Treasure Hunt

Molly jabbed her spade into the warm December sand and flicked each shovelful over her shoulder. She loved Treasure Hunt here on Paraparaumu beach. Each year the Kapiti Council arranged this dig for toddlers and preschool children. At stake were a new bike and several other splendid prizes. All you had to do was find one of the six medallions hidden in the sand above the watermark and then run to the prize desk to see what you had won.

Molly scratched deeper and pulled as hard as her little four year old arms would allow. Determined to go a little deeper and find her treasure. A woman in her late thirties came over and sat down beside Molly. She tucked her knees beneath her, and pulled her light woollen cardigan over her shoulders to protect them from the direct heat of the sun.

‘Hello baby, how you doing?’

‘Hello mummy, I’m digging for a trasher..’

The woman giggled, ‘Treasure Molly, your digging for treasure’

Molly turned to look at the woman and went back to her digging. ‘I’ miss you mummy why you gone?’

The young woman flinched like she’d been stung and bit her lip. ‘I’m sorry Molly, I am always here looking for you, watching for you. You know that don’t you?’

‘Mmm……Molly knows mummy, I miss you’

The woman tried to hold the tears, but they squeezed through - etching across the well prepared makeup. ‘I miss you too baby’

‘Are you come home mummy?’

‘Soon baby, mummy will come home soon’

‘Can we have spetti for tea’

‘Yes spaghetti and toast and hot chocolate to drink,Would you like that?’

By way of answer Molly smiled and turned back to her task of finding a medallion, digging in a hole that never seemed to get any bigger, with a spade and bucket that never carried enough sand.

Molly looked across the beach at the other families scattered here and there. All engaged in this year’s treasure hunt. Their laughter rang in her ears and turned and smiled at her mother.

‘Mummy is angels nice’

The woman looked at Molly and tried to brush her hair, but there was no contact, no reassurance for either of them. ‘Yes baby, the angels are nice and will always look after us’

‘Have you seen the angels Mummy?’

The woman let her chin fall a little as she struggled for the words. ‘Yes my darling – they are all around us, they are always with us’

‘That’s good mummy’

‘Yes baby, that’s good’

‘Is my brutha having a treasure hunt, he wants a bike’

‘Not this year baby’.

Molly turned and looked directly into her mums eyes.‘Why did you go and leave me mummy?’

The woman was not prepared for the pain that followed. She turned her head away and stifled the sobs in her clenched arms; her body trembled as wave after wave of sorrow ripped through her, pain after all this time, like it was yesterday.

Almost ten years ago, like today - it was a warm and the expected crowds had thronged to the beach for the hunt. The kids were on their knees, digging for gold. The annual Treasure Hunt was well underway and Molly and Ronnie her twins, were racing through the sand, hoping to find a medallion. Dianne read another page of her book keeping one eye on the kids and one on the books heroine. She loved the beach, the sun and the fresh sea air. The kids loved rummaging through the sand and flung it everywhere.

Dianne stopped reading and glanced over at the twins. They were covered in sand it was in their face, ears - hair, everywhere. She giggled and told them to go and rinse off at the water’s edge and hurry back for a drink and ice cream.

The two laughing children picked themselves up and headed off down the beach. Dianne watched as they raced each other across the sand down to the water. She turned to her bag and put her glasses into their case. She pushed up off her knees and stood up looking down towards the water and surf. She could not see the kids.

She started walking down to the water, her pace picked up and she walked a little faster, breaking into a run, calling their names.

‘MOLLY, RONNIE- Come where I can see you guys’

A little bit of panic crept into her voice. She reached the edge of the water and Ronnie was sitting washing his legs as the waves washed over them.

‘Ronnie where’s Molly?’ Ronnie turned and pointed into the water.

‘She’s washing mummy’

She shouted, screamed for Molly, people stopped what they were doing and looked in her direction. She was a woman in trouble – but nobody moved to help her.

She suddenly spotted something in the water, and ran then dived through the waves. There was a strong undertow and she soon found herself out of her depth. There out beyond the waves, a little figure in the water – it was Molly.

She ploughed on, using all her strength to cut across the rip and just as quickly the little figure was gone, and she lost sight of her. She tried to scream and the water filled her mouth, she thrashed in the water and cried in desperation trying to grasp at the surface to stay afloat. She felt herself slipping under the water and her lungs began to fill with the sharp, tang of sea water. She felt someone trying to grab her – too late. She looked up through the water at the brilliant light of the sky – and then, it all went dark.

She wiped her eyes and turned back to the young girl in front of her. ‘I’m so sorry Baby, mummy didn’t want to leave you, but I’m here now, I’m here now’.

Molly smiled up her, like she had always done, like no one else could, and the pain melted the sorrow lifted and she smiled back at her beautiful little girl.

‘I don’t ever want to leave you again Molly’.

‘Molly knows’

‘Mummy’

‘Yes baby’

‘Molly has to go now’

‘So soon, please just a little longer’

‘Love you mummy’. Molly pushed up of her knees and stood before her mother. She turned and walked down the beach towards the water.

‘Please baby, not again. Wait just a few minutes with me… I.’

Molly reached the water’s edge, turned and waved back to her mum. Then she walked steadily into the water and the waves washed over her and she was gone.

The Woman crumpled over and wailed, some people nearby looked over to see what was happening, but most looked away. Partially in respect, partially because they knew of the distress she was in. They knew her story

A young man approached her from the sand dunes up ahead.

‘Mum, it’s time to go, Mum. Are you ok’

The woman looked up at her son, now 15yrs old and so like his twin sister. It was so hard to believe that Molly had been gone for so long.

Every year since, she joined her for a few minutes, searching for a treasure that would never be found and watching a treasure lost forever.