A/N: happy thursday. also, I'm changing am*r's name. any suggestions? though it doesnt really matter, he's not really in this part. anyways.
TW: mercedes and dario being painfully awkward, language,
MERCEDES
April 10th
"WE HAVE ABOUT a half hour until we get there!" Dario announces from behind the wheel. I exhale a breath of relief. We've been in the car for only an hour or so, but it feels like longer. Thankfully, after our pitstop at the gas station, I guess our little party started warming up to each other.
It really only started because Dawn and Nolan were arguing about something that I guess Isaiah knows a lot about, and it became a whole thing. I still don't know what they were talking about, but now the whole car is in one big conversation about overrated actors and actresses.
"I still think he's overrated," Isaiah says loudly, ignoring Dario's time check.
"I don't think he can be overrated if no one knows who he is," Ellie mumbles with a laugh.
"Babe, how do you not know who Jerry Seinfeld is?"
"Is he one of those old white dudes I'm supposed to know?" She asks. I laugh, because she's not wrong. Dawn laughs and sits up to look at Ellie.
"You don't know who he is, but you know who George Clooney is?"
"Who doesn't know who George Clooney is?!" Nolan asks, now directing his argument to Dawn. "He's like, an icon!"
"I don't think I've actually seen anything that he's in," I mutter.
"Not true! He was in Tomorrowland," Ellie tells me. Oh, was he? I don't remember that movie very well, to be honest. It was kind of a fever dream for me.
"And Spy Kids," Dario says quietly with a smile that I can see from the rearview mirror. My eyes widen. George Clooney was in Spy Kids?
"Yall hear about the new Spy Kids they made?" Isaiah announces. I roll my eyes. They need to stop remaking things and find new ideas.
"I think I boycotted it," Dawn says and looks at me with a smile. "Kinda like the new My Little Pony," I let out a groan. I don't think any remake or sequel has ever made me so mad. But My Little Pony; A New Generation? Are you kidding?
"That was awful,"
"It wasn't a bad movie," Ellie mutters. "It was just unnecessary," That's true. I wouldn't know if it was good or not, because I refused to watch it when it came out. Dawn and I made a whole stand against it, it was hilarious.
Just as Dario said, about a half hour later, we arrive in a sandy, almost empty parking lot. The chatter in the car dies down when we realize we've actually reached our first destination.
"We're here," Dario says, leaning to look out of the window. It's not raining anymore, but it's still very overcast and a little bit scary. I can see a bit of the lighthouse from here.
"And here is...?" Dawn frowns.
"Montauk New York," Nolan starts. "It's a part of East Hampton and is home to the 1796 Montauk Lighthouse. The Lighthouse has a museum that contains documents signed by George Washington himself," He reads off of his phone. I can see Ellie lean to read over his shoulder.
"You think your author lady had something to do with George Washington?" Isaiah asks. Dario turns to him and shakes his head.
"Nah, but she had something to do with that." He points to a big sign on the pole in front of us.
ATTRACTIONS
SEE GEORGE WASHINGTON'S SIGNATURE
WITNESS HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
READ A MESSAGE FROM AMERICAN AUTHOR, CHARLOTTE M. GREENE
"Oh." Isaiah cocks his head to the side.
"That's a little on the nose, isn't it?" Ellie mumbles. I just laugh, because she's right. I was definitely expecting something a lot more... cryptic. A lot less in your face. But I'm not complaining. The less brainpower, the better. Or we might just be wrong.
Dario and Isaiah get out of the car first. Ellie and Nolan get out, Dario helping Ellie out. Aw, how chivalrous. To get out of the third row, we have to push the seats in front of us forward and climb through the sliding door.
Even while I attempt to get out, Dario is still standing by my side of the car, with his hand out to help me out. Dawn is already long out of the car, so it's just us.
He's looking at me expectantly, with the slightest little smirk on his face. I look at his hand, and back at him. The last time he offered me his hand, I didn't take it.
"You don't have any excuse this time," Dario tilts his head to the side. "No buttery hands,"
Oh, he remembers too. My heart beats in my chest as I get unnecessarily nervous. Maybe it's because of the way he's looking at me. It's nothing special, but he's here. And it's just the two of us. It's something I've wished for, but not quite like this.
I take his hand because he's right. I don't have an excuse. Not really, anyway. He's being nice. I can accept it. His hand that latches onto mine is so warm, and slightly callused. But I can't dwell on that. If I do, I'll start thinking about other hands, and probably lock myself back in the car.
I jump out of the car and land on my feet, thankfully. I mutter a thank you before catching up with Ellie. My heart is still going a little too fast. Dario slowly follows behind.
The Lighthouse is on a patch of land that you can't drive to. Instead, there's this colonial-style building with gray brick that probably has emissions and a gift shop, or something. Past that building, is a pretty wide path that leads to the lighthouse itself.
It's not very crowded. There are a few other tourists walking up and down the path, but I guess because of the overcast weather and the strong winds, not many people wanted to come out and visit this landmark today.
The six of us start walking towards the building to get tickets. Thanks to Ellie and her insane planning, we have a savings account meant for this trip. I've put in a a hundred, and everyone else put it what they could. So we should be set with the money that we have, but we can't be frivolous with it.
After we buy tickets, and get our brochures with maps in them, we all end up in the room with all of the documents. Nolan and Isaiah look at all the pictures and whatnot.
"That's Washington's signature?" Isaiah points to a document. I just smile. Meanwhile, I'm looking for any sign of Charlotte.
To be honest, this whole place feels like the book. There's a room that has the desk of the first Lightkeeper, according to the brochure. I find myself wandering in there, leaving my friends behind. In the book, the victim dies at a desk just like this. Wooden and brown, with a matching chair with it. The walls are painted a blue-tinted gray that kinda matches the sky right now. The desk looks like it opens, but something tells me I probably should not open it.
There's an oil room too, across the hall with a bunch of names and information I skimmed lightly. I can hear my friends still in the front rooms of the building.
Dario slowly walks into the room with the desk, only frightening me a little. He squints at all of the documents. There are black and white pictures of ship captains and lightkeepers, as well as letters and paper documents of ships coming in and whatnot. It's honestly pretty cool.
Dario wordlessly makes his way towards the desk and sits in the chair. I'm about to mention that he probably shouldn't sit there, but he starts to look underneath it, and all around it.
On the opposite wall of the desk, is a pretty big analog clock. On top of it is a basket of fake blue flowers with a bear with a little captain's hat. It makes me smile.
Dario opens the desk caddy. I don't think that it was meant to be opened, but it's whatever. It didn't break.
He takes something out of the storage area and hums. Before I can ask what it is, he turns around and shows it to me. It's the book. When the Lights Go Out.
"Oh," he opens it to where a bookmark was left. He steps closer to me and shows me the page that it has opened. Page 43. It's pretty early in the book. Right when the victim gets found.
He points to the underlined words on the page and holds the book closer to my eye level. Someone underlined a certain section of the book and bookmarked it. Who? Why?
Henry was called to the scene not because a man was dead- but because the man who died had called him for help a day before. The man had died at the desk with nothing in his hand but a singular blue-tinted flower. His watch had stopped. His head lay on a newspaper that read SECRETS IN THE TREES, although the article itself had been tainted with his blood. Henry stared at the man. He had known the man for what felt like a lifetime ago. They had climbed trees in the forests of the south and buried their treasures in the sand of the beaches of the east coast.
"Huh," Dario tilts his head to the side. "What's so important about that?" I, as kindly as possible, take the book from his hands and read over it again. Blue-tinted flower... secrets in the trees... buried their treasures in the sand of the beaches.
"Do you think... Charlotte underlined this?" I ask no one in particular, but seeing as Dario is the only one here, he takes it as me talking to him. I swallow as he makes eye contact with me.
"I don't know. It'd be pretty cool if she did," Let's just say that she did underline and bookmark this as a part of her treasure hunt. What could this show us to move forward? Blue tinted flowers? Sand? Buried their treasure in the sand of the beaches.
"I think we're going to have to dig," Dario mutters. But where?
I snap a quick picture of the book for later.
"Mercy!" Ellie finds us, Nolan, close behind. "They have a whole section about that Charlotte lady," Dario and I make eye contact before following them into the room. It's called the Cistern. In the far left corner, is a picture of Charlotte, framed and hung on the wall. Beneath it is a bookcase of books about lighthouses, but a stack of hers on top of it. Of course, the books on the top of the stack are When the Lights Go Out.
"That's her, right?" Isaiah nods towards her. I just nod, while Dario takes a book off of the stack. Next to the books are a little piece of paper where Charlotte expresses her feelings about the Lighthouse.
"The Montauk Lighthouse absolutely inspired When the Lights Go Out. I've traveled to the lighthouse on numerous occasions with my loved ones over the years and the magic of this place never ceased to amaze me. Outside, under the maple tree that faces the water and the rocks is where I've sat, writing the early versions of many of my books. The Montauk Lighthouse has to be one of my favorite places on earth,"
Charlotte M. Greene, author of When the Lights Go Out.
Wow. To think that Charlotte used to just hang out here, and write here blows my mind. I never knew that.
'This place is so beautiful," Dawn whispers, looking out the window. I stand next to my friend. She's right. Even with the cloudy sky, this place is still really pretty. This window has a perfect view of the lighthouse, and the seagulls flying by. Dawn pulls out her phone and takes a few pictures.
Next to the window, is a picture of the lighthouse. There's a caption next to it that dates the picture from 1976. My brows furrow, however.
"There's no trees."
I turn to face my friends, who all look equally confused. Nolan and Ellie are standing near a small model of the lighthouse, and Isaiah and Dario look at the wall honoring past lightkeepers. But Dario's eyes widen from his place on the other side of the room.
"Charlotte said she used to sit under a tree and write. But there is no tree." Before anyone can say anything, my moment of realization is interrupted.
"What brings you young folk here?" An older gentleman with shiny white hair and an equally white beard walks over to me, as I stand aimlessly in the middle of the place. He has a badge that says Montauk Lighthouse Manager. I smile at him.
"Sorry, couldn't help but notice you all. It's not very often we see young folk interested in our little patch of history." He says. "I'm Chuck,"
"Hi. I'm Mercedes. We're just, um..." If I tell him we're here about the treasure hunt, he probably won't take us seriously. "We're researching Charlotte M. Green for a school project," I tell him instead. Chuck nods slowly, before smiling at me again.
"Ah, you're a reader," He nods again. I smile. "Charlotte loved this place. I remember when she used to visit, for book signings and whatnot. But she spent most of her time out there, on the rocks and grass and whatnot," He points outside to the shore. It's not very pretty right now, but I'm sure it's nice when the sun is out.
Dario catches my eye from across the room. He opens his mouth as if he's about to say something, but instead walks in the opposite direction. My heart sinks.
"Um, do you happen to know what she meant when she said that she used to sit under a maple tree that faced the water and the rocks? Because, looking around. I'm not seeing any maple trees," Chuck's brows immediately furrow and he frowns. Dario makes his way closer to us, head tilted as he listens for Chuck's response, probably.
"Oh. I don't. There might have been a tree out there, before. It could have gotten cut down. Or, maybe it's a metaphoric tree." He shrugs.
"Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear. How can a tree be metaphoric?" Dario asks him, standing next to me. He's so warm. This is not the time to be noticing these things, but he is. I'm still cold from being outside in the wet and cool air.
"Well, they can symbolize shelter, life, growth. Strength and protection," Chuck lists off with a shrug.
"Oh." Dario nods. "Um," He looks at me, clearly confused. I just smile and look back at Chuck.
"So, for her to say she used to sit under a maple tree that faced the rocks and the water and write, could she mean that she was just... sat there? Under nothing, but..."
"She could have sat on a bench out there, completely out in the open, but felt secure, and protected. Maybe with a figure or symbol that made her feel protected, and strong. Or that figure could be protected, and strong," He shrugs. Interesting. A figure that could make her feel all the things that trees symbolize. "But, then again. That's just the metaphoric route. It could have just got cut down." Chuck shrugs.
"Let me know if there's anything else you want to know. I'm here all day," He walks away to go talk to some other tourists. Well, he seems nice. In an old man kind of way. The kind of old man who misses his family because they never visit. I can tell he enjoys his job. I would, it's beautiful. That leaves me and Dario standing in the middle of the room together.
"Mercedes," Dario starts. Oh no. I clear my throat and look up at him. I always forget how tall he is. He faces me completely, taking a deep breath as he looks down at me. "Can we-"
"Santino, we're all going outside. Maybe y'all can find something out there," Isaiah cuts him off.
"Okay," Dario answers. The two of us make eye contact again. This is so unfair. "Um-"
"Shall we?" I force a smile before following Isaiah out of the building.
DARIO
It's very windy outside, and it's cloudy. But this place is still really cool. And, we got our first clue! Clues? It looks like Charlotte may have been here, and planted this book for someone to find. It even has an underlined paragraph, but I have no clue what it says.
Mercedes realized something about how there were no Maple trees outside the lighthouse even though Charlotte mentioned sitting under one. So, she asked that lighthouse guy who seemed like this was just a cover job and he was actually Santa Claus, and he said something about it being a metaphor or something. To be honest, I still don't know what exactly a metaphor is. But it's fine. Mercedes understands.
She's not speaking to me, by the way. She hasn't said anything to me. But it's fine, her friends are cool. Nolan is funny, he annoyed me at first, but then my migraine went away, and now we're cool. I've never really known a person like him. He's so beachy. He seems like he's going to whip out a surfboard at any point in time. Especially now.
We're all standing outside on the beach. I can smell the salt of the air and all that, meanwhile, Mercedes, Dawn, and Ellie are all huddled together around a bench. Dawn seems to be pacing while Mercedes stands there with her arms crossed over herself, looking annoyed. But I think she always looks annoyed.
I let out a sigh.
"They're so..." Isaiah trails off as he turns to face me. It's a new thing for me, having a whole group of people traveling around with. I usually go places by myself. I like being by myself, or I used to. I don't know what I like right now.
"Yeah," Nolan pulls out his phone. "They're interesting people. I swear I don't know what's going on half the time," He chuckles to himself. I smile and turn towards the grassier area. I have to get my head in the game. We're looking for clues. I could use a nap, maybe I'll make Isaiah drive. But for now, I have to look. She said something about blue-tinted flowers and sand and trees.
My God, my brain needs a break.
I step onto the grass and start to look. For what? I have no clue! Why am I even here!?
Nolan follows me.
"I think there could be something over here. Why not, right? It's... here, you know?" I mutter and keep staring at the ground. There's still no maple trees. But maybe I'll find something else. Like a map. "You know those bottles people used to make? With like letters and maps in 'em?"
"Yeah!" Nolan smiles. "You think we'll find one of those?"
"I hope so. Something that will give this trip any sense of direction-" I stop when I look down. I squint. What am I looking at? The ground is suddenly covered in these flowers. They're blue and grow in the center of this little patch. The edge of the patch is covered with long grass, so no one can see it unless they're standing where I am.
"Blue-tinted flowers." My eyes widen. "Nolan!" Nolan trudges towards me, and his eyes widen.
"That's a thing, right?" I ask. I'm too tired, I'm pretty sure they mentioned tinted blue flowers. I wouldn't call them tinted, they're fully blue. But maybe some are more blue than the others. Nolan calls the girls over, and they're there in seconds.
"Woah," Mercedes says. She starts to crouch down and look at the flowers. She's a natural at this. Look at her, investigating and shit. There's a reason I call her Detective.
"So she did definitely mention blue-tinted flowers, right?" I'm not going crazy? Ellie just smiles at me with a nod. Okay. I'm good.
"Those are Forget Me Nots," Ellie explains. "They represent, well, obviously not forgetting so remembrance, but also love and loyalty." oh. Interesting.
"These are the flowers the guy was holding when he was murdered at the desk," I suddenly remember. "Well, where he was found. He was put there after he was murdered, it was a staged suicide by his sworn enemy and brother. The flower was the thing he grabbed hold of as he was being dragged through the grass and mud-"
"Okay!" Mercedes cuts me off. I roll my eyes. They needed context! Mercedes pops back up with something in her hands. Something very dirty. The soil is still wet, so now all the dirt is sticking to her hands.
"Ew, Mercy, you have no idea where that's been," Dawn mutters. I snort. Something tells me Mercy doesn't care. What is it? I step closer to her without stepping on the flowers.
In her hands is a very muddy box. She brushes some of the dirt off, but there are spider webs on it, and what I think is mold? It's a wooden box, that opens like a treasure chest. If that's the damn treasure, I'm quitting. Going home right now.
Mercedes opens it. A gust of wind moves past us, ruffling everyone's hair and clothes.
"Of course, she opens the scary box, I'm sure that's exactly what we should do," Isaiah mumbles. "What if there's a curse on that thing?" It is a little ironic that the wind blew as soon as she opened it.
"What if there's a check in there?" Nolan responds. Isaiah hums. Good point.
There's neither in the box, I don't think. It's a piece of paper. From here, it doesn't have a curse on it, but she's facing me and isn't reading it out loud. She just stares at it with her brows furrowed.
"What's it say?" Ellie asks. Mercedes huffs.
"The trees know all of the secrets of the world, yet no one stops and listens to what they have to say," She reads.
"It sounds like a fortune cookie," I mutter. Mercedes looks up at me before frowning. "Does it say anything else?"
"When it's midnight, the trees speak the loudest-"
"Midnight on Maple Lane," The words are out of my mouth before I can even process them. "That's why she mentioned Maple trees so much!" It all makes sense now. Things are clicking in my brain. And I need a nap.
Mercedes's eyes widen.
"What does that mean?" Dawn asks.
"It means we're going to Maine."
And then, a crack of thunder booms across the sky. Dawn shrieks.
Oh boy.
...
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