For Paloma

“And here we are, Paloma! Your home for the next 5 months, or until you get transferred. Newbies get the top bunk so don’t hit your head on the way up, now! This cabin hasn’t been used since the last dry dock, so it might be a bit squeaky; just adds character. If you need me, just ring my deck phone. I left the number on top of your bed.”

Paloma stands on her tippy-toes and feels around the stiff mattress. She find a small piece of paper on top of her pillow, but stops when she feels a small rectangular object stuck in between the mattress and the bed frame.

“Hey, I think someone left this here!” Paloma hands over a small black notebook to the crew guide.

“Well one, this cabin hasn’t seen a human in 5 years, and two, this book has your name written on it. Look!” The crew guide chuckles and hands the book back to Paloma.

“Now, go on and get comfortable!" The crew guide reaches for the door, turns back, and in a motherly tone adds, “You will have stories to tell for a lifetime, Paloma; you will see places, most people only hear in stories” and exits.

Paloma looks down at the small black notebook and runs her fingers across the gold lettering, “Paloma” written in cursive. She opens the book and reads aloud:

“I’ve flown across the sea, to find you, to find me, dumb call it luck, smart call it destiny.”

She flips the page to a hand-drawn map with a folded paper labeled “itinerary” taped to the left corner. Paloma removes the paper, opens it, and reads quietly. She gasps.

How did they know about voyages this far in advance? Who wrote all this? Most importantly, why is my name written on the front of this thing?

She pulls out her phone, and types, How popular is the name Paloma? She sighs, “What am I doing, maybe the last girl had the same name and just…”

“Helllooooo Rooomiee!,” a high-pitched voice fills the cabin.

“O.M.G. girl, I am so excited! I was all like, I’m not gonna do another contract, I’ve seen it all, but here I am! I’m Veronica! What’s your name? Where are you from?”

“My name is Paloma. I’m from a small town in Maryland and I work in the art gallery de.."

“How nice! I work cruise staff, you know the people who entertain your kids while you get boozy in Cozumel! Palo, can I call you Palo O.M.G. we are gonna have so much fun. I know everything about this ship, so if you ever need the down low, I’m your girl!” Veronica interrupts.

Paloma looks down at the book in her hand.

“Actually, do you know if there was another girl named Paloma here..”

“Gotta go, it’s spaghetti night in the crew mess, see ya around girl!”

Veronica exits through the tiny cabin door as Paloma plops down on the bottom bunk. She opens the book up to page three. Scribbles, dates, and quotes about sea life are scattered over the page. A small key is taped next to the number 424 and a kid drawing of a little devil in the bottom right corner. She picks up the itinerary beside her and reads “Shhh, Lanzarote.”

Later that night, loud laughter lingers in the hallways.

“Girl, I should’ve went for the eggplant!” Veronica exclaims as she bursts into the cabin with a bottle of red wine in her hand.

“I didn’t see you in the mess, did you get lost?”

Paloma rolls over and peeks her head down from the top bunk, “I wasn’t too hungry. I found this…” She reaches for the small notebook under her pillow.

“…And I found this.” Veronica picks up the itinerary. “ Lanzarote! I can’t believe we are even going back there after what happened to that girl a few years back.”

Paloma sits up and pushes the notebook back under the pillow. “What happened?”

Veronica sets the bottle on the counter, pops the cork, and starts to pour herself a glass.

“Well I’m no story teller but, some girl went literal bananas on that island; they had to send her home to a mental institution and everything! She kept telling the crew we had to go back because she made some deal with “the devil” and had to collect her reward. The place gives me the heebie-jeebies to be honest...I mean, who lives on a volcano island and eats chicken cooked in the ground!”

“Maybe if it was eggplant,” Paloma whispers under her breath.

“Anyways, the girl kept going on and on about this box filled with treasure in a cave off the north side of the island. Some real Dora the explorer nonsense if you ask me. Everyone knows the natives forbid tourist travel to that part of the island. But she thought she was chosen. Pfft, sure, and I’ll be on the cover of the cruise ship edition of Vogue.”

“Well, legends must come from somewhere! Did she ever attempt to go find whatever she was looking for?”

“Rumors say she was the first one off board when they docked. She dressed in all white, carrying nothing but a little black notebook and a smile as big as the state of Texas, gliding, almost flying off the ship. She disappeared for the entire day and came back with clothes as black as that notebook, looking defeated. They said she never got off at any of the dozens of other ports, she saved it all for Lanzarote.”

Veronica pauses for a sip of wine.

“Here, try not to let that place drive you crazy, it’s been done before.”

She folds the paper and tosses it up to Paloma. Paloma catches the paper and carefully slides it between the book and the pillow.

“Nighty-night Palo!” Veronica takes another sip of wine and then reaches for the master switch.

The next morning, Paloma hears the captain on the loud speaker.

“Ladies and Gentleman, we have reached the Port of Lanzarote, one of the most exquisite of the Canary Islands. The gangway will open at 10 a.m. and…”

“Can you believe it? Exquisite! More like haunted! He forgot the part about us being docked in the third circle of hell. Like, the only excursions here are to the gift shop and riding camels. So, I’ll be in the spa if anyone needs me!” Veronica exits carrying a towel in one hand and a fresh bottle of wine in the other.

Paloma reaches for the notebook along with her sea ID and heads for the gangway.

“All aboard for crew is 5:30pm. Don’t be late, newbie. We will leave you and your stuff with the port agent,” a familiar voice calls from a distance. The crew guide walks up to Paloma and hands her a map with a smile. “This is in case you get lost, take lots of pictures, now!”

Paloma stuffs the map into the small notebook and through the metal detector. The metal detector beeps, beeps agains, and then smoke fills the gangway.

“Oh my God, your book broke the detector, what’s in that thing!” One of the blue boys yells as he runs to the unplug the detector. Paloma grabs the book from the belt and quickly exits the gangway!

“Bienvenidos a Lanzarote!”

“Do you want to do a wine tour!”

“Welcome, how does camel riding sound to you.”

Tour guides with brochures call to the guests getting off the ship.

“Exclusive, North Island tour! Recently open to tourists! Be the first to discover…”

“Buenas, I thought the north part of the island was forbidden…” Paloma interrupts.

“Buenas, my amiga, the locals want to share the beauty of the island. And now that your ship docks closer, we can make it to there in 2 hours or less. Come over to the bus and let me scan your sea ID.”

Paloma clenches the little black notebook and walks over to the bus. She hands the tour guide her ID and takes the first seat on the right. She sits down and opens the book. Her eyes get big as she flips through the pages.

Where did that map go? I know I stuffed it in here somewhere.

“Paloma, that’s a beautiful name. On this island, we honor the dove, La Paloma, and the devil, Timanfaya. Together they work in harmony to provide everything we need.” The tour guide explains as he hands her back her sea ID.

“Now, buckle up, we have a long ride ahead of us,” the guide exclaims as he starts up the engine.

Paloma opens the notebook back up and notices the map she thought was missing now on the page with a big “X” next to a mountain structure on the northern part of the island.

“Are we going to be passing by any mountains or caves on our way there?” Paloma quietly inquires.

“Oh yes, my favorite mountain structure, “El Dedo de Timanfaya”, or Timanfaya’s Finger. Many have reported seeing strange figures, things appearing and disappearing, and the legend goes there is hidden treasure guarded by a lady in all white. But as you know, children love their stories.”

Almost two hours pass before they reach the mountains. The little black notebook starts to move. The closer they get to the mountain, the more the notebook shakes.

Paloma picks up the book. “Can I get out for a few photos?”

“Sure! But don’t get lost. I’ll wait right here!”

“Amazing, I won’t be long!” Paloma rushes out of the bus with the notebook in hand. The notebook starts to shake again and opens to the map with the “X”. Paloma looks around and spots a mountain in the shape of a thumb. She pulls out her phone and takes a picture. She looks at the picture and notices a strange figure in white standing on top of the mountain. She looks back at the tour guide and then takes off running, almost flying up the mountain. Exhausted, she takes her final step onto the top rock. She looks around. I can see everything from up here. The ship. The northern part of the island. The locals roasting their chickens in the ground. I think I can even see Veronica in the spa.

The notebook drops and flips to the page with the key. Paloma picks up the key from the notebook and looks around. She notices something shiny peering from the cave behind her. She walks up, kneels down, and discovers a tiny box made of volcanic ash with, “For Paloma” written on it. She takes the key and puts it into the lock. She wiggles the key, but nothing happens. She closes her eyes and whispers, “Shh, Lanzarote.”

The box opens revealing a pair of dove earrings, a note, and a check made out for 16,500 euros.

“That’s, that’s 20 thousand US dollars!”

She picks up the handwritten note and reads, “I’ve flown across the sea, to find you, to find me, dumb call it luck, smart call it destiny. I ran up the mountain and found the treasure, you see, forever for Paloma, forever for me.”

Paloma, picks up the box and the notebook and carefully starts to head down the mountain. As she takes a step onto the ground, she looks back up and sees the same white figure, now floating upwards, toward the sun. She looks down at the treasure and her clothes, now as black as the notebook, and smiles.

-5 months later-

Heart monitors and tv static fill the hallways. A woman in an expensive all white suit approaches the nurse station.

“Hello, I’m here to see Paloma de Lanzarote. I have something for her.” Paloma pulls out a pair of golden dove earrings and proceeds to room 424.