The Suggestion Box (Volume 1)

Part 4: The Legacy (5)

Based on the following Suggestions:

Names: Teresa, Elena Knight
Times: 1930's and 2030's, a century
Places: Egypt, Uncharted Phoenician island, citadel of Natalys
Objects: Turkish scarf, heirloom watch, a puzzle in 4 pieces, fountain of youth

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[Continued from previous part]

"We told everyone it was mysterious circumstances, and we let the rumors fly—but the circumstances were not all that mysterious. We found this out from the letter that accompanied her body. We were instructed to attribute her death to a fall or an unfortunate accident, so that those responsible would never know that the truth was at hand.

"Your grandmother was always careful, we both know that. She wasn't at a dig site in Kabul. She was on Natalys, trying to locate the Fountain of Youth, when one night their camp was infested with devil vipers—the rarest and most poisonous snake on the planet. These creatures were totally unknown to the natives; they were not supposed to exist anywhere nearby. The only reasonable explanation was that either one of their own number was attempting to sabotage the discovery from within the group, or there was someone following them, desiring to kill them off and steal the research before any progress could be made.

"That was why I was so scared; I believed that it was the very nature of the archaeological explorer's occupation that allowed it to attract unscrupulous people who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. I did not want to put myself in such a compromising situation, and I had no desire to see you go that way, either. I let this fear drive away any ambition or sense of adventure in me. That was why I got rid of all your grandmother's things, why I donated them to the museum with no desire to ever visit them—because all I could see were the implements with which my mother secured her own demise.

"I know that my mother's adventuresome spirit lives on in you; I know how much the promise you made all those years ago must have hurt; I am sorry for it, Teresa, and I want the chance to tell you that I release you from the promise. If you still desire to see the mystery through till its end, you may do so. Please do not continue to sit by as the world spins on, as I did; jump in, participate... Live. Live for both of us; live the life we should have had. My only regret is that you will be as alone in it as I always felt. I cherish all the years we had together, and I hope that they have enriched your life as well. May you find others to enjoy the journey with you. I love you, and I will always be watching over you.

"Your mother,

"Elena"

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Although Elena meant well in encouraging her daughter to pursue the dreams rather than shy away from them, the reconciliation came too late for Teresa. At the time she never saw herself, a woman nearing her fifties, clambering through deserts and jungles in search of the Natalys Fountain. She only managed one journey, three years later, to the area in the Mediterranean designated by Teresa Mallow as the location of the hidden island of Natalys.

Everything was where Teresa predicted it would be, except one key feature: the Fountain of Youth. It was not, as young Teresa had hoped, located anywhere on the island, but she did discover a small shrine to an Egyptian deity, and tablets mentioning a certain well in an ancient city called Wudina Lysyan—the "City of The Arrow."

Teresa compiled all her research, and prepared to call an end to the search. There was no way she could make it to hot, sandy Egypt to search for a city and a well she was not entirely certain existed. She considered the search over. She had discovered Natalys, and fulfilled the goal and the promise to her mother. There was nothing else to be done—or so she thought.