It was a long hot summer. Longer than usual considering the days, minutes, no seconds! were being counted down after each passing moment until she could see him again. He had left on a quest through loblolly pines of South Carolina and ruthless underbrush. She eventually departed for Manteo, North Carolina where deer flies welcomed you with open jaws and wildfires were spreading throughout the National Forests. It was a beautiful part of the coast, on an island full of memorable sunsets and rewarding opportunities. But those are other stories. This story recounts a boy whole loves a girl, simple as that. This is the story about when he tells her that he loves her, but it won't go as far as that moment. The story ends on the dock above.
And it begins at the Nature Play Corps headquarters, the Friends of Elizabeth Guesthouse six weeks after he he left and between a handful of letters. She was leaving for Germany in just a couple of weeks, and she knew he would be receiving a week off soon. Timing was crucial in order to catch him in the narrow window of opportunity. But he told her that he was trying to make it work, though on her end it seemed impossible they would see one another before the summer's end, several weeks away.
She was pushing through the day, frustrated at all the work ahead and inevitably through a tormenting, long night. And as she worked his smile lingered in the back of her mind. A friend of hers informed her that there was something left on her windshield. Even though it was not possible, her stomach turned at the thought that it might be a ticket of some kind. When she arrived there was a manila envelope slipped under the wipers with her name on it. Taking it out and suspiciously opening it up there were a few large puzzle pieces, a compass, and a note inside. The instructions asked not to put the pieces together until all of them were collected, and that there were other folders hidden downtown.
So she nervously took off. He had obviously planned this out for her but she wanted to know how, and more importantly what was at the end of the hunt. The first clue took her to a tree behind the restaurant of a hotel along the water. She wandered until she saw the 2nd envelope taped on a high branch. Without realization of the interested dinner guests inside (most of which were in their late years), she climbed up the tree, retrieved the envelope, and read the next clue. It asked her to go to a bar she frequented while in Manteo called Poor Richard's. Once there she was to ask for a "Mrs. Police Officer." Smiling to herself (and all the dinner guests watching), she jumped down from the tree and began to head off when she heard knocking on the restaurant windows. All of the window-adjacent customers were looking out and holding up their arms to ask, "Who is it?" Without any other way to communicate back she thought for a moment, smiled, then placed her hands to her chest to make a heart over where hers would be. The men and women began to cheer and waving their hands urging her to continue her hunt.
Sitting at Poor Richard's and sipping on her "Mrs. Police Officer" she wondered which Nature Play friend she would need to reimburse for the drink that he had planned for her. He was working in the woods, he told her there was no time to visit soon. She drank with the 3rd clue in her hands. People had begun to recognize her simply because she carried these envelopes that they presumably had seen being taped up or delivered. They asked her to come back and tell them what treasure the final clue led to. She agreed and quickly finished her drink to head on for the 4th clue. He asked her to go toward the pier where the lighthouse stood, and where she would find the clue beneath her bum. While she headed toward the pier, she thought to herself how excited she was that even though they were so far apart he would go through so much trouble to put this scavenger hunt together. As exciting as the scavenger hunt was, it still made her sad that he wouldn't be there at the end for her to kiss and hold like all of her daydreams desired. It made her miss him all the more, and a piece of her ached a little stronger.
Hidden beneath a bench on the backside of the pier, the 4th clue told her to look south and begin walking toward a bed of flowers. Using the compass she turned where it guided as South, which led her into the ocean. A witty girl, she assumed that perhaps the only way to go was back down the boardwalk. Seeking a flowerbed, she could not find where the clue asked her to go. Transfixed in contemplation she almost didn't notice someone running toward her from down the other side of the boardwalk. She realized that it was him who was racing toward her! Grinning as he turned the corner of the boardwalk and neared her, she felt plastered to the ground in shock and pure excitement. It was not until the last few seconds that she was able to take a few steps toward him until he was there, sweeping her up into his arms. They twirled from the impact of the embrace that had 6 weeks of absence from each other fueling it. Finally she stood in his arms and he dipped her and kissed her. "You're here." was all she could muster as she fought back the tears. And she wanted to keep him there forever. It was one of those "no one else in the world" moments when time sped up and held back at the same time.
And this is where this story ends. There was one more clue she still had to find, that only he could take her to, until the puzzle was completed.
And it begins at the Nature Play Corps headquarters, the Friends of Elizabeth Guesthouse six weeks after he he left and between a handful of letters. She was leaving for Germany in just a couple of weeks, and she knew he would be receiving a week off soon. Timing was crucial in order to catch him in the narrow window of opportunity. But he told her that he was trying to make it work, though on her end it seemed impossible they would see one another before the summer's end, several weeks away.
She was pushing through the day, frustrated at all the work ahead and inevitably through a tormenting, long night. And as she worked his smile lingered in the back of her mind. A friend of hers informed her that there was something left on her windshield. Even though it was not possible, her stomach turned at the thought that it might be a ticket of some kind. When she arrived there was a manila envelope slipped under the wipers with her name on it. Taking it out and suspiciously opening it up there were a few large puzzle pieces, a compass, and a note inside. The instructions asked not to put the pieces together until all of them were collected, and that there were other folders hidden downtown.
So she nervously took off. He had obviously planned this out for her but she wanted to know how, and more importantly what was at the end of the hunt. The first clue took her to a tree behind the restaurant of a hotel along the water. She wandered until she saw the 2nd envelope taped on a high branch. Without realization of the interested dinner guests inside (most of which were in their late years), she climbed up the tree, retrieved the envelope, and read the next clue. It asked her to go to a bar she frequented while in Manteo called Poor Richard's. Once there she was to ask for a "Mrs. Police Officer." Smiling to herself (and all the dinner guests watching), she jumped down from the tree and began to head off when she heard knocking on the restaurant windows. All of the window-adjacent customers were looking out and holding up their arms to ask, "Who is it?" Without any other way to communicate back she thought for a moment, smiled, then placed her hands to her chest to make a heart over where hers would be. The men and women began to cheer and waving their hands urging her to continue her hunt.
Sitting at Poor Richard's and sipping on her "Mrs. Police Officer" she wondered which Nature Play friend she would need to reimburse for the drink that he had planned for her. He was working in the woods, he told her there was no time to visit soon. She drank with the 3rd clue in her hands. People had begun to recognize her simply because she carried these envelopes that they presumably had seen being taped up or delivered. They asked her to come back and tell them what treasure the final clue led to. She agreed and quickly finished her drink to head on for the 4th clue. He asked her to go toward the pier where the lighthouse stood, and where she would find the clue beneath her bum. While she headed toward the pier, she thought to herself how excited she was that even though they were so far apart he would go through so much trouble to put this scavenger hunt together. As exciting as the scavenger hunt was, it still made her sad that he wouldn't be there at the end for her to kiss and hold like all of her daydreams desired. It made her miss him all the more, and a piece of her ached a little stronger.
Hidden beneath a bench on the backside of the pier, the 4th clue told her to look south and begin walking toward a bed of flowers. Using the compass she turned where it guided as South, which led her into the ocean. A witty girl, she assumed that perhaps the only way to go was back down the boardwalk. Seeking a flowerbed, she could not find where the clue asked her to go. Transfixed in contemplation she almost didn't notice someone running toward her from down the other side of the boardwalk. She realized that it was him who was racing toward her! Grinning as he turned the corner of the boardwalk and neared her, she felt plastered to the ground in shock and pure excitement. It was not until the last few seconds that she was able to take a few steps toward him until he was there, sweeping her up into his arms. They twirled from the impact of the embrace that had 6 weeks of absence from each other fueling it. Finally she stood in his arms and he dipped her and kissed her. "You're here." was all she could muster as she fought back the tears. And she wanted to keep him there forever. It was one of those "no one else in the world" moments when time sped up and held back at the same time.
And this is where this story ends. There was one more clue she still had to find, that only he could take her to, until the puzzle was completed.
