Hi Sid. Good Luck!

Sidney is sent a mysterious envelope which contains a notebook and a secret mission. The reward: $20,000. The catch: Tell no one.

~

“Good Morning Sunshine!” Sidney greets her favorite doorman as she returns to the lobby of her apartment building. For the first time since last week’s winter storm, the sun is shining and the walk to grab coffee was exactly what she needed.

Back inside her apartment, she spreads out what looks like her usual pile of fan and promotional mail. She picks up a small gold envelope with no return address. The words “OPEN ME” written in black sharpie across the back.

“Ooh, I wonder who this is from” she giggles and shoots a glance at her cat, Mr. Blix, “the packaging is super cute.”

Inside the envelope was a tiny Moleskine journal about the size of a credit card with the following words written on the front page:

In case of loss, return to: As a reward: $20,000

Tell no one!

This is weird. She says to herself and flips the page.

Hi Sid. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to use the clues written in this notebook to find me and collect $20,000. That’s it. Just find me and the money is yours. But you must tell no one what you are doing or the amount of money involved. Good Luck!

She is hesitant but decides to read the first clue:

Where the railway has been mowed you’ll find a floating ball of gold

“This is it, Blix, the adventure we need for a day like this.” She grabs her coat, keys, half-finished coffee and heads out the door.

As she walks along The High Line, an elevated park created from an old section of railroad, she reflects on her journey from the Bronx projects to her high-rise apartment in Chelsea. A feisty Latina who hustled her way into one of New York’s most sought-after positions as a sex advice columnist for Cosmo Magazine, she barely had a sex life when was hired to advise women around the world on sex and relationships. A risky career move that would pay off handsomely and allow her the upscale lifestyle she has always wanted.

She’s lost in her thoughts of gratitude when she looks up and she sees a large gold balloon attached to a fortune cookie street cart. She spins around looking for a familiar face. No dice. She walks up to the cart and purchases one large chocolate-dipped fortune cookie. Inside the cookie, she finds a handwritten fortune that reads:

A tisket, a tasket, a New York goodie basket.

She enjoys her cookie treat on the walk to the Chelsea Market. It’s the one place in Chelsea where she knows she can find all sorts of goodies that are uniquely New York. This little game is exciting but what happens when I find the person? Do they know me? Will I know them? Is this even safe? Fuck it, I know Karate. Her phone rings and she almost spills her coffee.

“Hi, Kendra!” She answers.

“Hey girl, what you doing?” Kendra questions.

“I um... I’m out running an errand.” A lie, but now really.

“Oh. Where at? I can come to meet you. I wanna tell you all about my date last night and get your opinion on if I should see this dude again.”

“I um… I’m headed to Chelsea Market but won’t be there long, I have a thing to do so it’ll be a quick turn and burn. Can I call you a little later?”

Sidney hated to lie to her friend but the note said ‘Tell no one.’ Why the secrecy? She wonders again to herself as she continues to walk and finish her cookie, eyes scanning every stranger in her path. Upon arrival to the market, she heads straight to Chelsea Markets Baskets Shop and wanders around before seeing a basket on display with a gold balloon tied to it. Inside the basket lie a bunch of toy New York City taxi cabs. She ruffles through the basket of cars looking for an additional clue but finds none. After a few more minutes of wandering the store, she walks out of the market feeling defeated. She tosses what’s left of her coffee before pulling out her phone to call Kendra back. Maybe it’s not too late to meet up with her after all. At that very moment, as if on cue, she spots a taxi with a handful of gold balloons hanging out the window. Is that taxi meant for me? She stands frozen as the car got closer.

“Miss Sidney Skye?” The driver asked through the rolled-down window.

“Yes. I’m Sidney.” She answers with a slow ‘and who are you…?’ tone to her voice.

The driver smiles and hands her a note.

Get in the taxi, Sid. You’ll arrive at the park (your final clue) Not Bryant, nor Battery, the one with the zoo.

The cab pulls up in Central Park and lets her out at Bethesda Terrace. Stepping out of the cab she takes slow steps toward the edge of the terrace. She is overwhelmed by the beauty of the fountain. She only recognizes it because of movies. She’s never been here and only one person in the world knows of her desire for a proposal in this very spot. Brian. She takes deep breaths as she looks down at the fountain. She scans the crowd for his face but doesn’t see it. Without hesitation, she runs back across the street and races down the stairs to the arcade under the terrace. She stops. Chest heavy, palms sweaty, she sees Brian. He’s standing between an enormous pair of gold balloon bouquets right in front of her fountain. Confusion turns to elation as she walks through the crowd to reach him.

“What is going on?” She greets him with a smile.

“First of all, this is NOT a proposal.” Brian smiles back and greets her with his usual kiss on the cheek.

“Duh” She laughs, “but I don’t understand…”

He takes her hands in his. “Sid, you are my best friend. I brought you here to tell you, in an unexpected way, that I won the writing contest you encouraged me to enter. The prize was $20,000 and I want you to have it.” He pulls out a check from his back pocket and hands it to her.

At this very moment, she is aware of her feelings for this man. Dammit, I’m in love.

“Cool. I guess dinner is on me.” She laughs taking the check and his hand.