by Nella Tyler
“I guess.” Meg was not convinced. But his explanation was very plausible. She looked at the opened boxes and saw stuff coming out of them. “What is that?” She moved to inspect the articles. There were festive decorations for luaus and barbecues. Most of them were made from crepe paper. “These items are not heavy enough to cause the box to fall.”
Drake looked at the partially opened box and saw a wooden box protruding from it. He pulled the small box out and looked at it closely. It looked to be very old and was laden with dust. Drake blew the dust from it and saw a carved symbol on its lid. The carving was in the shape of a half-moon with an arrow passing through its middle. It was actually a beautiful carving and the paint colors were still vivid after all of this time. But even though it was lovely, Meg still found the depiction disturbing.
“What does it mean?” she asked softly.
“I don’t know. We can take a picture of it to the library and see if we can find information on it.”
“Do you think this symbol is connected to the picture from the cave?”
He paused in thought.
“I think I do. I know it doesn’t make sense. We have nothing to tell us that the two are linked in any way. But …”
“But your gut tells you that they are. I feel the same way. Maybe this accident happened to give us our first clue. We can research both items and see what we find,” she said eagerly.
“Let’s see what inside the box,” he said. There was a small lock on the box but it was broken. “Maybe the fall broke the lock.”
“Lucky for us,” she commented.
He removed the broken lock from the box and lifted the lid. It opened easily without a single creak. Drake thought that odd considering the box seemed so old. There was a yellowed, folded piece of parchment lying on a bed of green velvet. Drake carefully lifted it from the box. He slowly unfolded the paper to find an old map. It looked like a navigational tool that sailors of centuries ago used on the high seas. There was a name in the top right corner of the parchment. They looked closely at the faded print.
“Oh my God!” Meg exclaimed.
“James Cook,” Drake murmured.
“Did this map actually belong to the James Cook, explorer of the Pacific?” she asked in awe.
“I can’t say for sure. But I’m not discounting it.”
“Isn’t there a famous story about his travels to Hawaii and through a dispute with the locals, he ended up dying?” she wrinkled her nose in an effort to remember.
“I think so. History was not a strong subject for me. I goofed off throughout most of those classes,” he recalled.
“I think I took a few naps in them as well. Now I wish I had been more focused in them.”
“Thank goodness for the library and the internet,” he smiled. He folded the map and put it back in the box. Scooping up the box, he stood and extended a hand to her. She took and stood beside him. “Let’s go. We have homework to do.”
They hurried from the room.
*****
“We’ve been at this for hours with no luck.” Meg put her head down on her crossed arms.
They sat at a book-laden table near the back of the library. They’d gone through countless books on symbols from the earlier centuries but hadn’t any luck.
“It’s here. I know it is. We just haven’t found it yet,” he mumbled as he turned the page in a heavy, old book.
“I hate to be Debbie Doubter—”
“Then don’t,” he smiled.
“But I don’t think we’re going to find the symbol or the picture. My eager beaver excitement has petered out,” she finished.
“Your energy just needs a pick me up.”
“I need my bed. It’s past midnight. Leave it to you to sweet talk the manager into letting us stay here all night,” she muttered.
“The lack of sleep will have been worth it when we find what we’re looking for.”
“So you say,” she mumbled.
“So I know.” He looked at her. “Here. Have some coffee. It will wake you up.”
“Nothing will wake me up.”
“Nothing?”
“Uh-uh.”
“I think this will do the trick,” he whispered.
He gently lifted her head and bent to kiss her. It was a passionate kiss that left her gasping for air. He slid his hand down her chest and slipped it inside her peasant blouse. His fingers massaged her nipples until they were hard as rock. It wasn’t long before his mouth replaced his fingers and Meg nearly screamed with pleasure. He had never before been this demonstrative in loving her and it left her weak with wanting. All she could do was hold his head to her breast and hope that this would go on forever.
He moved to the other breast and she arched her back to push her breast further into his mouth. His tongue felt so good on her hardened nipple. She could feel the electric current sweeping through her body, causing her to want more. The ache in her core demanded more. She looked over his shoulder and saw his elbow brush over a page in the book. The page flipped over and Meg could not believe her eyes.
“Drake!”
He moved his lips to cover hers. His tongue pushed into her mouth preventing her from speaking. She pushed against him. He pulled back in concern.
“What is it? Did I hurt you?”
“Look! There’s the symbol from the box,” she exclaimed.
Drake’s mind was still focused on tasting her breast and he didn’t absorb what she said.
“What?”
“There’s the symbol that we’ve been looking for.” She pointed to the page in the book.
He followed her finger and stared at the picture.
“My God! This is it.” He leaned over to kiss her briefly. “I knew we would find it.”
Meg wondered just how innocent their discovery had been. She would have sworn that they had looked at that page many times before and the photo of the symbol had not been there. Had they received some divine intervention? Drake did not want to consider magic as an answer just yet. But she was not of that thinking. Too many odd things had occurred without credible explanations. Meg believed their discovery of the symbol to be one of them. But she would keep her reflections to herself for now. Drake was reading the description of the symbol.
“What does it say?” Meg propped her elbow on the table and leaned her head on her palm.
“It says the symbol was carved into a wooden box by a carpenter named Francis Cook. He was the father of James Cook,” Drake said. “Francis gave the box to his son just before James embarked on his 1772 journey to search for the mystical island of Terra Australis. The symbol on the lid of the box was said to mean: beware of peril. Francis thought it an appropriate message as his son’s occupation was so dangerous.”
“I think we have the same box. How extraordinary,” Meg exclaimed.
“But how does this box end up in a storage room at the Tropics?”
“One question answered another question presented. Are we really making progress? She sighed.
“Unfortunately I think that scenario is going to occur often until we solve the complete mystery,” he said. “But this is a step in the right direction.”
“You’re right.”
“See. I told you the lack of sleep would pay off,” he grinned.
She smiled reluctantly.
“So you did. Should we start looking through the books for a picture of the drawing from the cave?”
“Yes, but not tonight. We should go back to the hotel and get some sleep,” he said.
“If Ashlee and Beni are still up, sleep will be the last thing I get. They will be bursting with questions,” Meg groaned.
He chuckled.
“Let’s hope they are asleep.” He closed all of the books and put them on the cart. He then pushed the cart against the wall. “Hopefully this will still be here when we come tomorrow.”
“We should call and ask her not to move it,” she advised.
“I’ll take care of it. Come on. Let
’s get you back to the hotel.”
Drake grasped her hand and pulled her from her chair. Wrapping his arm about her waist, they left the library.
Chapter 7
“Wake up, Meggie! We’ve let you sleep as long as we can. Our curiosity will no longer allow us to leave you alone,” Ashlee said as she shook Meg’s shoulder.
Meg groaned as she turned onto her back.
“Go away. It’s too early.”
“It’s twelve-thirty. Wake up and have some papaya tea. It delicious,” Beni insisted.
Meg cracked her eyes then closed them again.
“No. No. None of that,” Ashlee prodded. Ashlee took one of her pillows and slapped Meg in the face with it.
“Hey!” Meg wailed.
Ashlee and Beni giggled.
“I knew that would open those pretty, green eyes,” Ashlee laughed. “Now tell us what’s been going on.”
“Your explanation on the phone last night was sketchy at best,” Beni said.
Meg pushed herself up and Ashlee fluffed the pillows behind her. Beni gave Meg the glass of papaya tea. Meg sipped it appreciatively.
“Where do I start?”
“The beginning is always a good place to begin,” Beni quipped.
Meg took a deep breath and related the story to them.
“And you didn’t tell us?” Ashlee said in disappointment.
“Don’t feel bad, guys. I just wanted to keep the secret between Drake and me for a little while,” Meg pleaded. “It became kind of a special bond between us. I hope you can understand.”
Ashlee and Beni were quiet for a moment.
“I get it,” Beni said.
“I do too,” Ashlee agreed.
“We would have wanted to do the same thing in your place,” Beni sighed. “Drake is a great guy and we can understand your wanting to share a secret with him.”
Meg put her glass of tea on the nightstand then reached out to hug her friends.
“You guys are the best friends I’ve ever had. Thank you for understanding,” she sighed.
“Of course we do,” Beni said as she pulled back. “I think this is so exciting. Can we see the box?”
“I don’t have it. Drake does. But I have a picture of it that I can show you.” Meg scrambled across the bed to pick up her phone. She pulled up the photo of the box. “Here it is.”
“It’s beautiful. So intricate. And these colors. Even through the photo you can see that the colors are still very vibrant. How can that be when the box is so old?” Ashlee asked.
“It’s odd,” Meg responded.
“It’s eerie odd,” Beni added. “It gives me the heebie jeebies.”
“Most things do, Beni. You’re the biggest scaredy-cat I know,” Ashlee teased.
“I’m just superstitious. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Beni defended. She looked at Meg. “You said there was a map inside the box. I think we should follow it.”
“We?” Meg asked with eyebrows raised.
“What a great idea. We will solve the great mystery of Oahu,” Ashlee exclaimed.
“We may even be on the local news. Or even national news. We’d be famous!” Beni said excitedly.
Meg looked at them in shock.
“Hold on! You’re getting carried away. We have no idea where any of this leads. It may not lead to anywhere at all.”
“But it might lead to lost treasure and revelation of long buried secrets,” Beni countered.
“Or not,” Meg stated.
“Oh, Meg! Where’s your sense of adventure? This is exhilarating stuff. Your blood has to be pumping with mad mania,” Ashlee enthused.
Beni had been watching Meg closely.
“Perhaps she prefers to go it alone with Drake. After all, this whole thing is their discovery.”
Ashlee’s fervor drained from her body.
“Oh! I didn’t think. I’m sorry Meggie. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
“You didn’t,” Meg said quickly. She saw Ashlee’s face fall and could have kicked herself. “Of course we can investigate the mystery together. It will be fun.”
“Are you sure, Meggie? We don’t want to mess up things between you and Drake,” Ashlee said quietly.
“You could never do that. We welcome your ideas. We are pretty much fresh out of them,” Meg insisted. “Besides, Kai already knows. He and Drake went swimming at Likeke Falls and Kai mentioned the drawing on the cave wall. So the secret was already out. We intended to tell all of you anyway.”
“Well in that case, I can’t wait to get started,” Beni grinned.
Meg told them what Kai said about the drawing appearing on the wall.
“Hurricane Buddy left a message. How utterly spooky,” Beni whispered.
“So it seems. But that’s impossible. There has to be a rational reason,” Ashlee said.
“You sound like Drake. He wants to exhaust all reasonable explanations before leaping to the supernatural,” Meg said.
“And you don’t?” Beni responded.
“Let’s just say that I’m open to all possibilities,” Meg replied.
“So let’s follow the map,” Beni suggested. “It’s bound to lead somewhere.”
“Maybe it will lead to another clue,” Ashlee added.
“Okay. We can talk to Drake about it. He supposed to come by this afternoon,” Meg said through a yawn. “Gosh, I’m still sleepy. Do I have time to sleep some more?”
There was a knock on the door.
“My answer is no. That’s probably Drake,” Beni laughed as she exited the room to answer the door.
“Get dressed, Meggie. We have a mystery to solve,” Ashlee grinned. She then left the room.
Meg fell back against the pillows and bemoaned not being able to sleep some more. Then she swung her leg off of the bed and rose. She could hear Drake laughing with her friends. She smiled and hurried into the bathroom.
*****
Drake and Meg were holding hands as they walked along the shore of the beach. They had eaten dinner with Ashlee, Beni, and their dates. After dinner, the couples had gone their separate ways.
“It looks like Kai and Noah have taken a real liking to your friends,” Drake mused.
“You think? Kai and Noah can’t take their eyes from them … or their hands, for that matter,” Meg chuckled. “I’m glad for Ashlee and Beni.”
“I’ve been swimming with Kai and Noah for over a week now and they seem like really good men. I think they are serious about your friends,” Drake mentioned.
“I think the same goes for Ashlee and Beni. They can’t stop talking about them,” Meg said. “I hope things work out for them.”
“They would have to work out some logistics seeing that they are separated by over five thousand miles.”
“They could figure it out.”
“As could we,” he said softly.
Meg looked at him in surprise.
“How goes the investigation?”
They both turned to see Peleke walking behind them.
“Peleke!” Meg cried.
“Aloha!” Peleke smiled broadly. “It is a beautiful night for a walk on the ocean shore.”
“It is,” Meg said. “We hoped we would see you again.”
“And here I am. The wind told me you wanted to see me.” Peleke waved his hand indicating the night breeze.
Meg didn’t know if she should believe Peleke or not. There was something so very strange about this man. Was he really man or something else? She refrained from thinking what that something else could be.
Drake ignored Peleke’s strange comment. He glanced at Meg and could tell that she had taken in Peleke’s comment. He groaned inwardly.
“What do you know about our search?” Drake asked.
“I know many things that would make no sense to you at the moment. But it is fate’s hand that has led you to the drawing and the map,” Peleke said in low tones.
“Fate?” Meg queried. “I don’t understand.”
�
��Yes. Everything that happens to you is supposed to. There is no such thing as coincidence. You, dear Meg, understand this,” Peleke responded.
“I do believe in the concept but how would you know that about me?” Meg asked warily. She wasn’t sure if she should trust this peculiar man.
He shrugged and waved his arms above his head to indicate the wind.
“The wind told you,” Meg mumbled under her breath.
“Stop it, Peleke. There are enough strange things happening to us without you adding to them,” Drake snapped. “Tell us what you know about the cave drawing and the map.”
“Follow the map. Your friend Kai will be able to help you. Enjoy your evening.” At that he turned and started walking down the beach.
“Wait!” Drake called.
“Come back, Peleke! We have more questions,” Meg cried out.
“But I have no more answers at this time,” Peleke answered without turning around.
Then suddenly he was gone. It was as though he had disappeared.
“He did it again. Disappeared right before our eyes. Remember? It happened when we were in the gardens. And again when I was out shopping with the girls. How does he do that?” Meg asked in wonder.
“I don’t know,” Drake muttered. “But at least he told us about Kai.”
“I wonder if Kai knows him.”
“Maybe. It never occurred to me to ask him or Noah about Peleke,” Drake said.
“Because we didn’t think that Peleke was somehow involved with this mystery.”
“I should have known that he was.”
“Why?”
“Because he was the one who told us about the hotel restaurant being built on burial grounds. In a strange way, it makes sense that he would be connected to the mystery,” Drake answered.
“In a strange way it does. And his disappearing acts seem geared to draw us deeper into the mystery.”
“And it’s working, because I don’t want to stop until I solve it.”
“Neither do I,” Meg mumbled.
“Let’s go back to the hotel and wait for Kai. He has to bring Ashlee back at some point,” Drake proposed.
“All right.”
*****
Kai and Ashlee were seated on the sofa and Drake and Meg sat on the floor on the other side of the cocktail table. The map was spread on the table and Kai looked at it closely.