Vacation Mystery

Watching the sun lower into the ocean is quite possibly the most relaxing experience on the planet, Hannah thinks as she sips her frozen, fruity drink. Taking a deep breath she digs her toes into the sand and watches the pink and orange streaks dance across the waves. I earned this, she thinks. I worked hard for this. Finishing her Masters degree was totally worth the student loans she has been slowly paying back. Now that she has aced her bar exam she will hopefully get a salary bump so she can make bigger payments and quit her second job.

Shaking her head she leans back in her chair, closes her eyes and vows to fully commit to her vacation. No thinking about real life problems right now. Leaning to the side she puts her drink in the sand and has to move fast when it hits something hard and almost tips over. She sees something black sticking out of the sand and pulls at it, when it gives a little resistance she pulls harder and a black journal pops out. Wiping off the cover, it has gold embossed lettering, Our Story of Firsts. Flipping the cover open she sees the first entry was dated twenty years ago. She starts reading and before she knows it, dusk has set in so she collects her things to go back to her room. She can’t put the journal down, each first is like it’s own love letter.

Her heartstrings tug a little because someone must miss this. As she flips through the rest of the entries she sees their first date, Valentine’s day and the very first entry is the first time their eyes met. The elegant writing pulls her in as she gets comfy on the couch to continue reading...

“I’ve forever heard the phrase, white noise. That’s what people hear when they see something life changing but that didn’t apply to the first time our eyes met. We were set up on a blind date and though I’ve never believed in fate I had a feeling about you. From the song the pianist was playing softly in the background, to your warm smile I got a fast forward glimpse of the amazing life we would have together. I’m so glad we took the scary leap of meeting a stranger.”

Hannah wipes away a tear and smiles. She has only heard a true love beginning this way in romance novels. She flips through the rest of the pages to see if she can find a name. On the back of the front cover is a name so she looks to the end to see the date of the last entry. It was only about four months ago so she calls down to the front desk to see if they have a record of this guest. Sam, the girl at the front desk, was more than helpful when she told Hannah that the journal owner’s husband called shortly after their stay to see if anyone found it. After a little convincing Sam gave her their address so Hannah could mail it back to them.

Contented that the rest of her vacation will not be overshadowed by this mystery she gets ready for bed and hunkers down into the pillows to read some more. Now that she isn’t as busy, maybe she will find the time to take her own scary leap. As the rest of her week of relaxation flies by she rereads the journal two more times. She practically has it memorized. The night before she is scheduled to go home she decides to write a letter so she can send the journal back to its owner as soon she gets home.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Blake,

I found this buried in the sand at the Pura Vida Resort in Costa Rica. I just got back from there myself and wanted to send this back to you as soon as possible. I hope you don’t mind that I convinced the front desk to give me your address. I just didn’t want it to fall through the cracks. I thought that something as beautiful as this with so many memories had to be returned to its rightful owner. I don’t think I have ever read such a beautiful love story in my life. Please don’t hate me for stealing your idea of writing down my own love story when I finally find my forever.

Take care,

Hannah

Two weeks after her vacation Hannah walks into her apartment after a particularly grueling week at work. Grueling, as in busy but she loves it all the same. She got her salary bump and a brand new case load but she was able to let go of her second job. Kicking off her shoes she walks over to the couch and flips through the mail before focusing on the small box she now sees if from Mr. Blake. Smiling, she tears it open and finds a black journal much like the one she found on the beach. Upon further examination she sees this one is also gold embossed with the words, Love is a Journey, but is blank on the inside. Looking back into the box she sees a letter as well.

Dear Hannah,

I can’t tell you what it means to me to have this journal back. Unfortunately, my wife, Marie, passed away shortly after our trip to Costa Rica and I was frantic looking for the journal. As you could probably tell from the entries this was a second marriage for both of us and both of our children were grown so we had many adventures together. This trip was our last, she had breast cancer, and we spent her last months seeing as much of this beautiful world as possible. My hope for you is that you find a love to fill your journal with.

Appreciatively,

Harry Blake

With a shaking hand Hannah wipes away her tears as she rereads the letter. Now she is even more happy that she had a part in getting the journal back to him. Her heart breaks for his loss but knowing he has these memories back, written in Marie’s hand, overjoys her. Taking a deep breath she gets up and picks up the box to bring it to the recycle bin. When she tosses it on on the way to the fridge she sees another envelope flutter to the floor. Opening it, she sees another letter saying he wants to give her a reward for returning something so priceless to him. At the end he put his phone number so she grabs her phone to call him immediately. She doesn’t want a reward. Knowing she was able to get something so precious back to him after such a devastating loss is the only thing she will ever need.

She dials his number and he picks up on the second ring. “Hello.”

“Hello, Mr. Blake? This is Hannah.”

“Oh, Hannah. I’m so glad to hear from you. I get to thank you again.”

“There’s no need. I’m just so happy that I was able to return the journal to you. I also wanted to express my deepest condolences to you.”

“Thank you my dear. Marie was one of a kind. I was devastated when I thought her journal was gone forever.”

“I can imagine. And I wanted to thank you for the journal you sent me and also let you know that a reward is completely unnecessary.”

He chuckles, “I figured you would say that. I had a feeling about you. So this call is more a formality.”

“I don’t understand.” Hannah says a little confused.

“I was a lawyer before I retired so I have a lot of connections. I’ll repeat your words back to you, I hope you don’t mind that I got some of your personal information too.”

Hannah laughs, “I’m still not following.”

“I was able to find out that you still had about twenty thousand dollars left to pay off your student loans. Harvard is my alma mater as well. Anyone with the grades you achieved and the score you got on your Bar exam should not have to worry about paying off school.”

“That was a lot of information. If I’m hearing you correctly, you paid off my student loans.”

“Yes.” Mr. Blake says. “As Marie would always say, “It’s only money. What really counts is the memories.” Now you have time to make some of those memories.”

“Very sneaky Mr. Blake.”

“Please call me Harry.”

“Okay, Harry. Well, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you for such an amazing gift.”

“Well, my son is about your age and is in the same stage of life as you.”

“Are you trying to set me up on a blind date, Harry?”

“In my experience, a blind date can be the start of the greatest journey you’ll ever embark upon.”

To be continued...