by Clay, Verna
Her nervous habit of biting her lip stopped and she said excitedly, "Listen to this." She returned her attention to the journal.
December 3, 1882
Early this morning Tana said she had something to show me. She said Frannie had visited her in a dream. I merely smiled. She didn't tell me what had transpired but I knew she eventually would. She waited until Amy and Josiah were busy feeding the animals to reveal her secret. Over the past months, my lovely and pregnant wife has confided much and I have done my best to lay aside disbelief.
When she removed a small metal box from its hiding place, I knew something of significance was inside. She opened the cover and I saw the gold nugget that had been instrumental in saving our lives, as well as numerous stones and gems. She emptied them onto the bed and I gently touched diamonds, rubies, emeralds, jaspers, quartz, and other stones. I was not surprised because of the remedies she created using them. I had seen several before, but never asked where they were kept. They belonged to Tana alone.
I was astounded, however, by other contents in the box. There was a mix of rolled bills, gold and silver coins, and several pouches. I had an idea of what was contained in the pouches and lifted one. Opening the drawstring I peered inside to see gold dust. Lifting my eyes to Tana's I teased her by saying, "So, did Frannie tell you to show me your stash?"
I now write her exact words. "Yes. Frannie said that long after we have both crossed over, your journal will be instrumental in returning these treasures to their rightful owner."
Of course, I have no understanding of those words. But something I have learned after living among the red rocks with a woman of unfathomable mystery is that our lives are never predictable. I have learned to live without explanations. I have learned to live by faith.
Sunny stopped reading and exclaimed, "There's something hidden in that cabin meant for me. I just know it."
Jason frowned. "Sunny, that cabin collapsed before we were born and God knows how many squatters may have camped there. Anything of significance would have been carted away long ago.
She shook her head. "No. It's still there. Listen again." She looked back at the journal and reread a portion of it.
Lifting my eyes to Tana's I teased her by saying, "So, did Frannie tell you to show me your stash?"
I now write her exact words. "Yes. Frannie said that long after we have both crossed over, your journal will be instrumental in returning these treasures to their rightful owner."
Jason tried again. "Maybe that rightful owner was a previous descendent who read the journals, found the treasure, and sold it years ago."
Sunny nodded. "Logically, that could be true." Then she shook her head. "But in my heart I know it isn't." She glanced at the journal and reread aloud another paragraph.
But something I have learned after living among the red rocks with a woman of unfathomable mystery is that our lives are never predictable. I have learned to live without explanations. I have learned to live by faith.
Sunny reached and touched Jason's hand with her index finger. "Please take me to the cabin or allow me to go there by myself. I've been a good girl and stayed off your property."
Jason glanced at her hand touching his and then lifted his other hand to rub the stubble on his jaw. "Let me change my shoes first."
Sunny clapped her hands in delight. "I just knew you'd agree so I packed us lunch for our search-and-rescue party."
13: Finding the Needle
The half hour walk to the cabin was mostly done in silence. Sunny seemed lost in thought and Jason didn't have the heart to shatter her illusion of finding something. After all, the cabin had probably been abandoned for seventy-five years. Before buying the property, he had done a title search and learned that the home he now lived in had been built in 1940. After a chance conversation with a local old-timer he'd learned that the builders of his home had been a young couple who'd lived in the cabin prior to moving into their dream home. However, tragedy had struck when the husband was killed during World War II. The widow had never remarried and become unstable after the loss of her husband. She had died around 1968 during foreclosure of her property. It appeared she hadn't paid property taxes in years. The property had reverted to the state and subsequently sold in the early 1970s. Since that time it had gone through a couple more owners. However, the last owner had lost it in 2010 due to the economic crunch that began in 2006. The home had remained vacant until purchased at auction by Jason.
As they approached the cabin Sunny stopped and set her backpack on the ground. Jason did the same. She asked, "Do you want to eat first?"
He chuckled. "And keep you from searching for a needle in a haystack? No. Besides…" he glanced at his watch, "It's only nine thirty."
She gave him a sheepish grin and twisted her hands behind her back in an endearing gesture. "Do you have any idea of how we should begin?"
"Not really. From the passage you read, it wasn't clear whether the box was in the house or somewhere outside." He considered the best plan of attack and then said against his better judgment, "If we don't find anything today, perhaps we could rent a metal detector." The brilliant smile Sunny gave him made his heart thud.
She exclaimed, "I just knew it!"
"You knew what?"
"That you're a closet treasure hunter."
He lifted his hands in self defense and said good-naturedly, "No. No. No. I'm only doing this for you." Immediately, he regretted his slip of the tongue.
Her eyes widened and something flashed between them—mutual attraction. The famous, talented, and pretty Sunny Sundance was attracted to him. Quickly, he knelt to retrieve the tools he'd stored in his backpack and said, "Let's start at the perimeter of the house and work inward."
"Okay," she said softly. "I'll start with the only standing wall."
Methodically, over the next hour, Jason actually crawled around the exterior searching for anything that could be a hiding place, and every time he started to dig, Sunny rushed to watch. They found nothing. Next, he concentrated on the porch, lifting old boards and sending lizards scurrying.
Sunny returned to the kitchen wall after yet another disappointment of watching Jason uncover not a metal box, but a large stone under the porch. She refused to be daunted. Returning to the spot she'd left, she felt between the grooves of logs for anything out of the ordinary. Ancient mortar crumbled into her hands and brought sadness for what had once been and was now returning to the dust of the earth. She simply had to find a way to convince Jason to sell her the property, and, if not, to allow her to restore the cabin. She had a sudden inspiration. Maybe he'll sell me just the cabin and outbuildings. The idea gave her comfort and renewed vigor. When she had finished her exploration of the log wall, she sighed and decided to reread the passage about the treasure. She glanced around and saw Jason leaning against the ancient oak near the ruins of the barn and waved. "What are you doing over there? Are you ready to eat?"
He pushed away from the tree. "I was just scoping out the barn as a possible hiding place. And yes, let's eat."
Sunny knelt beside her backpack and pulled out a thermal bag with sandwiches and chips and a small iced compartment with two sodas. She also retrieved the journal.
Jason motioned toward a portion of the porch that was still intact and they sat on the edge of it. She handed him a sandwich and Pepsi. They ate in silence for several minutes.
Sunny swallowed a bite of sandwich and waved around the property. "After reading the journal I can visualize how it looked in the 1800s and the desperate people coming here. There are so many wonderful stories about impossible healings of people and animals. Between Tana being a healer and Thomas a doctor, they performed miracles." When Jason didn't respond she glanced sideways at him.
He was also looking at her. "Miracles?"
"Don't you believe in them?"
"Not really. Tana and Thomas were just skilled at what they did."
"That doesn't explain the animals willingly coming to them. And I mean
predators that became harmless while being treated." She pointed to the fallen logs of the barn. "In that barn wolves, rabbits, horses, mules, birds, beavers, coyotes, and other animals, all coexisted in harmony. How do you explain that?"
"I can't. But I know stories can be embellished over the years."
"So you've said. But this information came directly from Dr. Matthews, an eyewitness."
Sunny kept her gaze on Jason and he merely shrugged. She continued, "If you read his writings, I think you may change your mind."
"Perhaps," was his response.
Sunny reached for the journal she'd set beside her and opened it to the page about the treasure. Silently, she read it for the hundredth time.
When she removed a small metal box from its hiding place, I knew something of significance was inside. She opened the cover and I saw the gold nugget that had been instrumental in saving our lives, as well as numerous stones and gems. She emptied them onto the bed and I gently touched diamonds, rubies, emeralds, jaspers, quartz, and other stones. I was not surprised because of the remedies she created using them. I had seen several before, but never asked where they were kept. They belonged to Tana alone.
Sunny tapped her cheek and reread the passage. Aloud, she pondered, "I wonder…" She lifted her eyes to Jason's.
"What?"
She read the passage to him and he said, "What do you see that I don't? And also, I've been meaning to ask how a gold nugget saved their lives. What happened?"
Sunny's eyes twinkled. "You'll have to read the journals because I'm not telling."
"I had a feeling you'd say that. So, what do you see that I don't?"
"Okay. Thomas sees Tana remove the box from its hiding place and then she empties the contents onto the bed. He didn't say anything about being outside and bringing the box inside. It's as if they were already near the bed."
"That sounds reasonable, but a journal entry condenses information."
Sunny jumped to her feet and hurried inside the ruin. Over her shoulder she called, "There's only one way to find out."
14: Talking Oak
Sunny's heart pounded as she rushed toward the bedroom that was farthest from the kitchen. Jason was close at her heels. Pacing the perimeter of the remaining flooring, she thought about where a treasure would be hidden.
Jason said, "The logs toppled long ago and if there was a hidden alcove or floorboard, the metal box was probably discovered and confiscated, possibly by trespassers, or even family members."
Sunny countered, "Maybe, maybe not." She went down on her knees, but suddenly stood up again. "This wasn't Tana and Thomas' bedroom."
"How can you know that?"
"Because Thomas wrote about how much they loved waking and staring out the only glass window in the cabin."
"Sunny, the walls are gone. How can you know which room had a glass pane?"
"Because he also said how much they enjoyed watching the birds in the old oak." She pointed. "That tree is only visible from the other bedroom. I think the oak is trying to tell us something."
Jason nodded and teased, "Okay. You've made a good case. We should start looking there."
Sunny hurried to the other bedroom and knelt down to smooth her hands over the remaining rough flooring. She glanced up at Jason. "You're a builder. How would you go about hiding something beneath these floorboards?"
He paced the perimeter of the room. "I'd cut a length of plank small enough to be lifted and then notch the bottom edges of adjacent ones to keep it in place. Then I'd make sure the space beneath my plank was large enough to accommodate my treasure, possibly digging into the dirt."
Scanning the floor, Sunny tapped her chin and muttered, "This floor is pieced together with several short planks, which may have been the intent of the builder to camouflage a hiding place." Walking to the edge of the room she stared at the oak tree and then turned around. "It seems logical that the best location for the placement of a window would be here and a bed there." She pointed to her imaginary wall and then the floor.
Jason grinned and joked, "Very astute, Sherlock." He knelt and started examining the floor. Sunny went down on her knees beside him. Pushing and prodding, he tested a couple of planks. When he felt one give a little, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a screwdriver. Gently placing the tip into a crack, he lifted. The wood stayed firmly in place.
Sighing, Sunny watched him try the other end. Jason said, "A lot of dirt and debris has settled over the years. I'm going to dig some of it out."
"Why don't you just rip out the boards with the crowbar?"
Jason met her gaze and didn't respond. Something in his eyes flashed and she exclaimed, "You want to restore the cabin!"
He looked away.
"But why? I thought you were dead set against it."
He turned his attention back to the board and began chipping away at the dirt encrusted crevice. "Perhaps your enthusiasm was contagious. Perhaps it would be disrespectful to allow something so historic to rot away."
Sunny lifted her hands to her cheeks. "I-I don't know what to say." A second later she said, "Oh, yes, I do. I'll pay for the restoration, every cent. And I'll pay you for doing it."
Jason jerked his head up and frowned. "I don't want your money. I–" He jerked his head back to the floor.
Sunny's eyes went wide and she whispered, "What?"
"I just felt it shift."
He removed more dirt and then slowly lifted the plank about two inches. He dug again and lifted again. Both he and Sunny moved to peer into the opening and bumped heads, but neither of them seemed to care. With heads still together, they simultaneously gasped.
15: Opening the Past
Sunny turned incredulous eyes on Jason. He said, "Honey, looks like your intuition was right on."
She whispered, "I guess I never really expected to find anything. This…this is like a storyline in a fantasy novel."
He chuckled, "And that makes you the heroine, so…what do you want to do now?"
"Do we have any options other than to remove the box?"
He chuckled. "Not really unless you want to take photos first."
Sunny thought about that and then reached for her cell phone. "That seems like a good idea."
Jason shrugged, "Who knows, maybe someday you'll write a book about your discovery and make it a page turner with pictures."
Sunny snapped photos from every angle and then snapped a few more with Jason kneeling beside the secret opening. He then took pictures of her. She said, "If I do write an account of this, I'll be sure to give you credit. I couldn't have done this without you."
Jason paused in positioning the cell phone for another picture and said seriously, "Sunny, I have a feeling you can do whatever you set your mind to." He quirked a smile that deepened the creases at the sides of his mouth and eyes. "Even find treasure on property owned by a cantankerous owner."
For some reason, his words put a lump in her throat. It meant a lot coming from him.
He studied her face and asked quietly, "Are you ready to remove your treasure?"
"Yes, but I want you to do it while I snap a photo."
"Sure?"
"I'm sure."
Jason reached down and grasped either side of the metal box with barely enough room to accommodate his hands and slowly lifted their find. Sunny kept snapping photos, but when he set the box on the floor, she pocketed her phone and went down on her knees again.
On the opposite side of the treasure she met Jason's gaze. He said, "There doesn't appear to be a lock, but the clasp looks rusted. It may be difficult to open."
She said, "You open it, Jason."
"No, honey, it's your discovery. You should open it. If it's stuck, I'll help you."
The fact that he had called her "honey" for the second time was not lost on Sunny, but she couldn't think about that right now. With shaking hands she attempted to lift the latch. It was stuck. Before she could apply more pressure, Jason placed his hands over hers and together
they tried again. The latch shifted and Sunny gasped. He removed his hands and whispered, "Go for it."
Sunny held her breath as she opened a box into the past. She couldn't breathe when she saw the contents.
Jason snapped a picture with his phone and said low, "Holy mother…"
Sunny's body started to shake. The contents appeared not to have deteriorated nor weathered in over a hundred years of hiding. The treasures were so pristine the lid could have been shut only seconds ago. She stretched her hand to touch the tip of a gold nugget. Then she trailed her fingers over precious and semiprecious stones—emeralds, diamonds, jaspers, turquoise, rose quartz, milky quartz, clear quartz. Finally, she touched the many leather pouches she knew were filled with gold dust.
Placing her hand over her heart as if the action would embed the souls of her ancestors within her, she said, "I now share in my family's heritage."
Jason responded softly, "Yes, you do." A moment of silence passed before he said, "We should take more photos of the contents before removing them."
Sunny fumbled for her phone. "Yes. You're right." After the pictures were taken she said, "I don't want to remove anything yet. Let's take everything back to your house."
He nodded. "That's a good idea."
16: Angelica's Suggestion
A knock on Sunny's door sent her scurrying to open it. Was it Jason? She opened the door to a grinning Angelica holding a box of pastries. The jovial woman said, "If you've got the coffee, I've got the sweets."