Soon they were off again, cruising down the highway.
More dreary hours passed in the van. Lexie took lots of pictures of passing towns and countryside. She liked taking pictures on her camera. The sceneries had gradually begun to change from mountains to many different terrains as they made their way up to the city of New York.
“What are y’all the most excited to see in New York if our cousins give us a tour?” Adara asked from behind the steering wheel.
“Well, I’ve always wanted to see Niagara Falls,” Arianna announced.
“I want to see the Statue of Liberty!” Austy threw her fist up to the ceiling of the van.
“The Twin Towers are what I want to see,” Lexie said.
“Yes, that would be cool!” Elise agreed, “But I doubt they’d give us a tour of the whole state!”
The others laughed.
Supper passed for which they just ate packed lunch meat in the van and some other snacks.
Finally, when it was almost dark, they reached New York City. The girls all perked up when Adara told them where they were, and they watched in amazement as they drove on the highway into the biggest city in the United States.
“Okay this is getting crazy,” Adara said, beginning to freak out with all the terrible traffic. “I’m not used to a crazy city. Austy, here, you get me Aunt Lily’s address.”
Austy searched on the phone for the address. When she found it, she told her sister, and they drove on through the bustling city. Incredibly ginormous skyscrapers loomed above them, and the city was lit up with so many lights.
“It’s so loud!” Arianna exclaimed.
“It’s the city, dear,” Lexie said in a grown-up voice. “We’re just used to the quiet, peaceful country.”
Arianna shook her head and watched all the sights about her.
Lexie took a lot more pictures. There was so much to see in the city as they drove by. So many people were walking the streets even though it was dark out now. It was so hard to tell how dark it was though, with all the lights lighting up the whole city.
Suddenly Arianna almost flew out of her seat. “There! I see the Twin Towers!”
“Where?” Lexie wanted to see them more than anyone.
“Whoa!” everyone gasped and their eyes bulged at the sight of the two towers.
“I looked up how big they were in the encyclopedia before, but now they seem bigger than I ever thought they could be!” Lexie marveled.
The others gasped in wonder and excitement as the two towers rose above all the other skyscrapers around them.
“Goodness gracious!” Austy exclaimed, looking ahead at them. “They’re even bigger than I have ever even imagined them!” she said, adding on to what Lexie had said before.
They drove on, taking in all the sights of the city. New York City was a true beauty when it was lit up with all its dancing lights. A whole hour passed as they slowly made their way to their cousin’s house. The streets were packed, so it was very hard to get anywhere. The traffic jams were unimaginable.
Finally, much later, they pulled up to a big gray house in a much less busy part of the city. Other tall houses were on either side of it.
“Looks gloomy. Is this it?” Austy asked, staring at it uncertainly.
“If you read me the address right, then it is,” Adara answered, and Austy raised an eyebrow at her.
They parked at the edge of the street in front of the big house.
“Hey, I can still see the Twin Towers!” Elise exclaimed as they got out.
“Let’s not bring anything up to the door yet,” Adara said. “First, we’ll make sure this is the right house, and then we’ll see about getting our stuff.”
“Right-o,” Austy replied.
They walked up to the door a little hesitantly. Adara rapped her knuckles on it. The other girls looked back at the busy street behind them. They were trying to take in all the little details.
A little later the door opened. Before them stood a girl of about sixteen.
“Oh, are you the ones who are coming to stay?” she looked at their simple outfits.
Austy followed her gaze with disgust.
“Yes… we’re your cousins,” Adara nodded. It was such a weird question.
“So, you’re from the country in North Carolina! Mom said you were. Oh, you’ll have to drop your southern way of talking. We’re New Yorkers. We don’t tolerate that kind of talk.”
“Amber!” A boy about a year older than her came flying to the door. The sisters had all stared at Amber in disgust while she had been talking. Elise felt like she had just met another Diana.
“Welcome cousins!” he greeted them. He nudged his sister aside and had the girls all come in. “We’ve been waiting for your arrival.”
Amber rolled her eyes. Austy at once knew she was going to dislike her. The boy, however, had a more pleasant manner.
The girls all introduced themselves to their cousins and to their aunt who came to greet them. It had been many years since they’d seen each other, so they kind of forgot their names. Their cousins were Charlie, who was a little younger than Adara; Amber, who was Austy’s age; and Savannah, who was in-between Lexie and Arianna’s ages.
“Well,” Aunt Lily said, “you girls can get your things brought inside and we’ll set you up in the guest rooms. Your uncle is at work right now.”
“Yeah, he works inside one of the Twin Towers,” Amber bragged, flicking her hair.
The girls went back out and got their suitcases. Then Aunt Lily showed them to the two guest rooms. “Here’s where you’ll be staying.”
“Golly, this house is huge!” Austy remarked after their aunt left.
“I don’t think I’ll like it here much,” Lexie sighed, setting her suitcase on one of the beds.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’ll be fun!” Adara tried to brighten their moods. “Oh! I need to call Mom so she knows that we arrived safely.” She pulled out the phone from her pocket and began to make the phone call.
Their cousins’ rooms were just down the hall from them.
Elise went to the window and looked out onto the busy street. Then she looked up, past the skyscrapers, at the expanse of black sky. She thought back to her home in North Carolina and of all the mysterious things that had taken place there. She wished once more that she could have stayed there instead of coming to her cousin’s house in the city.
I want to unlock the mystery of the map to the treasure. I want to see what’s under that trapdoor in our woods, she said to herself. It might not even be treasure. It could be something even more legendary.
Then she turned back away from the window. Her parents were figuring that out now. She wasn’t supposed to be in North Carolina at this time, so she would stop wishing she was. She pulled her Bible out of her suitcase and set it on her nightstand. She ran her hand along the blue cover.
The girls continued unpacking. They all chitchatted while they unpacked and hung up their items. Adara and Austy had decided to stay together in a room and the other three were in the next room.
Elise stole a glance one more time out the window as she pulled one of her mystery books out of her suitcase. Her eyes glistened with a dreamy adventurous look. Austy came into the room and saw the fire in Elise’s eyes. She understood completely because she felt the same way over the matter.
“There are so many things to do in New York, so many places to go see,” Elise told her. “I just don’t want to be here now when I know what’s going on at home.”
Austy clinched her jaw. “We don’t belong in the city.”
Elise looked up at her and smiled.
“I hope Mom and Dad can find the key and figure out what’s under the trapdoor,” Elise said, fingering the necklace around her neck as she usually did. Suddenly her hands closed around the small light key on the necklace and her heart beat until she could feel it ringing in her ears. She gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth.
“What is it?” Austy asked.
; Elise couldn’t speak now. She was too busy trying to sort things through in her head. Could the key on my necklace actually be the key to unlocking the trapdoor? Did Great-Grandma give it to me for a reason, after all? She was stunned and in shock. It all came to her; her parents had the box which concealed the map that leads to the treasure, and she herself had always worn the key on the necklace around her neck that would unlock the trapdoor in her woods. A plan began to form in her head. Maybe now she could help her parents with this “map to treasure” adventure!
Map to Treasure Page 12