a flag on the moon, or slaying dragons. Grandpa had been a brilliant storyteller and with every word, he would breathe life into his stories. And it was in that book that grandpa recorded his stories.

I don’t remember much after meeting the attorney. Everything was a blur - how we got home, washing up, and dinner. It was as if I was on autopilot. I snapped out of it when mum brought up the notion of moving into grandpa’s house - the one he left mum and dad. If we moved, we'd be leaving everything behind. It wasn't much but mum and dad thought it'd be a nice change of scenery and that we would be closer to him - to grandpa. I agreed and the next day we were off - ready to start a new life in the countryside.

When we arrived, everything looked the same - the house, the garden, even the piles of firewood by the front door. It felt as if grandpa was still there. Brushing the thought aside, my mind turned to the garden as the plants hadn't been watered in nearly a week. When I got there, the plants seemed lush and healthy.

"The magic of the mycelial network" grandpa would say. A small smile found its way across my face as I remembered his words.

Touching the soil, it seemed a little dry so I gave the garden a good sprinkling of water before helping mum and dad unpack the house. Walking into the house, we were hit with a wave of emotions. We didn't have the heart to remove anything but we moved a few things around. After dinner I’d decided to unpack my room. From time to time, I found myself with grandpa's journal. I didn't dare open it - afraid that if I did it, I’d be saying goodbye for the last time.

Seasons came and went - like the changing of days. As winter approached, it brought the rains and with it came the snails. When I saw the first snail, I was reminded of snail stew and my grandfather. I found myself yearning to see him - to see grandpa. The journal had remained on my desk untouched as a layer of dust had settled upon it. It wasn't noticeable unless you ran your fingers across the cover leaving the black marks of dustless leather that beckoned you to look inside.

That night, I finally opened that journal.

Illuminated by nothing but the table lamp, I began flipping through its pages. As page, after page fluttered past one another, an envelope fell out. I picked it up - turning it over to see who it was addressed to. No name. However, "One Last Adventure" was scrawled on the envelope in my grandfather's handwriting.

Intrigued, I opened the envelope and poured its contents into my hand. What came out was a pendant - the size of a 50c coin. At the centre of the pendant was a glass lens. I was mesmerised by the refracted light - that danced within the lens - when something caught my eye. Speckles of light on my desk that moved with the pendant. I flipped the pendant on its side and inspected its edges - there I found fine pinholes. They were faint and hard to see but light could pass through them.

Quickly, I grabbed my lamp and placed the pendant over the lightbulb. As if a switch had and flipped, the room came to life with dancing specks of light. I spun the pendant around flicking through the dotted patterns. After turning the pendant a few times I noticed there was one group of dots that looked familiar. Like a tonne of bricks, it hit me - it was Scorpio. The constellation of Scorpio - although upside-down. Flipping the pendant over, the dots of lights began to make sense - Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius.

Now I had more questions than answers. Why hide the pendant and what did constellations have to do with "One Last Adventure"? Maybe mum knows. However, that would have to wait until morning - mum and dad were asleep and I was getting tired. Turning off the lamp, I wandered to bed - mind racing - there was an adventure and this pendant was at the centre of it.

Dawn came like an ocean wave - gently washing away the darkness and ushering in the light of a new day. Sunlight streamed into my room from a crack in the blinds and directly onto my eyes - 147.92 million kilometres away and deadly accurate. Wiping the sleep from my eyes I remembered the pendant. Grabbing it, I rushed downstairs to the kitchen where mum and dad were having breakfast.

"Morning!" Mum sang gleefully.

"You're up early," Dad noted having looked up from his phone.

This was a strange sight as dad wasn't tech savvy. However, since the shops were a good drive away, dad had resigned to getting his news online.

Dad furrowed his brows, "...especially because it's a Sunday" he continued with a concerned tone.

Dad probably thought I had forgotten what day it was. He was right - I had - but that wasn't what mattered.

"Sunday... That's good!" I exclaimed “I need your help."

Mum and dad shot me worried looks.

"You're not in any kind of trouble are you?" Mum asked as she set a plate of food onto the table.

"Mum, I've either been cooped up in my room or tending to the garden. What sort of trouble could I possibly be in?" I pleaded my case.

"He has a point and since he has an aversion to social interactions, we know it's not relationship trouble." Dad continued.

Eyes widened, I slowly turned my head to my stare at my father. Honesty never cut so deep.

"I do wish you'd bring home a nice girl. Or boy, no judgment." Mum noted. "I just want some grandbabies running around the house. Blood relation or otherwise..." she continued unabashedly.

"Okaaay...'' I drew out - putting a stop to this nightmare. Clearing my throat I continued, "So you know the journal grandpa left me? I found an envelope in it last night with the words "One Last Adventure" written on it. When I opened it, I found this pendant that shows constellations when you hold it up to the light. Mum, grandpa was your dad. Do you have any idea what it could mean?"

My parents listened without interrupting. This was a first. However, they seemed to stare at me with a dumbfounded look. Maybe I had spoken too quickly? I attempted to explain things again - this time slower and with fewer words. "Journal. Envelope. Pendant. Adventure." This time I sounded like I was having a stroke.

Dad smiled, "We heard you the first time."

Mum chuckled, "Grandpa and I used to go stargazing. He had this old telescope that Captain Cook might have used..." mum couldn't help but smile to herself. However, her smile felt bittersweet.

Mum's expression changed. Looking at me, she raised a finger and said "Give me a minute" then rushed upstairs. Before long, she returned with a dusty, weathered case. From within mum retrieved a brass and glass telescope. Mum fiddled with the telescope - twisting, turning and even gently pulling on anything loose. "Nothing," Mum sighed. She handed the telescope to dad who asked for it with open hands.

Dad examined the telescope closely - looking through the lenses and sniffing it. Mum stared at him as though he were crazy. However, he did pause at the markings around the lens for a brief moment.

"Careful!" Mum scolded, as dad almost hit her with the eyepiece. Mum must have had a lightbulb moment, "Hand me the pendant" she demanded. Taking the pendant, mum pressed it into the eyepiece.

"It fits," I gasped.

Twisting the pendant, there was a click. We all looked at one another in astonishment as mum removed her hand - pendant locked in place.

"Try something else" I pestered.

Dad tried twisting and turning everything he could find. That was when we heard another click. It was a segment of the telescope. Dad twisted another and it too clicked.

Dad examined it and gasped, "There are numbers here" he said with a grin. "7 and... negative 16?" he read aloud.

"The Dog Star!” Mum roared, “They're coordinates for Sirius" she continued.

Dad and I stared at mum as if she’d lost it.

Rolling her eyes as she took the tripod from the case, “Stars have coordinates - it's how we find them in the night sky. Right ascension and declination” she proclaimed, pointing to the numbers on the setting circles.

Unsure of whether we were on the right track I asked, "How do you know they're coordinates for a constellation?" to further my case I continued, "Those numbers could mean anything - points on a map, Cartesian plane..."

Mum smiled, "Number one, pendant with constellations. Number two, telescope. Common theme, space. Ergo, Dog Star." Mum proudly proclaimed. "How are you my son?" she jeered.

This was the first time I'd seen mum so smug - throwing shade at her only child. This bugged me but I was impressed by her knowledge and quick thinking - she was starting to have fun.

"Argh!" Mum exclaimed "We'd have to wait until nightfall to see Sirius." she continued flopping onto the table.

I looked out the kitchen window and at the afternoon sun - curse you sun.

"Maybe we don’t need to look for Sirius" dad announced.

Mum and I looked at him puzzled.

"Look," Dad noted as he pointed to the lens. "You see these markings? In the study there's a map of the property with these exact markings. Maybe it has something to do with that." he shrugged.

Mum and I looked at one another. "To the study!” we proclaimed in unison.

"Okay, now what?" I asked standing before the map. "Should we take it down?"

"You can’t. The map is part of the wall." Mum noted

I tried separating and lifting the map from the wall - nothing. Mum knowledge strikes again.

"Let's set-up the telescope in front of it and go from there." Dad suggested.

As dad and I moved things out of the way, mum set-up the telescope. Moving the rug, I noticed a small copper coloured disc on the floor. "Mum, dad, look at this!" I called.

Mum and dad crowded closely to examine the disc. "Looks like a $2 coin" Dad noted "...embedded in the hardwood floor?" he continued confused.

Looking around I found another and another. The three disks formed an equilateral triangle - each point the same distance apart as the tripod pegs. As if we were all thinking the same thing, we aligned the tripod with the disks and faced the telescope towards the map. I held my breath as mum adjusted the settings - right ascension 7, declination negative 16.

"What now?" Mum asked "Do we look through the telescope?"

Dad knelt down and peered through the eyepiece. "I... can't see anything. Everything's blurry" Dad relayed.

We were missing something. I sighed, pondering what it was that we were missing. Maybe it was something in the room. Perhaps the telescope was pointing to a secret door - maybe a lever? I looked around the room and saw nothing. Even if we were supposed to find something in the room everything had been moved. It was then I noticed the shine on the polished wooden desk. Enamoured, I stared for a moment before I remembered how I found the constellations on the pendant. "LIGHT!" I blurted.

My parents stared at me - startled by my abrupt outburst.

"We need light" I continued, "Dad, your phone." I asked frantically.

"Okay?" Dad questioned as he handed me his phone.

Unlocking it, I turned on the flashlight and held it up to the eyepiece. As the light came into contact with the pendant, a beam of light struck the map. "X marks the spot" I chuckled.

We were all quiet - staring at the point on the map.

"Mum, do you know that spot?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, that's the clearing just off the old hunting trail." mum noted.

Tossing the phone back to dad I ran for the front door.

"Where are you going?" mum asked.

"To find what's under the X" I replied gleefully.

"Okay, but not dressed like that." mum noted.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" I asked defensively.

"Pants" mum stated clearly.

I looked down. I’d been running around the house in my underwear this entire time. I looked to mum and dad and realised that we were all still in our pajamas. "Uh, dress appropriately and meet in 20 minutes?" I suggested.

Mum and dad looked each other up and down. "Agreed" they noted in unison before rushing upstairs.

Like excited children on snow day, we were dressed and ready in less than a minute - eager to find out what was under that X.

“Should we take the telescope?” dad asked.

“Maybe, just in case.” I proclaimed.

“Alright, I’ve marked the X on a map. I tried to get as close to it as possible. But a metal detector might be handy” mum postulated. “There’s one in the tool shed.” she’d noted as dad gingerly jogged towards the tool shed.

Whilst I loaded the telescope and shovels into the car, I had a realisation and asked, “Do you think grandpa knew we’d go on this adventure and prepared everything?”.

“Probably,” Mum replied. “Grandpa was always doing things like this. Maybe he was a treasure hunter in a past life. Or perhaps a pirate.” Mum chuckled.

“Let’s go!” Dad exclaimed, having retrieved the metal detector. Piling into the car we were off.

It wasn’t long before we reached the clearing. Hopping out of the car mum took a few steps then stopped. “This should be it.” she proclaimed while folding up the map.

Dad was on it. Whipping out the metal detector, he started to check the ground methodically while mum and I stabbed it with shovels. Luck must have been on our side as dad had barely walked two metres when the metal detector went ballistic. “Over here!” Dad cried.

With shovels in hand mum and I ran over and started digging. Thud - my shovel hit something. We all looked at one another before diving in and uncovering a heavy and padlocked chest. Luckily, no padlock was a match for a trusty shovel. With a single strike, the padlock broke.

Huddled together, we all took a deep breath. Moment of truth. The lid creaked opened - hinges rusted from the rain seeping into the ground. Coins. Gold coins! The chest was filled to the brim with golden coins! Excitement welled from deep within - my heart leaping out of my chest. It felt like a dream come true. “Wait.” I spoke. “Is it real?” I asked - hoping it wasn’t a dream.

Dad took a coin and bit it. Holding the coin at eye level he spoke, “Bite marks." He paused. Speechless. "It’s real!” he exclaimed.

None of us could hold back our excitement - screaming, laughing and hugging one another. We had just found buried treasure. Hundreds maybe thousands of dollars worth of gold coins.

I looked down at the chest - with its glittering gold - and noticed something tucked underneath the coins. I pulled it out. It was another envelope. However, this one was addressed to mum, dad and me. I paused with bated breath and looked at mum and dad.

They nodded at me as if to say "Open it". Carefully I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. All that was written was "The greatest treasure is our time together. I love you."

Not a single eye was dry in that moment. We'd finally realised what grandpa had meant by "One Last Adventure". This was grandpa's last adventure for us - one that he hoped would allow us to live and be together.

It took us a month before we cashed in the gold - trying to hold onto the last piece of grandpa for as long as possible.

After that my parents quit their jobs and fixed up grandpa’s house. With their remaining money, mum and dad could spend their days living comfortably. I, on-the-other-hand, decided to do something that had always frightened me - travel. My grandpa inspired me to live my life and have my own adventures. Armed with my own little black book, I plan to fill it with my own stories - my own adventures.

I sometimes wondered where grandpa got that gold. Maybe his stories weren’t just stories. Either way, I hope to one day see him again so I can tell him about the adventures I’d gone on.

Today marks the end of an adventure and the beginning of a new one.