by Tara Ellis
The Olympics were one of the last wilderness areas in America to be explored, and the area wasn’t mapped until nearly 1900. It’s basically a big arm of land that sticks out into Puget Sound, with the Pacific Ocean to the west. Its northern point is the farthest in the states. The massive rainforests cover about half of it, and there are tons of state and federal parks that are filled with natural lakes and rivers, teaming with fish. They’ve been camping there a few times, but this will be the first trip that involves staying on the beach.
Tilting her head, Sam thinks back over the various family vacations and other gatherings they’ve been to. Nope. Never stayed in any sort of beach house before.
“Come on, Ginger. It’s your turn!”
“I’ve told you before not to call me that!” Ally says loudly, doing her best to give Hunter a dirty look. He has his numerous things to tease the two girls about, and Ally’s bright hair is his favorite.
“Shh!” Sam cautions, looking fearfully at the two sleeping twins. Even though their nap guarantees they’ll be running around all crazy after they get to the beach house, she doesn’t care. The silence in the back of the van for the past hour has been worth it.
“Look down there, kids!” Ethan calls out, unaware of the need to whisper. “You can see the cove from here.”
Ignoring the stirring two-year-olds, Sam absently wiggles their binkies back into their mouths while staring out the window. Sure enough, far below them and barely visible through the passing trees is what appears to be a large cove, an inlet of water on the ocean side of the peninsula. The northern end looks to be dotted with houses, while at southern end boasts a large marina, filled with boats.
“Look!” Sam gasps, dropping a binky to point excitedly. “An old lighthouse!”
High cliffs cut a dramatic outline against the ocean, extending out past the homes to the north of the cove. Tapering down to large boulders and an expanse of flat ground, a tall, white lighthouse sits on the farthest point.
Sam moans when it drops out of view and they start to descend into the trees. Her brief delight is rewarded with two crying toddlers. Desperately trying to silence them with various toys and snacks, she misses the sign announcing their arrival to the town.
“We’re here!” Kathy announces enthusiastically. “Oh! Look at all of the shops. This is just perfect!”
Craning her neck to try to see around everyone, Sam continues her efforts to calm her little sisters as her dad looks for the realtor’s office. They’re supposed to pick up the keys to the beach house there. The business is responsible for maintaining the property in the off-season, and sometimes rents it out for Mr. Stiles.
When the van finally comes to a stop, Sam is the first one to fight her way out into the fresh air. Although she doesn’t normally get carsick, the cramped, noisy space got to her. Sucking in the cool, salty offshore breeze, Sam closes her eyes and concentrates on the feeling of solid ground.
“Sam!” Ally practically yells. “You have to see this.” Grabbing her best friend by the arm, Ally drags Sam along the sidewalk. Ignoring the slightly green tinge on Sam’s face, Ally turns her so that she’s facing an entrance to an outdoor courtyard, lined with quaint stores.
“I don’t get it,” Sam admits. “I know you like to shop, Ally, but why do I have to see it?” Already feeling much better, Sam looks more closely at the nice, wooden boardwalk in the courtyard. It’s cute, but not exactly what she would call exciting.
“Not the stores, silly!” Ally laughs, and grasps Sam’s shoulders. Turning her to the right, she points at a large, wooden statue near them. “That!”
Blinking, Sam tries to figure out what she’s looking at. It’s a carving depicting something part fish, part shark and part man. It has the body of a fish, but the head and fins of a shark…with very distinct, human looking eyes and arms. Next to it is an ornate, wooden sign that reads “Wood’s Sea Creature,” with no further explanation.
“Well, that’s creepy,” John says from behind Sam. Turning, she sees that all of the kids have gathered on the sidewalk, including her mom with the twins.
Looking back to the ‘creature,’ Sam manages to hide the growing smile from her mom, but Ally spots it and moves closer. Silently, she puts an arm around her best friend.
“I think we’re going to like it here,” Ally whispers.
3
THE BEACH HOUSE
Their break is cut short when Ethan returns dangling the keys and orders them all back into the van. Since the whole town is essentially next to the ocean, it only takes a few minutes to reach the beach house. It’s located at the end of a wooded, private road, and isn’t too impressive from the driveway. But from the water-facing side, its vast rooms, featuring enormous windows, reveal its true size.
The kids all race up the porch and scramble to be the first inside, wanting to get dibs on the best room. As soon as they see the decorations though, it’s clear that it isn’t going to be an issue.
In the far back corner of the house, there’s a large bedroom with two twin beds. The walls are painted various shades of blue and are adorned with everything having to do with boats. The curtains have sailboats on them, the light is a big anchor, and the bedspreads depict various pirate ships. In addition to the boyish décor, there’s also a big TV equipped with a gaming system. John and Hunter throw their bags on the floor and start looking at the games piled up in front of it.
Across the hall on the ocean side is an identical space. But when Sam and Ally step into it, they’re transported to a very different world. While Sam doesn’t normally like girly stuff, she has to admit to herself that the explosion of pastel colors is welcoming. One of the walls is covered with a large mural, depicting the old lighthouse Sam saw on the way in. Soaring seagulls surround it, and water sprays up from waves crashing against jagged rocks beneath it.
The bedding, curtains, throw rugs and pictures all seem to match the colors used in the painting and continue with the ocean theme. The best part, though, are the double glass doors that open onto a private deck overlooking the beach.
“Oh my gosh!” Sam exclaims, holding the doors wide. “Ally, you’ve got to look at this view. This is so much better than I thought it would be!”
Coming to stand beside her, Ally links her arm through Sam’s. The briny smelling breeze lifts their hair and billows the curtains behind them. Gulls cry out overhead, looking for food. A white-sand beach spreads out below them, meeting up with the ocean not more than a few hundred feet away. Surprisingly, there are only a few people visible on the open stretch, giving them a sense of privacy.
Far off to the right, the pictured lighthouse rises up impressively from the peninsula that ends in a sharp cliff-face. Thick evergreens spread out to either side and reach more than halfway out on the spit of land, before giving in to the rocky, windblown surface.
Turning to look more closely for neighboring houses, Sam can just barely make out a white clapboard structure through the woods on their left. It appears that they truly are the last place on the block, though, reaffirming the feeling of isolation.
The hairs on the back of her neck rising due to more than the brisk wind, Sam finally looks at Ally. She finds that her friend is already staring at her with a knowing, telltale grin on her freckled face.
“Sam…” Ally says cautiously. “We can’t get into any trouble while we’re here!”
Giving her arm a reassuring squeeze, Sam turns back to the ocean. “How could we possibly get into trouble? I’m just thinking how much fun it’s going to be to go exploring. Look at this place!”
Pulling her smart phone out of her back pocket, Ally holds out her prized possession to take a picture. Turning it around, she tugs Sam towards her for a selfie. Lining it up so that the lighthouse peaks out from in between their heads, she takes several shots until the angle is just right.
Tapping her foot impatiently while waiting to get Ally’s attention again, Sam watches as she attempts the sharing and uploading proce
ss.
“Why am I not surprised?” Ally finally says in disgust, jamming the phone back into her pocket.
“No service?” Sam guesses, trying to hide a smile. She couldn’t care less if they’re ‘connected’ or not. She had only just gotten her first phone a few months ago, for her twelfth birthday. Their trip to Montana earlier in the summer had been the first time in a long time that Ally had gone without constant cell access. It turned out to be a good thing, though. It gave them the chance to get back to the basics of what had made them such good friends in the first place.
At the summer camp they went to recently, the phones hadn’t been allowed. So while Sam suspects Ally will make a big stink about it, she also knows that her friend will do just fine without it.
“There’s one bar of phone service,” Ally replies, leaning on the weather-beaten bannister. “But it’s not letting me connect to the internet.” Shrugging, she squints up at the summer sun high overhead. “Do you think we could go swimming?”
“Sam! Hunter!” Sam’s mom starts calling for them, and she raises her eyebrows at Ally.
“I have a feeling we’ll have to do a few other things first,” she tells her friend. “But it’s barely noon. Plenty of time!”
Linking arms again, they make their way back out to the kitchen, where everyone is gathering. The twins apparently found a room well suited for them, too. They both have toys in each hand that Sam has never seen before.
“Ball!” Tabitha shouts, holding it out to show everyone. They refer to her as the oldest, since she was born twenty minutes before her sister. Thankfully, her hair is growing much faster for some reason, making it easier to tell them apart.
“My ball!” Addison cries, dropping her own loot so she can try to take it. This leads to a screaming match, and then to both of them sitting on the floor crying, when Kathy takes the ball away.
“Time for lunch?” Ethan asks his wife, plugging his ears.
Nodding, Kathy takes the car keys from him in exchange for the ball, and gestures to the kids. “They’re all yours. I’m going back into town to get some grocery shopping done. Sam,” she adds, turning to the two girls. “Please help with the twins until I get back. After we all eat, you guys can go explore the beach.”
Meanwhile, John and Hunter have been slowly making their way back towards the hall…and escape. “Hold up boys!” Kathy calls. “Don’t think I forgot about you.”
Groaning, Hunter drags his feet dramatically the few steps back. “Sam’s practically been gone all summer,” he nearly whines. “I’ve been stuck at home with the super duo.”
Crossing her arms in an ‘I’m not falling for that’ stance, Kathy tilts her head in his direction. “Oh really? Because that’s not quite how I remember it. Seems to me you’ve spent just about every minute this summer doing exactly what you wanted. The only time you sat for the twins, was when Sam traded you for it. I expect you to do your fair share of helping this week. Understood?”
“It’s okay, Mom,” Sam interjects, before Hunter has a chance to weigh in. “I know I’ve gotten to do a lot this summer, and I really don’t mind playing with them.”
The room is silent for a minute, as even the twins seem surprised by their sister’s generosity. But they break the spell by giggling over a spinning gadget, their earlier fight already forgotten.
Eying her daughter suspiciously, Kathy hesitates. “Okay…I guess you two can start your free time now,” she finally says to John and Hunter. Looking back at Sam, her eyebrows furrow. The boys join Kathy in staring suspiciously at Sam, but then quickly run off before anyone has a change of heart.
“What?” Sam finally blurts out when even Ally acts confused. “I’d rather just play with Tabitha and Addison by ourselves, is all. The boys will just tease us and make them cry. It’s easier this way.”
Apparently convinced, Kathy shrugs and then blows her husband a kiss. When the front door closes behind her, Ethan settles his own questioning gaze on Sam.
“Remember,” he warns. “No funny business while we’re here.” Not looking for a response, he picks up the remaining bags from the front hall and leaves to put them away.
“What gives?” Ally questions her friend immediately.
“Sleuthing 101,” Sam explains. “It’s much easier to do it without someone looking over your shoulder. I just effectively got rid of our two biggest problems.”
Grinning with appreciation, Ally gestures towards the two little girls still playing on the floor. “What about them?”
“These guys,” Sam says lovingly, rolling the coveted ball across the floor towards them. “Can’t talk in complete sentences.”
Laughing now, Ally shakes her head. “That won’t matter, because we aren’t going to do anything that we aren’t supposed to!”
“I never said we were,” Sam agrees. “But if there is something mysterious here for us to find, this is the best way to do it. And we’re going to start with learning the history behind that lighthouse.”
4
SAND ON YOUR FEET & WIND IN YOUR HAIR
After having a late lunch of sandwiches and chips, Sam and Ally are cut loose to do what they want until suppertime. Although they already spent nearly an hour on the beach with the twins, they weren’t able to go far, so it’s promptly decided that exploring the beach is their first mission.
They quickly change into their swimsuits, then tiptoe past the room where the little girls are taking a nap and stop at the kitchen for a drink. Finding a water bottle, Sam fills it at the dispenser built into the fridge.
“Is it okay if we walk into town later?” Sam asks her mom, who is sitting in the adjoining family room, with her dad. They’re going over a map of the area, and he’s explaining where the marina is.
After a brief pause, Kathy looks at Ethan. “I don’t see why not. Are you okay with that?” she asks her husband.
“It’s probably no more than a ten or fifteen minute walk, on a residential street,” he ponders. “Sure, so long as you don’t go any farther than Main Street,” he adds, turning his attention to Sam and Ally. “Everything you might want is located there. But beyond that is the main freeway, and there aren’t sidewalks.”
“We just want to check out the shops,” Ally assures them. Taking her phone out, she holds it up for emphasis. “And maybe find some Wi-Fi?”
Laughing, Kathy smiles at her warmly. Ally is like a daughter to her, and she understands her perfectly. “I’m sure you can put those detective skills to good use and find it, if it’s there.”
Ally’s grin falters at the suggestion that she might have to go yet another week this summer being disconnected from the rest of the world.
“Come on!” Sam urges, pulling at her arm. “We’ve got four hours until dinner. Let’s go!”
Propelled by her friend’s enthusiastic grip, Ally stumbles after Sam out the large glass sliding door off the dining area. Already familiar with the decking, the girls scamper down the two flights of weather-beaten steps and jump into the soft, warm sand.
Ally heads for the water, where they can see John and Hunter splashing around, but Sam veers off to the right.
“Where are you going?” Ally calls, while holding a hand up to her eyes to shield them from the bright afternoon sun.
“We can go in the water anytime! Let’s see how close we can get to the lighthouse.” Sam is walking backwards as she talks, and nearly trips over some driftwood. Laughing, she catches herself and then looks pleadingly at Ally. “Please?”
“Oh, okay,” Ally agrees. “But there’s no way we can walk all the way out there! It’s got to be at least five miles, and I don’t think your parents would be happy about it.”
“We won’t go that far,” Sam reassures her. “I just want to see what’s down this way, and look for anything…interesting.” She says the last bit with a knowing twinkle in her eye, and Ally can’t help but give in.
Running awkwardly in the heavy sand, Ally reaches Sam and then passes her, grabbin
g her towel out of her hand as she goes by. Crying out in mock anger, Sam does her best to catch up as Ally heads for the wet, compact sand.
The boys spot them and call out, but their voices are carried away by the wind. Ignoring them, they continue running the other way, towards the distant lighthouse. Although both Sam and Ally are athletic, the sand and stiff breeze take a toll quickly, and they don’t get that far before slowing, and then finally walking.
“Here,” Ally gasps, giving the towel back and freeing herself of the extra weight. Hands on hips, she breathes deeply while studying the stunning shoreline.
While the interior of the peninsula is all rainforest, here on the outer edges it changes back to your normal woods. Tall cedar trees mark the clear transition from beach to forest, bent over from years of offshore winds. The foliage becomes thick just a short distance in, making it hard to see what lies beyond.
“Look at how tall it is!” Sam exclaims, interrupting Ally’s thoughts.
Turning, Ally sees that Sam is focused on the lighthouse. She’s right, too. It’s still a very long ways away, but it has to be close to a hundred feet high, reaching far up into the cloudless sky.
“Can you imagine what it must have been like to build that?” Ally wonders.
“Maybe we can find a library when we go into town, or a historical book at one of the shops,” Sam suggests, finally looking away. “There’s got to be some information about it there. Maybe they have tours, or something!”
A bit relieved that her friend is thinking along the lines of a guided tour, rather than an unapproved exploration on their own, Ally waves at the greenery behind them. “Even if we can’t get into the lighthouse, I’ll bet there are hiking trails around here!”