Sunshine & Treasure

The sun is slowly setting on another beautiful summer's day at Golden Beach. The waves gently coming to shore. The wind blowing through the trees. When a young woman is seen walking towards the shoreline, as she does every Friday afternoon. You see, after a long work week, she needs this time alone to let go of all the weight that has been placed on her shoulders through the week. Her name is Isabella and my god she is stunning. Long, thick brown hair past her shoulders, that dances in the wind and she wears the same dress each time, pink with white polka dots.

While most days she would simply sit on the sand facing the ocean, gazing as far as her eyes could see, today she decided to change things up a little and go for a short stroll along the waterline. Up ahead she saw the strangest thing, a half buried black Jellyfish. She had never seen a black Jellyfish before, so she walked closer to get a better look. Upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn't a Jellyfish at all, it was a small black notebook that was safely stored inside an airtight plastic bag.

"How strange", She thought to herself.

She looked around to see if someone had left it behind, but there was no one in sight for hundreds of meters in either direction she looked. The only logical thing for her to do was to take it home with her, so that she could investigate it further. Who knows, she might be able to find out who owns it. As soon as Isabella arrived home, the very first thing she did was tear open the plastic bag and take the book to her favourite reading spot by the window. She opened the book, hoping that the first page would have a name in it so that she could try and return it, but it didn't. It did however, have quite a bizarre title written on the first page. The title read, "Secret treasure hidden inside" which made Isabella laugh out loud a little.

Isabella composed herself and turned the page. She couldn't believe what she was reading. The page accurately explained in detail where she found the book, as if it was buried there on purpose just waiting for the tide to slowly unbury it. She wondered how long it had been there. Was this book meant for her? No, it couldn't be. How could it be? Isabella felt a chill go down her spine, as if someone were watching her. That was enough of this book for her tonight. It was all too creepy, so she had a shower, ate some dinner and went to bed.

Isabella woke with a fright, there was someone banging at her door. She lives in a one-bedroom apartment and was not expecting anyone over and definitely not at the ungodly hour of 2am! She grabbed her baseball bat and tiptoed to her front door as she trembled. She glanced through her spy hole, but there was no one there and she didn't dare open the door. She stared out the spy hole for another few minutes and once she was satisfied that there was definitely no one there, she decided to continue reading the little black notebook, I mean she was already awake now anyway.

The next page seemed to be giving her instructions to go somewhere and then the rest of the pages of the book were blank. Could this book really be a treasure map? The instructions were to go to City Hall, walk behind the building, find the birdhouse in the fifth tree from the fence line and that was all it said. "This has to be some sort of prank", she thought.

Well, once again, she was already awake and there's no time like the present, so she got dressed, grabbed her pepper spray (you know, just in case Mr. Door Banger was lurking outside the building) and out she went. She had never gone for a 3am walk, she liked it. The streets were empty, the air was crisp and fresh, and she could hear her own thoughts. Maybe she had accidently stumbled across a new tradition, 3am walks on a Saturday morning. She can now see the City Hall in the distance. It's closed and there is no one around. She sneaks around to the back and counts the trees from the fence line. Even though the book didn't say left or right, she spots the birdhouse. There doesn't seem to be anything special about this birdhouse, what a waste of time. She felt quite gullible at this stage but for the sake of completeness, she grabbed a chair, put it against the tree, stepped up onto it and proceeded to put her hand into the birdhouse. Yep, that's poop, she wiped her hand on the tree and checked one last time. There was something loose in there, so she pulled it out. It was a note. "Great, more instructions," She said.

Isabella got the feeling that today was going to be a long day. Where in the world would she need to go next? Luckily for her, the next stop was close by, the underground train station. The note said, "Look for the metal man, you'll find what you need in his hand".

She walked down the stairs being sure to keep her eyes peeled for this metal man. She had been to this station many times before and has never seen a metal man. Then suddenly in the distance, lights turned on and there he was, a metal man. A living metal man, you know the ones, the street performers who pretend to be statues, yeah, that's what she saw in the distance. Isabella is so scared she can't find the strength to move. She yells, "Who are you?"

The metal man raises his hand and waves at Isabella as if to say, "Come."

Isabella grabs her pepper spray out of her pocket and slowly walks towards the metal man. Her heart is beating out of her chest and she is struggling to breathe. She gets about five steps away from the man and yells, "Who are you and how did you know I would be here?"

The metal man replied, "I knew someone who knew you, but you didn't know them. Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you."

She approached slowly and with caution. The metal man placed out his hand which had another note in it. This time the note just had what seemed to be a four-digit code, 9092. Isabella was confused, then the metal man said, "Go to the City Bank when it opens and ask for deposit box 283. When they ask for the four-digit password, it's the one you hold in your hands."

"What's in the deposit box?" Asked Isabella.

"It's a surprise, now go home and rest until the bank opens," Replied the metal man.

A few hours later, Isabella arrives at the bank.

"Umm, excuse me? Hi, I was told to ask for deposit box number 283." She asked one of the bank managers.

"Certainly, let me just bring up the details." He replied. "So, you are Isabella Jones?"

Isabella was shocked, how did he know who she was? "Yes, I'm Isabella," She responded.

"Wonderful, I'll just need to see some ID and confirm the four-digit password," He stated.

Isabella passed over her ID and provided the four-digit code. The manger being satisfied with the checks, went and retrieved the deposit box and brought it to Isabella. She took a deep breath and opened the box. Inside, there was a note, along with cash, a lot of cash. She started to read the note which wrote:

"Isabella my darling. You didn't know me and were never allowed to know me, but I knew you. My name is Suzy Polanski and I carried you for nine months. That's right Isabella, I am your mother. I am so sorry I never told you and I am even more sorry that I never got to see you. Your father wouldn't allow it. He threatened to hurt you if you found out and I couldn't let that happen. I have cancer and if you are reading this letter, I have sadly passed away. I'm so sorry you had to find out this way and I know what is in this deposit box doesn't make what you are reading any easier, but there is $20,000 in here for you. I want you to have a better life than I did. I love you so much, love from your mum Suzy."

Isabella was hysterical, tears rolled down her cheeks, she had so many questions. The world was spinning, and she could hear all these different voices. Then she woke up, surrounded by family. She was in the hospital and had been in a coma for the past six months from a car accident. What a horrible dream, but on the plus side, she did have a $20,000 insurance payout waiting for her, so part of her dream was accurate.