The Hapsburg Diary

The sun was shining, and the afternoon sky was void of clouds. Birds chirped somewhere off in the distance, as if they were saying goodbye to a lost soul. Lydia stared blankly at the fresh patch of dirt where her grandaddy was just buried.

“Oh, Lydia. Please come here, dear.”Her stepmother called from behind her. Lydia tightened her jaw and with a shaky breath she said, “No thank you.”

“Lydia dearest, your grandaddy lived a great life. It was just his time to go,” her father said, and she glared at him, who had quietly made his way by her side.

“You wanted him to die. You always envied his wealth. You just wanted his big ol’ house for yourself!” she spat. “You are just a selfish, greedy, no good man! Grandaddy was ashamed of you, and so am I.” Lydia turned away from him and marched off in the direction she was facing. She did not care where she was going, she just wanted to be alone. “Lydia, make sure you come back soon. I don’t want you to go and get lost now,” her father said.

Lydia walked aimlessly up a small path toward a large chestnut tree. Trees in cemeteries always appear larger, calmer, and peaceful; welcoming the dead with their wide open arms. She slumped against its old bark and sobbed. The chestnut tree had witnessed thousands sobbing and will stand quietly to witness thousands more.

“Lydia? Are you okay?”

“Clarity?” Lydia asked as she turned around to see her childhood friend. “How long was I gone?” asked Lydia

“Oh, only about 20 minutes or so. I came to check on you. Do you want me to go?” Clarity asked.

“No, stay, please.” Lydia whispered. Clarity walked to her, and put her arm around Lydia’s shoulders. “Don’t cry, Liddy. Let’s get you back home.” Lydia groaned. “I wouldn't call that place my home, Clarity.” Lydia sighed and got up slowly.

Clarity walked her back to her family that was mulling around beside the grave site. Phoebe, her stepmom, ran up to her and hugged her tightly. “Oh Lydia darling, you poor thing”. “I… um, yeah.” Lydia mumbled, wishing Phoebe would just leave.

Ten years ago her father, Lucas, and her mother appeared to have a happy marriage. That was until her father met Phoebe on one of his business trips. Phoebe and Lucas became good friends. About a year later, her father thought he was in love with Phoebe, so he pushed Kassandra away in order to be with Phoebe. Kassandra moved back into her father’s house and brought Lydia and two of her five brothers, Aiden and Parker, with her. Lydia was happy to live with her grandaddy. Especially after the divorce. After all, she was his favorite grandchild. They lived there for 9 years and life was good. Lydia was happy. That was until 12 months ago. Her life changed abruptly from happy to upside down. Her mother was diagnosed with cancer and died 6 months later. Her granddaddy was all she had left. 6 months after her mother had died, Gregory Hapsburg, her grandaddy, passed away quietly in his sleep. Now she and her two younger brothers had to move back in with her father, Phoebe, and the brothers that stayed with him.

Now Lydia, her father, Phoebe (she will always be Phoebe, never mom) and her 5 brothers crammed into their SUV and drove back home. Dinner was quiet after which everyone settled into their own rooms. Lydia was back in her old room, and Phoebe had made the bed for her. That was nice, but she quickly shook that thought from her head.

The next morning she opened her door to find Aiden standing there with his fist up, ready to knock. She spotted a tiny package in his other hand. She eyed it suspiciously. “That is ...?” she asked. Aiden seemed to understand, and handed the package to her. She welcomed him in, and he sat next to her on her bed. “It’s for you! I found it at the door!” He said excitedly. Lydia raised an eyebrow. “Huh, no return address…” She tore open the soft brown paper to reveal a little black book. Inside there was a note “For my Liddy, Love, Granddaddy” She flipped through it, but didn’t see anything written down on it. Lydia set it down on her nightstand.

Aiden looked confused. “W-what?” Lydia smiled at him, and ruffled his black hair. He was about ten years old, turning eleven in August. He was a tan, skinny boy, with dirt on his face but the smarts of a college student.

“Well, I gotta go to school now. Love you, Liddy.” he said, walking out the door. Lydia stared at the book. “Did you get that package Aiden was all excited about? What is it?” Parker asked, walking in. He had sandy colored hair, and a nice white-toothed smile. He was about three years older than Aiden, but was only a little bit taller. She held up the book and he tilted his head. “You know, I remember grandaddy writing in a book just like that a couple days before he died. You think it's his?” he asked curiously. Lydia bit her lip. She didn’t want to talk about that right now, and definitely didn’t want anyone to figure out it was her grandaddy’s. Who knows, Lucas might go snooping around in it if he hears it’s their grandaddy’s. So she just shook her head, and Parker shrugged then left.

Days blurred together and at night she had dreams of her grandaddy, sitting on his favorite chair at his desk, writing in his black diary. Over the next few weeks, the dreams changed, but they always had the book. One night it was of him at his desk, reading the book while another was of him writing. Another night the book was just there while her grandaddy talked to unknown faces. Each morning, she woke up and her grandaddy’s black book was the first thing she thought about. Weeks turned to months and the dreams slowly waned in consistency. Her granddaddy’s black book was now covered by candy wrappers, essays, and homework. It was more ignored than forgotten.

One ordinary Saturday morning, Lydia woke up and yawned. She stared at the place on the nightstand where she had left the black book. She hadn’t dreamed about her granddaddy in a while. She wanted to remember him, and the book was his last gift to her. It was her only connection to him. She brushed off the sticky candy wrappers and an unfinished paper on “Electric Cars & Their Impact on the Environment” and picked up the book. The cover was slightly worn but it wasn't old. She opened it and turned the pages slowly, anxious why her grandaddy had given her a blank book. And who had mailed it to her? Curious thoughts raced through her mind as she began to flip the pages with her thumb. She stopped and flipped through the last few pages again.

Something was different. The last two pages were stuck together. Like someone had intentionally glued them together. So she carefully pinched them apart. Whoever had glued these two pages together had used glue only on the edges. Once she opened the edges up, she peeled the pages open to reveal a note. A secret note. Her hands were shaking. She opened up the small piece of paper. It was her grandaddy’s handwriting,

Dearest Lydia,

I assume that you found my secret letter to you. I hope nobody was mad when the lawyer read my will only to find that I left my entire inheritance to charity. I’m sure your father wasn’t happy. I can understand you might have been disappointed. My dear child, I could not leave anything for you and allow your father to take it away from you. Instead, I set up a trust fund with my trusted lawyer, Jonathan Stephano.

You should call him at 6782554557. This was the only way I could ensure nobody would know about my gift to you. It should help you live a comfortable life, even after paying for the best college of your choice.

Sending you my love,

Gregory Hapsburg

A tear fell down her cheek, but her heart warmed up with a little bit of happiness, and a little bit of hope too.