Andy and I arrive outside the hospital to find Mira waiting on the bench for us. We walk over and the memories of all the times I have been to this hospital come flashing back, most of them good, but others, I just wish I could forget even happened. I rush over to Mira, my excitement level overwhelmingly high, as she pulls out a fortune cookie and hands it to me.
"When you open that, can I have half?" Andy asks, practically drooling at the sight and thought of food.
"Only if you promise to take the smaller half."
"Deal." Andy and I shake on it. I break open the cookie and hand Andy half of it, taking the "fortune" inside and half of the cookie for myself. The fortune contains the directions to my first challenge.
Our favorite type of tree is the key to your next clue, collect the first five leaves of that tree you see to find what you next must do.
"Our favorite tree? I don't even think I have a favorite type of tree." I say aloud, instead of internally like I had planned.
"Danny is positive you do, so take a shot, make a guess, go for it baby sister!" Andy says, enthusiasm growing with each encouraging statement he makes. I walk over to the trees I see clustered and pick five leaves from one of the trees, a maple I think, and go back to Mira. Mira looks at the leaves and shakes her head. I go back and pick up five more leaves and bring them back to Mira, receiving the same response. I go back once, twice, three times and still receive a no from Mira. I'm about to give up when the first breeze of the day stirs, causing the leaves at my feet to swirl around the hospital grounds. I watch carefully as the leaves fly by and one finally catches my eye, a sycamore leaf. Danny and I discovered a lone sycamore tree in the middle of a clearing in the forest surrounding Dad's ranch last summer on one of our many hikes we took. Since finding that tree, in a place where it seemed so out of place, Danny and I have claimed that to be our favorite type of tree. I chase after the leaf, careful to look for four more of them. I catch the leaf at the base of a tree. Scattered on the ground are oodles of more sycamore leaves. I pick up the first four I see, add them to the one I already have, and bring the leaves to Mira.
"Fourth time's the charm, right?" I laugh, exchanging the leaves with Mira for my next clue. Mira just stands and laughs, covering her mouth to stop herself from saying a single word. This must have been the hardest challenge for Mira, not being able to say anything to me at all for the whole day, probably why Danny chose her for the first challenge. I decide to help Mira out and get into Andy's truck before she can't hold her chatter back any longer. Andy, who has been hovering around Mira since we arrived, kisses her goodbye and joins me in the truck. I open the envelope containing my clue and inside I find a note and a raw spaghetti noodle.
The first place we talked, was the same place we had our first meal together. Meet the cooks at that same place.
I'm very confused by this clue, the first one was easy, but this one takes a lot more thinking. Andy, clearly seeing the confusion etched upon my face, leans over and picks up the spaghetti noodle.
"Think hard, remember the first place you had spaghetti here." Andy says, jogging my memory from the fog it was in.
"Andy, to the church, and step on it! We have people to meet and another challenge to complete." I say and Andy pulls out of the hospital parking lot and makes the short trek to the church. AS soon as Andy has the truck in gear, I jump out and head straight to the fellowship hall, where the youth always hold their meals before going to youth meeting later that night. I find both Pastor Jeff and Amy relaxed at one of the many tables set up around the room. I nonchalantly walk over to them and Amy hands me a fortune cookie, careful not to say anything. I split the cookie open and give Andy the larger half this time. I read the note and this one seems a little more cryptic than the last.
YOU ARE READING
Patching The Past (The Extended Hobson Family Trilogy: Book 3)
SpiritualMeli is as happy as she has ever been in her whole life. Everything seems to be working out for the better in her life. She's newly married, has two sons, she has parents that are slowly but surely working their problems out, she has her entire exte...
