A Summer Dream

My names Amelia and this is the story about how I found and lost $20,000. I suppose I should probably start at the beginning. It starts on a beautiful summer day in July. Lincoln is going back to normal after the beloved 4th of July festivities that happen in the town square. It is warm, but it isn’t hot because there is a subtle cross breeze that sweeps over town. My friends and I are at the popular swimming hole: staple rock. We are sitting on the rock drinking wine coolers and relaxing under the summer sun. My friend Julie stands up abruptly and asks, “can we go? I’m getting hot.”

Josh shouts, “oh, come on Julie don’t be a wimp.”

Julie shouts back while rubbing her belly aggressively. “I didn’t eat anything Josh, I need lunch!”

“Ugh fine, but I’m not carrying either of you.” Josh laughs.

Josh climbs out of the water and makes his way up to where we are. Freddy is still floating in the river. It kind of looks like he’s fallen asleep with his tube tied to a tree branch.

“Freddy!” Josh yells to him, “come on man we’re leaving!” as he gestures with his hand for him to get out of the water.

Freddy stirs awake flipping himself out of the tube and into the water. We all snicker from the rock, Julie doubled over laughing so hard while Josh has to sit down and I nearly fall over. “Hey,” Freddy says, spitting water out of his mouth. “not cool man.” He chuckles too. He unties his tube and heads up the rock. “well alright, let’s go.” He shoves Josh playfully. Josh is still giggling.

We slowly make our way up to the road and start walking to my house. I only live about a mile from the swimming hole. But today it feels like a hundred miles. I have to stop and catch my breath.

Josh puts an arm around my waist, he asks “what’s wrong?”

“I think I should have drank more water, I’m so overheated.” I whisper.

“Come on.” Josh says bending down in front of me to let me jump on his back.

Letting out a little giggle. “I thought you said you weren’t carrying us.”

As he laughs, “yeah, but you’re like a child sometimes and I can’t help but take care of you.” With a smirk I hop on his back. We get going again and I can see my driveway, we’re so close.

Sometimes I wonder about Josh. Curious if we’d ever be more than best friends. They say the best relationships start as friends. He really is so handsome, and so kind. Although he did just say I was a child that he needs to take care of, but who doesn’t need a little caring for.

We walk up my driveway and Julie runs for the door, she can’t wait to get inside and lay on one of the couches. Freddy is behind Julie heading for the refrigerator and Josh still has me on his back. He carries me to the other couch. I slide down and curl up in a little ball. Josh heads to the kitchen and grabs a couple of waters. He hands one to me, then sits down and puts my head on his lap. What a perfect day this has been. Freddy sits down on the couch with Julie and I end up falling asleep on Josh’s lap.

As I wake up, I find myself all alone on the couch. I slowly sit up and look around to make sure I’m still in my house. It’s my furniture, my artwork and my cat Chloe. She walks over to me purring, and climbs onto my lap. “hi baby.” I say to her kissing her on the head. This is so weird that they would just leave like that. I get up off the couch carrying Chloe, we walk around the house. Looking for my phone that is nowhere to be found. Chloe meows for me to let her down so I do. She takes off running for the basement door, which is closed. She starts pawing at the door. “What is it?” I ask her. But she just keeps pawing and meowing. I cave, and open the door for her. She runs down the steps at full speed and disappears into the darkness. “Chloe?” I yell down to her. But she doesn’t meow back. I turn on the light and slowly make my way down the steps. I get to the bottom and it’s like the wall is moving. I touch it gently with a finger and the wall ripples. “Chloe?” I say again. A hand reaches through the wall and drags me through. I close my eyes, it’s so bright it’s shining through my eyelids. I slowly peek them open. I’m standing in the middle of a grand ballroom. There is a beautiful renaissance painting on the ceiling and a grand staircase perfectly centered in the middle of the room.

There is a man standing in front of the stairs with his back to me. Not saying anything and not moving. I start walking towards him. He moves his right arm out as if he wants me to grab it. I wrap my arm around his and I look up at his face. I don’t recognize him. “Are you ready?” he asks in a low raspy voice.

I whisper “I don’t know.”

The man smiles and says, “you are.” In a tone of assurance.

I’m taken away by how strikingly handsome he is to me. “Okay.” I say, in a trance like state. I’m not even looking at the stairs in front of me. I’m looking at him. He has a golden-brown tousled mullet, piercing blue eyes, cute freckles, a small beard and a beautiful smile. But his voice is what really has my attention. He leads me upstairs to another grand room. He sets me down on a red chair across from him. He sits down, picks up a guitar and starts strumming the most beautiful chords I’ve ever heard. When he sings, I’m brought to tears. His voice is so deep, so beautiful and powerful. My emotions have the better of me and it takes some time to collect myself.

He finishes the song, “I’m sorry.” He says reaching over and gently wipes the tears from my cheeks. “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

“No, it was so beautiful.” I say smiling, “thank you. But why am I here?” I ask.

Standing up and taking my hand in his he says, “because you needed to be.” I sensed that this was a place I always needed to see. He leads me out of the grand room and down the hallway to a very dusty study. There are books, maps and artifacts all over the room. As well as a picture of my great grandfather in the corner.

“That’s my great grandfather.” I say puzzled.

He says, “I know, there is something here he wanted you to have.” He reaches into a drawer in the desk and pulls out an old worn-down black book. As he hands me the book he says, “only you can decipher this.”

I open the book and see a bunch of random letters written all over the pages, which truly make no sense. I sit down on one of the dusty chairs. He says encouraging me, “you know what this is.” He smiles, “he taught you.”

“Okay.” I stare at the letters until they start creating directions. I scream “oh, my goodness.”

“You understand, you see it now?” he asks.

“I do. He left a huge amount of money hidden in his house, and this tells me where it is!” I throw my arms around the strange man confused “but this isn’t his house.”

“You’re right.” He smiles, and hands me a glass of water. “Drink this.” He then gently kisses me on the forehead and says, “I’m going to miss you.”

“What? You’re leaving?” I ask.

He says, “no you are.” With a smile.

Then my head gets dizzy and I feel heavy. As I fall to the floor, I drop the glass and the black book.

When I wake up the man is gone and I’m not in a random study I’m in my living room. My head is throbbing and all of my friends are still here. We must have all fallen asleep. I quietly sit up and head into the den where my father’s desk is. I reach into the top drawer and there it is, the little black book. I take a deep breath and open it to see the random letters written all over the pages. “It’s real.” I whisper. I head into the dining room and I start knocking on all of the walls. I find the hollow sounding one and I run down to the basement and grab the biggest sludge hammer I can find. It’s stupid heavy, I run back up stairs and Josh is standing in the doorway.

“What are you doing?” Josh asks me. Looking confusedly at the hammer.

“Help me.” I whisper.

Concerned Josh asks, “with what?”

I lead him into the dining room and I point at the wall. “Take this hammer and hit here.” I say,

“You’re crazy.” Josh says. “Your parents will kill us.”

I yell, “just do it.”

He does, he takes the hammer out of my hands and smashes through the wall. It only takes a few hits before money comes pouring out of the wall.

“What in the world?” Josh asks. “How did you know this was here?”

“My great grandfather’s crazy black book.” I say.

Julie and Freddy are stirred awake, they come running into the dining room. “What’s going on in here?” Julie asks.

“Money.” I say, “and a lot of it.”

The four of us get all of the money out of the wall and onto the table. Sitting speechless we count it all out.

“Twenty thousand dollars.” Josh says quietly.

“I can’t believe it.” I say.

“Well Amelia, what are you going to do with it?” Freddy asks.

I really thought about it and there are so many things I could do with $20,000. I could pay off school loans, family medical expenses. I could buy a car or a house of my own or pay off all of my debt. But I would really like to go on a lavish vacation around the world. Just then my parents come home. They see the piles of money on the dining room table and my dad while embracing me screams “You did it!” Just like that, all the hopes I had with the money went out the window, but some of my family’s dreams come true.