True Happiness

I could not imagine it was happening. After what seemed like an eternal nightmare, I had finally found the treasure there was at least twenty thousand dollars or more, along with some treasury bonds and jewels. This moment was very bittersweet because Maci was not here to celebrate and feel the joy of this moment.

But I am getting ahead of myself; it all began when I received a package in the mail from an attorney’s office, Which I did not recognize. I had no family remaining, and I was as straightlaced as they came, so to speak. With some foreboding I opened the envelope, a letter fell out stating that a friend had left me the enclosed package to be delivered. The package was from an old friend Maci Troas. We had gone through basic training and Advanced Individual Training, then on to our first duty station together Like most military friendships after we had redeployed, we kept in touch for a while, then we lost contact with each other. I had not thought about her in years, nor had I heard from her in over fifteen years. I remembered that she used to entertain us with her family’s stories that her grandmother taught to her; some of the stories were so crazy; especially the one about hidden treasures that no one had been able to find it though many had tried. She said that she would write down the stories so that they wouldn't be forgotten, now that her grandmother had passed away. So, before we left, I had given her a little black notebook. I could not believe that she still had it after all this time. She had finally written her grandmother’s stories down. But why did she send the notebook to me, and why did she never go looking for it herself? And how had she found me after all I had changed my name and had moved several times since the last time we wrote to each other.

As I leafed through the book a letter fell out and it was address to Anita Bauer, which was my maiden name when she knew me. As I read the letter from Maci it broke my heart. “Hey Bauer, tag you are it! I know that I had not kept in touch and for that I am sorry. A lot had happened since we last wrote, first I got married and I have a little girl named, Beatrice. I have so much to tell you and not enough time. My marriage started great, but then things went sideways. I am not sure when it started, and since you are reading this letter. Then his plans have come true, and I am no longer alive, and that my baby is in danger. I sent you the notebook because I trust you to keep it safe and if anyone could find the treasure and do the right thing it would be you.” Maci ended the letter with a cryptic message, “find the key to true happiness!” I had no idea what she meant and how was I supposed to find it. I was more concerned about finding out what happened to Maci’s daughter Beatrice and what was being done to keep her safe.

First things first, I needed to contact the attorney, Roman Matthews. He had sent me the letter and said to contact him if I had questions and I had plenty of them. I tried to call him, and just my luck I got his voicemail.

In the meantime, I sat down and began reading the notebook to see what I could discover. As I looked up, the sun was coming up over the horizon. Wow! I could not believe that I had been up all night. I got up from the couch and made my way to bed, I just needed to rest for a few minutes. I was startled awake by the ringing of my cell phone. It was Mr. Matthews.

“Hello! Hello!” Dial tone. Drats I had just missed him.

I hit redial and he answered on the first ring, “Mr. Matthews this is Anita Christian I am sorry that I missed your call. I got your letter yesterday and I have some questions regarding what happened to my friend Maci Bauer and her daughter. How did she die?”

“ It was a hit and run, and then her husband disappeared with her daughter. The police are investigating both issues because she had gone to the police to report that her husband had been trying to kill her. I think that he had gotten into some trouble with some bad people.”

This got stranger by the moment. Why would her husband kill her if he did not have the book and if he did not kill her, then who did, and would I be next? Mr. Matthews interrupted my musing, “Are you able to meet with me?”

I did not know him, and I did not know who I could trust at this point. “You can trust me”, he said as if he read my mind. “We can meet in a public place if it will make you feel safer.” We agreed to meet at a diner between where I lived and where his office was located. After we ended the call, I hopped on Google to see what I could find out about him. My heart raced as his pictures popped up. Oh my gosh! The man was gorgeous and came from a wealthy family, but that didn't mean he was after the treasure too. I also was so not his type. What was I thinking I had no time for relationships not after the disaster of my first marriage? What I needed to focus on was finding Beatrice and the treasure.

The next day we met to discuss what he knew about Maci, her daughter, and the trouble that her husband was in. I also needed to know how to protect myself from those who may be after me. Roman and I met a few times over the following weeks, and we decided to go to the town where Maci's grandmother grew up. We discovered that the firstborn women of her family were given a doll and were charged with telling the story and passing the doll down to their daughter. We found a photo of Maci and Beatrice with the doll on the front of the dress was the word “Happy."

As we were leaving, Macy’s husband Rodney comes up dragging Beatrice along. “Give me the book! I know you have it!” He demanded.

“I will give you the book if you let me have Beatrice! She does not deserve this.” I had made a copy of the book and blacked out the most important clue. I had also seen a car pull up behind Rodney. I was not sticking around to see if they were friends or foe; plus, Roman had called the police as soon as we spotted him. We told the detective that we would meet them at the hospital after we had Beatrice checked out.

That evening while Beatrice rested, I took the doll and removed her left arm from the socket. Maci had placed a microchip, and inside of the notebook, she had written the password to open the file.

The next day we boarded Roman’s jet and flew to Charlottesville, Virginia. Once we landed, we went to the Community Bank, where Maci had a safety deposit box. Did I mention that the key was in Beatrice’s backpack? Besides the password, Rodney had everything he needed to find the treasure; he just did not know it. As we stood there with the box open, we noticed a letter addressed to me. “Dear Anita, I knew that you would figure it out and save my precious girl. Roman has the paperwork making you Beatrice’s legal guardian; along with the twenty thousand dollars in cash, there is also an account that will help you take care of her. And as for Roman, he is a good man if you had not already figured that out. Take a chance, and you never know; you may have just found your true happiness.” I decided to listen to my friend and enjoy the happiness that I had found with Roman, and we also adopted Beatrice to complete our happy family. I plan to share the story of her mother's legacy with her.