Texas Treasure

by Courtney Sheinmel

  “I don’t know,” Finn said.

  “Oh, I know!” Carlos said. “We must be in the Amazing Mirror Maze. I’ve always wanted to come here! It’s across the street from the Alamo. We must have gone underground to the other side of the River Walk.”

  “Was that rope here, just waiting for you?” Molly asked.

  “Yep,” Finn said. “Isn’t that lucky?” He pulled the rope through the hole and put the trapdoor back in place.

  “We must be on the right track,” Carlos said.

  “Or maybe someone was already here, and we’re too late,” Molly said.

  “Even if someone else was here,” Finn said, “we are the ones with the map.”

  “That’s right,” Carlos said. “Maybe the treasure is at the end of this mirror maze.”

  “Hmm…,” Molly said. “Can I see the map again?”

  Carlos took the map out of his back pocket and handed it over.

  Molly studied the map. “Look at this writing in the lower corner. It must be some kind of code.”

  “Maybe it’s another secret language, like Roman numerals,” Finn suggested.

  “I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Molly said. “I’m stumped.”

  “I hate when you’re stumped,” Finn said.

  “I’m over here,” she said. A hundred different Mollys waved their hands.

  Finn and Carlos both raised their hands, and a hundred different Finns and Carloses waved back.

  Molly looked down to the map and walked around in circles, studying it. “Oh! I found a pathway out of this room,” she said. “Follow me.”

  “Wait!” Carlos said. “How do we know which Molly to follow?”

  “That’s easy,” Finn said. “We’ll follow the one that disappears.”

  But when Molly ducked out of the room, all the Mollys disappeared.

  “Oh, duh,” Finn said. “If Molly herself disappears, of course all the reflections of Molly do, too. We have to go find her.”

  “Not just her,” Carlos said. “We have to find my grandpa’s map! She took it with her! I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you guys. She probably wants to steal all the treasure for herself!”

  “No way,” Finn said. “My sister would never steal anything.”

  “She stole the map,” Carlos said. “The only reason to steal the map is if she’s planning to steal the treasure, too.”

  “You gave her the map,” Finn said.

  A hundred angry Carloses stared back at Finn. “You two no-accounts,” the Carloses said. “I shouldn’t have trusted you any farther than I can throw you.”

  “You’re not big enough to throw us at all,” Finn said.

  “Exactly.”

  “Look, there’s a pathway,” Finn said. “Maybe it’s the one Molly took. Let’s go.”

  “Hang on,” Carlos said. He picked up the rope. “We better hold on to this to make sure we’re following each other and not our reflections. Here.”

  He held the end of the rope up toward Finn.

  “That’s not me,” Finn said. “That’s just my reflection.”

  Carlos handed the rope to another Finn, and another, and another. Finally, on the fifth try, he got the real Finn.

  “Don’t let go,” Carlos said sternly.

  “I won’t,” Finn said.

  Carlos led them through mirrored turns, to a dark hallway with neon lights on the floor.

  “Oh, it’s so cool in here,” Finn said.

  “We can’t stop,” Carlos said. “Not until we find your sister.”

  They turned through an archway, into a circular, mirrored room. On the other side was a long hall filled with fun-house mirrors that stretched them into ten-foot-tall giants. “If I was this tall in real life, you wouldn’t have needed to boost me out of the passageway,” Finn said. “I’d have been able to move the trapdoor just by reaching up.”

  But then they turned a corner, and the next row of mirrors made them look like miniature people. “I’m even smaller than my baby brother,” Carlos said.

  He reached out to touch his reflection, and the mirror swung open, revealing one last mirrored room leading to the exit. And at the far side of that room was Molly!

  “Finally! I’ve been waiting for you guys,” she said.

  “See, I told you she wasn’t stealing the treasure,” Finn told Carlos.

  “You were right,” Carlos said. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “Come look at this,” Molly said. She was holding the map up to the large mirrored wall. “I think I just cracked the code. And you’re never going to believe it.”

  “You know where the treasure is?” Carlos asked.

  “Not exactly.” Molly nodded toward the mirror.

  The writing was in English, but the words were backward and could only be read when held in front of a mirror.

  Molly, Finn, and Carlos walked back out into the blazing Texas sunshine. “A coupon?” Finn asked.

  “Yep,” Molly said.

  “I know what dip is,” Finn said. “But what’s queso?”

  “It’s Spanish for ‘cheese,’ ” Carlos said.

  “Oh, yum!”

  “But that can’t be right,” Carlos said. “This map is over a hundred years old. Just look at it.”

  “Maybe it’s a very old diner,” Finn said. “Anyway, I’m starving.”

  “We might as well go check it out,” Molly said.

  She handed the map back to Carlos.

  “Do you know where we are now?” Finn asked Molly.

  “I know where we are,” Carlos said. “This is the River Walk. It’s probably the most famous spot in San Antonio—except for the Alamo, of course. That’s the San Antonio River, and up above there is downtown.”

  “You mean we’re walking below the town right now?” Molly asked.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Cool.”

  The River Walk was packed with families enjoying the summer day. Yellow fairy lights and cafe tables with brightly colored umbrellas lined the river.

  Carlos led the way over an arched stone footbridge. Beneath them, a boat of tourists, snapping photos on their phones, passed by.

  “Is it always this crowded?” Finn asked.

  “Always,” Carlos said.

  “I love it here,” Molly said.

  “Apparently a lot of other people do, too,” Finn said.

  They came to a green-and-white-striped awning marking the River Walk Diner. Carlos crossed his fingers. “Oh, Grandpa,” he whispered. “I hope we’re in the right place.”

  “Ready to go in?” Molly asked.

  Carlos nodded, and they stepped inside. The diner had a black-and-white-tiled floor and red booths. A country song played on the jukebox.

  “Table for three, please,” Finn said.

  The hostess led them to the last empty booth, near the kitchen, and handed them three menus. “Your waiter will be right with you,” she said.

  “We already know they serve cheese dip here,” Finn said. “I mean queso dip. Good thing, because I’m starving.”

  “I just realized something,” Molly said. “We can’t order queso dip or anything else. We don’t have any money.”

  “But we have a coupon,” Finn said.

  “The coupon means the queso dip costs less,” said Molly. “It’s not free.” She picked up a menu. “The queso dip is seven dollars. But with five dollars off, it’s two dollars.”

  “Oh,” said Finn.

  “I have money,” Carlos said.

  “I’ll pay you back,” Finn offered.

  “That’s okay,” Carlos said. “Even if we don’t find the treasure, I still think my grandpa would want me to share. And you can have all the dip. I’m not hungry anyway.”

 
“You sound upset,” Molly said.

  “I am,” Carlos said. “I thought we were on the right track…but this place is just a regular diner. So how could my great-great-great-great-great-grandfather’s old treasure map have led us here?”

  Finn shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” Molly admitted.

  Finn sighed and put his menu facedown on the table.

  Molly glanced over. “What in the world…?” she said.

  “What’s wrong?” Finn asked.

  “The back of your menu,” she said.

  Carlos looked up, and then he quickly flipped over his own menu, too. “It’s…it’s…”

  “Your great-great-great-great-great-grandfather’s map,” Molly supplied.

  The menu version of the map was laminated in plastic. But when he spread both pieces of his map on the table next to the menu to compare them, there was no denying it. The maps were identical.

  “But how…,” he started to ask.

  A waiter arrived and placed three glasses of water on the table. “Hi there, I’m Tom, and I’ll be your server today,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

  “You can tell us where these menus came from,” Carlos said.

  “Uh…,” Tom said. “The hostess brought them to you?”

  “No, I mean, where did this come from?” Carlos asked. He tapped the picture of the treasure map.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Tom said. “You’ll have to ask Sal about that.”

  “Who’s Sal?” Molly asked.

  “He owns this diner,” Tom explained. “He’s in charge of all menu decisions, and I’m in charge of orders. So what can I get you?”

  “We’d like some queso dip,” Finn said.

  “And we’d like to talk to Sal,” Carlos added.

  “Dip coming right up,” Tom said. “And I’ll pass along the message to Sal.”

  Tom walked away, and Carlos bent his head toward Molly and Finn. “You know what I’m thinking,” he said in a whisper.

  “What?” the twins asked.

  “I think Sal somehow got a copy of the map and found the buried treasure himself,” Carlos said. “Then he used the money to buy this diner.”

  “But if the money was buried by your great-grandfather times five, then it really belongs to you,” Molly said.

  “Which means this is your diner,” Finn said. “Holy guacamole. You’re probably the youngest diner owner in the entire United States of America, and maybe even the world!”

  “Shh,” Carlos said.

  “Hello there,” a voice boomed. The kids turned to see a man with twinkling brown eyes and a big handlebar mustache standing beside their table.

  “Are you Sal?” Molly asked.

  “Sure am,” the man said. “Y’all have a question about the menu?”

  “We have a question about the back of the menu,” Carlos said. “This is an old map my grandpa gave me.” He pushed the map across the table toward Sal. Then he placed the menu map beside it. “And this is the map on the back of your menu. They’re the same!”

  “Well, whaddya know,” Sal said. “They are.” He fingered Carlos’s old map.

  “Careful,” Carlos said.

  “Where’d you get this?” Sal asked.

  “We should be asking you the same thing,” Molly said. “Where’d you get the map that you have on the backs of all the menus?”

  “An old friend gave it to me,” Sal said.

  “An old friend, huh?” Finn said. “The kind of old friend who dug up someone else’s buried treasure?”

  “Oh no, nothing like that,” Sal said. He turned to Carlos. “Are you going to tell me where you got yours?”

  “My grandpa Berto gave it to me,” Carlos said.

  “Ah,” Sal said. “You must be Carlos.”

  “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Sal said.

  “Finally meet me…? You mean, you know who I am?” Carlos asked.

  “I sure do,” Sal said. “Your grandpa Berto and I were friends. He came here every week for strong coffee and some queso dip. Don’t tell your grandma Rosa about the queso.” Sal winked.

  “You know my grandma, too?”

  “No, I never met her,” Sal said. “But I heard a lot about her. Berto talked about your whole family.”

  “Really?” Carlos asked.

  “Sure thing,” Sal said.

  “He left the map in an envelope with my name on it,” Carlos said. “But I don’t understand…. Why would he give it to me if it’s just a doodle from a diner menu?”

  “It’s not just any doodle,” Sal said. “Your grandpa made that map himself.”

  “His grandpa?” Finn said. “But don’t you mean his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather?”

  “My great-grandfather times five fought in the Texas Revolution,” Carlos explained. “When I saw the map, I thought that he must’ve buried treasure back then, and that Grandpa Berto wanted me to find it.”

  “Oh, no,” Sal said. “Berto drew it, for sure. I was sitting right next to him when he did. You see, he was one of my first customers when I opened up shop. Back then, we didn’t get much of a crowd. Berto thought the map would help lead tourists from the Alamo to the diner for a meal. We didn’t ever get to distribute it at the Alamo. Turns out they didn’t want their visitors digging things up in search of treasure over there. But I liked the drawing so much, I put it on the back of the menu. Berto said we should stain it with tea to make it look really old. Clever, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Carlos said.

  “Anyway, it didn’t matter,” Sal said. “Business here at the diner picked up.”

  “There are still things that don’t make sense,” Molly said. “Carlos’s grandpa only gave him half the map. The other half was behind a stone in the burial chamber. How’d that happen?”

  “Well, I can’t say for sure,” Sal said. “But my guess is Carlos’s grandpa was hoping to give Carlos a little adventure.” He turned to Carlos. “You know what your grandpa always said….”

  “No, what?” Carlos asked.

  “He said, ‘Money and riches are great to have, but true treasure is right here.’ ” Sal patted his chest. “What was in your grandpa’s heart was what he treasured most. And that was you and your grandma. His family was the real treasure.”

  “So there’s no gold?” Finn asked.

  Sal laughed. “There’s golden queso dip,” he said. “Berto’s favorite. Tom tells me you already ordered some. I reckon you’ll enjoy it. It was nice to meet all of you—especially you, Carlos. You were your grandpa Berto’s dearest treasure.”

  Carlos looked down at his hands. His eyes got shiny again, and he blinked a bunch of times in a row.

  “I’ll go check on that queso now,” Sal said. “Today it’s on the house.”

  “Thanks,” Carlos said.

  “That’s pretty cool that your grandpa left a big adventure for you,” Finn said after Sal had left.

  “Yeah…but are you mad that I don’t have any gold or jewels to share with you?”

  “Of course we’re not mad,” Finn said. “We got to meet you and go on a treasure hunt together. And we even get free queso dip.”

  “Oh!” Molly said. “I almost forgot!” She re-loosened the knot in her friendship bracelet and handed it to Carlos. “This is for you.”

  “Thanks.” Carlos slipped the bracelet over his wrist and smiled.

  Tom came back with the queso dip, along with tortilla chips and carrot sticks. The kids dug in.

  “This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted,” Finn said. “Your grandpa was on to something.”

  “Maybe we can make some when we get home,” Molly said.

  “Or you can come back to Texas and have some more with me,” Carlos said.

  “Oh yeah!”

>   They’d barely finished when a loud honk came from outside.

  Finn’s and Molly’s eyes met across the table.

  “I can’t wait to tell Grandma Rosa all about this,” Carlos said. “She loves stories about Grandpa Berto. I’ve missed him too much to talk to her about him. But talking about him with you made me feel a little bit better. Maybe if I tell Grandma this story, she’ll feel better, too. Want to come over and tell her with me?”

  The horn sounded again.

  “Tell her we say hi and we hope to meet her next time we come to Texas,” Molly said. “But right now we have to go. I’m sorry.” She and Finn stood and hugged Carlos goodbye. Then they rushed out to meet PET.

  The camper was idling in the parking lot. Molly and Finn flew out of the diner and jumped inside.

  “Buckle up, kids,” PET said. “We’re taking the long way home!”

  Molly and Finn slid into their seats and clicked the seat belts shut.

  “The long way?” Finn asked.

  “Hold on!” said PET. The camper shook from side to side. There was a flash of bright white light, and they took off. They flew past deserts and snaking rivers. Then they saw buildings and cars.

  “Finn, take a look out of your window,” PET said.

  Finn did as he was told and saw a green field and a brown dirt diamond with ant-sized dots moving around it. “Is that Minute Maid Park?” he asked.

  “That it is,” PET said.

  “Those ants must be the Houston Astros and the Cincinnati Reds!” Finn cried. “Good thing it’s a clear night, so the stadium roof is wide open.”

  “Hey, PET,” Molly said. “Why did you take us to San Antonio and not Houston? Is it because the teams didn’t need any help, but Carlos did? I mean, that’s our work, right? Helping people?”

  “That’s right,” PET said. “My instructions are to take you where help will be needed. The thing is, wherever you go, help is always needed.”

  “Your instructions?” Molly asked. “Who gave you instructions?”

  PET didn’t reply.

  “Maybe you’ll answer this question,” Finn said. “I was really tired last night when we left Ohio. I didn’t get to sleep at all, and we spent all day in Texas. So how come I’m not tired anymore?”