The Treasure Hunt

“Come over here”, I found something”, I screamed, while my best friend Todd came running towards me, knocking several things over in the cluttered attic.

“What did you find, Peter?” “I don’t know, looks like an old sea logbook, from my grandpa!”

My grandpa used to be a great marine officer, having worked, and lived on the ocean for the majority of his life, until he met my grandma and only went to sea occasionally. But he still loved the sea so much, that he had always lived at the ocean. Since my grandma past away 2 years ago, me, 12 year old Peter, and my mom and dad have been living with him, especially, since my grandpa is getting old, and hardly ever talks anymore since my grandma died. He just sits there and watches the waves all day long.

“Is anything interesting written in it? Maybe about sea monsters?” “Todd, you are watching too many horror movies! I’m not sure what all the codes in here mean. I will have to ask my grandpa”!

“Well, you do this, and let me know. I have to go home for dinner!”

“O.k., let’s go downstairs, we catch up again tomorrow.”

I crapped the little black book and we both climbed down the attic stairs.

After I said bye to Todd, I left to find my grandpa. He used to be all enthusiastic about the ocean, and going out to sea, but he changed a lot, since my grandma died. I think he is very sad and lonely without her. He hardly talks anymore. I’m really not sure, if I get any information out of him in regards of this little black notebook with all its codes in it. I’m not even sure if it’s his. It doesn’t look like his handwriting. But why would he keep someone else’s’ diary, logbook, or whatever it was in his house.

I found him at his usual spot, in his leather chair in front of the window overlooking the ocean. I didn’t understand how he could be sitting there all day long, just starring at the ocean. I tried several times to talk him into taking me out in our sailboat, as we used to do every single time we visited him years ago, but each time I suggested it, he only shook slowly his head. At some point I gave it up.

“Hi, grandpa. I was playing with Todd in the attic and look what I found! It’s a little black book with codes in it, but I don’t understand them. What do they mean grandpa?” I opened it and held it under his nose. Since I blocked his view to the ocean, he actually had no other choice as to look at me or the book.

He did both – first at the book and then at me. I couldn’t really know what his expression meant, but it was more than usual. He even talked to me.

“Where did you get that from?”

“I found it in the attic.”

He took the little black book from me and opened it. “What do all the codes mean, grandpa?” I asked again.

“Those are sea navigations. They are leading to an island not far from here. I got the book as a farewell present from my dear friend at the Marines. He wanted to thank me for all my services there.”

I could hardly believe my luck. I haven’t heard grandpa talking that much in 2 years. It was almost as old times. The book woke something up in him, and I did not want it to stop again, therefore I kept pressing the matter. “Have you ever been there?”

“No! But my friend has, and he said I would really have to go there. It just didn’t seem important anymore after Lilly died.”

“I want to go there with you, grandpa!” Remember, you promised me that you would teach me how to sail!”

“It’s too late. I’m too old now.”

“No, you are not. Please, grandpa. You promised!”

It took me another week to finally talk grandpa into it, but with the help of my dad, who could also see the change this little black book brought, we finally had him convinced to really give it a try before it might really be too late.

We planned to sail to that island 2 weeks later. Grandpa, who had studied the codes all week long, said, it shouldn’t take too long, that we would get to the island in about 3-4 hours. Grandpa was already his old self, when it came to all the preparations, be it preparing the food, drinks, sail boat checks, weather, compass, clothes, etc.

I was very happy to do something together with my grandpa, and teaching me how to sail was literally something he had been promising me since I was 5.

2 weeks later, we were finally sitting in the boat and pushed offshore. My grandpa didn’t say anything, but I could tell, that he was nervous, since he hadn’t been out on the ocean since my grandma died. Even though he must have known the codes in the little black book by heart by now, he was constantly reading them again. Whenever he wasn’t studying the little black book, he was explaining to me what he was doing with the sail, robes, etc.

I personally loved it and wished almost we would never make it to the island, since I had such a good time with my grandpa.

But after around 3 ½ hours we actually did see land, which turned out to be an island.

But that we actually found the island, got me exited, nevertheless. “You did it, grandpa! You found it! How cool is this?”

We took sail directly towards the island. It was a relatively small island with no shelter, unless there would be a hut in the jungle part.

Pulling the sailboat on the sandy shore was exhausting work, and grandpa wanted to rest and eat something first before we explored the island. I reluctantly agreed, even though I was way to exited to just sit still.

After lunch, my grandpa took the little black book again and opened it to the last page. I didn’t really know why, since we had already found the island, but my grandpa said:” My friend left me a map of the island on the last page with an X on it. Would be a shame to come here and not check out, what he meant by this, wouldn’t it?”

“A pirate treasure map?” He left you a pirate treasure map?”

“Not sure, if it’s a pirate treasure map, but it definitely is a map of this island.”

“Let’s go, grandpa, let’s look for the X!” The island wasn’t that big, and after 1 hour we reached the other side of the island. There were rocks, and we had another look at the map.

“It looks like there must be some kind of cave between the rocks.” My grandpa said.

I had already jumped down the rocks and was looking for the opening, while my grandpa looked for a better way down to the sand.

Just by looking at the rocks, we couldn’t really see a cave, and I got a little disappointed, not sure, if that was the map of this island after all.

“As I know my friend, he would want to hide the entrance really well, if he was hiding something inside. I think we need to walk along the rocks and touch them.”

We did this, even though I thought this would be fruitless, since I couldn’t see any opening.

About 20 minutes into the search, while touching one of the stones between the rocks, it moved a little bit. I could see that this was not a natural stone between all those rocks, but one put there.

“Grandpa, come fast! I think I found something!”

My grandpa came as fast as he could in the sand. “I can’t move it, but I don’t think this stone belongs here! Come, help me, grandpa.”

We both pulled and pushed, and we did get the stone to move, but it was simply too heavy to actually pull it out or push it in. “Wait, boy, your grandpa is always prepared, and he got a rope out of his backpack”.

“You are the best!”

“You have smaller fingers. Try to push it between stone and rocks, that we can pull the stone out. Don’t let go of the end!”

I did right that. We both pulled on the rope, which was now behind the stone, and pulled with all our strength.

When the stone finally moved, we both fell into the sand, and looking at each other, we had to laugh.

It was a big enough opening, that we both could crawl into. It wasn’t a big cave, but nevertheless it would take a very long time to dig it out by hand. “Hey grandpa, you said you are always prepared, do you also have a shovel with you?” “Of course, did you doubt me? I took Lilli’s garden shovel. It’s almost like she would be here with us and helping us.”

We took turns shoveling at different spots in the cave, until we finally dug onto something hard.

“Grandpa, there’s something down there!” While my grandpa took the shovel and started digging again, I started digging with my hands, which must have more resembled like a dog digging something up.

When the hole was big enough, we could see, that there was indeed a wooden chest inside.

“Grandpa, I think your friend left you a treasure chest. I knew it!” We both pulled on both sides of the chest to get it out.

“Grandpa, but how do we open it? I don’t think I have the patience to carry the whole chest home with us”.

Grandpa opened again the little black notebook and was reading the last page.

After reading he said that we would have to go 3 feet deeper into the cave, measured by where the chest was, and then 2 feet to the right.

“Grandpa, give me the shovel!”

I dug up the key within the next few minutes. As soon as I had the key, I immediately ran to the chest. This was probably the most exciting thing I had ever done. A real treasure hunt.

The key was a little bit rusty, but I got it in the end.

When I opened the chest, it was full of gold coins.

“Grandpa, look at all the coins, you are rich. Your friend left you a treasure!”

When my grandpa didn’t say anything, I looked up to find out, why he didn’t say anything.

He was just watching me and having a huge smile on his face.

“I don’t need a treasure. You are my treasure, Peter! You brought me back to life! Just spending the day with you and watching you, and you not giving up on your old grandpa, is the biggest treasure I could get. This is all yours. A treasure for my “treasure”!”

“But grandpa, it’s yours. It’s from your friend!”

“No, it’s yours, since without you, I would have never gone out to find it. You deserve it”!

I ran to my grandpa and gave him the biggest hug I’ve ever given him, not only because I got to keep the treasure, but mainly that I had my grandpa back. So in a way, I got 2 treasures today!

When we came home, we brought all the gold coins to a gold jeweler, who estimated the coins to around 20 000 Dollars. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with all this money. I decided to update grandpa’s sailboat. I was so happy on today’s adventure, and I wanted to have many, many more with my grandpa!