Kerrin's Journey

“Kerrin’s Journey”

by Paige Jeffries

On a cold Friday morning Kerrin held her face crying at what she thought would be her last semester at Stonybrook. Days like this she wished her dad was around to comfort her. He had died last year to cancer and nothing had been the same. Her scholarship was coming to an end and there was no financial relief on the horizon.

After thinking about it for hours, she decided to take the LIRR to the city and look out the window to clear her mind. An elderly man sat next to her. He sensed her frustration and asked her if she asked the school for help. Kerrin replied yes but there is nothing they can do at this time. The man smiled and said something will come through. “Are you willing to accept it?” he said. “I would do anything to fix this,” Kerrin replied. He got up and left Kerrin on the train. When Kerrin looked over at his seat, she saw a black Moleskine notebook peeking out of the seat. She picked it up and read this book belongs to Francesco Franceschi. She looked to see if the elderly man was on the train, but he had been long gone. She kept reading the notes in the book and came across clues to a secret treasure. Curious as to what the treasure may be, Kerrin tried to figure out the clues and piece them together.

Kerrin read the first clue. People do not use me as much as they should. I am free and there are endless possibilities I can take you mentally. My favorite one to read was the secret garden. You can find me in Elmont. Kerrin thought to herself: “What could it be?” Maybe it was a book club or maybe a bookstore. Then it came to her—the library. She took the train back to Long Island to Elmont library. She went to the catalog to look for the book “The Secret Garden.” She found the book but was not sure what she was looking for. She opened the book and flipped the pages. Nothing. She thought: “what am I looking for?” She kept gazing at the book and then she thought to look at the back of the book and she felt it. A small silver key. “This must be it,” Kerrin said to herself. “But what is the key for?” She opened the little black notebook to look for clue 2. It read, People use me to store away their documents, hopes or dreams. I am not as popular as I was in the past, but I am useful. Kerrin began to ponder why she even embarked on this journey. Either way the journey was taking her mind off her woes and she seemed to be having fun figuring out the clues. She thought to herself, “where do people store their documents?” She thought about a safe, no too easy. Plus, where would she find it. “It has to be in a public place,” she said. Hmm could it be in a post office? Yes, that is it. “But which one?” she said. Kerrin looked at the key and read the letter and numbers on the back of the key. F-642. What could the F stand for? She thought: “Maybe the town of the post office.” Kerrin was conflicted. She thought it could stand for Freeport, Farmingdale, or Franklin Square. She took her chances and went to Freeport Post Office.

She walked into the P.O. Box area and walked straight to 642. She took the key, and would you know it—the door opened. Inside she found some letters, drawings, and a menu to a restaurant. It was strange because certain items were highlighted like there was a hidden message there too.

Kerrin was feeling a bit confused but did not want to give up on this adventure. She was finally feeling like herself again unbothered about her morning. She spent most of her afternoon deciphering messages. Kerrin went back to the little black notebook and read the clue. It read “It was my favorite place to eat with my sweet. If she were here, I would give her whatever she wanted because she deserved it.” Looking carefully at the menu, Kerrin realized it was a menu to the Milleridge Inn.

Filled with excitement, Kerrin rushed over to the Milleridge Inn to see what the last clue revealed. When she got there, she was unsure what she was looking for. She read the clue again to see if she could find more clues. Kerrin saw that the Garden room was circled. When Kerrin arrived, she was greeted by the hostess and Kerrin told her why she was there. “I know this may sound strange, but do you remember a customer by the name of Francesco Franceschi?” Of course, Mr. Franceschi comes in every Sunday for breakfast,” said the hostess. “Did something happen to him?” “Oh no,” replied Kerrin. “I found something that belongs to him but there is a hidden treasure here according to this notebook.” “A hidden treasure? Interesting” replied the hostess. “I don’t know if this helps but Mr. Franceschi sits in the garden out back by the bench after his meal each Sunday. He says it helps him remember his wife.” “Really?” Kerrin said. “Yes, his wife passed five years ago but he misses her dearly,” said the hostess. “If you don’t mind, can I take a trip to the garden for a bit?” “Absolutely,” replied the hostess. Kerrin walked to the bench and sat there pondering what the treasure could be. Where was it?

Right underneath her feet were a patch of grass that looked like it had been shoveled. She thought to herself, “could the treasure be in the ground?” A bit farfetched, she reached into her purse to get a comb and began using it as a shovel. She dug and dug and then as soon as she was about to give up, she felt something. She dug a little deeper and it was a metal box. Kerrin picked it up and placed it on the bench. Although she was curious to open it, she knew the hunt was coming to an end, and all her problems would return after she left the inn. She would be moving back home with her mom and would probably have to take some time off to find a job and save money for school.

Kerrin decided to open the box. She gasped and closed it quickly. “Oh my gosh, did I just see that or am I imagining it?” she said to herself. She opened the box again and saw $20,000. Could it be the answer to all her problems? Kerrin looked over her shoulders and saw no one was around. She quickly took the metal box and made her way to the train. The whole train ride she thought of what she should do. “I should report it to the police. No. All they would do is keep it until they would find Mr. Franceschi,” she said. Then she thought about finding Mr. Franceschi herself. “He probably wasn’t looking for it since he buried it,” she said to herself. “Could he have wanted me to find it? He did say are you willing to accept it. Is that what he meant?”

Kerrin returned to school with the metal box in tow. She decided to do a Google search and look for Mr. Franceschi. After twenty minutes she came across two Francesco Franceschi that could be the man she saw on the train. One-man lived-in Brooklyn and the other in Oceanside. Kerrin set her sights on the Francesco that lived in Oceanside. She figured all the places were in Long Island so that must be him. “I should call him,” she said. And so, she did. “Hello” a voice answered. “Hi, my name is at Kerrin and I believe I saw you on the LIRR this morning. “Yes, I rode the train today,” he said. “Oh great, you left a black Moleskine notebook on the train and I found it” “I see,” he said. “Well, I opened it up to see who it belonged to and I found your name and clues to a treasure hunt,” said Kerrin. “Yes, my dear,” he answered. “I came across all the clues.” “Did you find it?” he asked. “I ended up at the Milleridge Inn and under the bench you visit, I found a metal box that I think belongs to you,” said Kerrin. “Oh my, did you open it my dear?” “Yes, and I would like to meet you to give it back to you,” she said. “Why on Earth would you want to do that?” “Because I dug it up because I wanted to see what the treasure was, but it does not belong to me,” she said. “Did you follow the clues?” “Yes,” she responded. “Did you find the treasure? he asked. “Yes, I did Sir,” she said. “Then it belongs to you,” Francesco said. “I don’t know what you mean,” Kerrin said. Feeling a bit perplexed Kerrin held her head in her hands waiting for Francesco to respond. “When I saw you on the train in deep thought, I figured I could help you,” said Francesco. “So, you left your notebook on purpose?” “Why yes my dear. After you told me what would happen to you in school, I knew it could help you.” “You wanted me to find the buried treasure?” asked Kerrin. “Exactly. I just hoped you would be diligent enough to complete the hunt,” said Francesco. “It was a good way to forget about my problems,” responded Kerrin. “I’m sure my dear. Use the money to take care of your school bill,” said Francesco. “Thank you so much sir. I don’t know what to say,” said Kerrin. “Say that you will put the money to good use.” “Thank you so much Mr. Franceschi. I cannot thank you enough. This will cover the two semesters,” she said. “Good luck my dear.”

What started out to be a terrible day turned into a ray of sunshine. Kerrin was able to stay in school and graduate with honors all because she saw the little black Moleskine notebook.