New Leaf Cove

Spring was right around the corner and for Ben Kennway, it was just another season in a town longing for excitement. Ben was a 24 year old man living in a small town. It was enjoyable yet remarkably boring in his eyes. Ben stood at 5’11” tall, weighed about 175 pounds, had black hair, and brown eyes. He was an electrical engineer so he made a good wage and he was seeing a woman named Stephanie. Ben was a historic enthusiast. He loved history and since the town wasn’t too old, he enjoyed learning more about its origins and people who inhabited it all those years ago. The problem was he had already gotten a glimpse of all the history the town had to offer. Historic sights that included the town hall, the statue of the mayor at the center of town square, and the other houses that had an antique interior. He had already gone through the history books depicting what kind of town it was and what type of people lived in it. The town had its events but none of them ever caught Ben’s eye because the events were always related to the modern day. The park was the spot for every holiday gathering that the mayor hosted. Though the townsfolk loved these bits of additional celebrations, Ben was never too fond of them but this was all about to change. The town has always been involved with its community since the day it was founded in 1875. “New Leaf Cove” was the name of the town. The founders loved the phrase “Turning a new leaf..” and that refers to a change in one’s life. A new beginning or in metaphorical terms, a new chapter in one’s book.

They wanted to the town to be a place for people to start a new life and shatter the mirrors of a distant past. In the year 1879, the townsfolk decided to build a time capsule and bury it near the city’s federal court. This was located in town square close to the statue of the founder. It was stated in the instructions left behind that only after 170 years would the capsule be brought to the surface and its contents to be given to the people who resided town. Newspapers occasionally brought it up throughout the years but it seems like it was always forgotten of. Now flash forward to the year 2051 and the city council put out a statement that they will opening the capsule and giving away the belongings to the a few of the lucky attendees who showed up to the event. Ben finally became interested in something that the town had to offer. He had his hopes on attending this one. He called Stephanie and asked her if she was going to be at the excavation to which replied “It’s not like it’s my job to be there” in a sarcastic tone. Ben then asked her if they were still on for dinner tonight and she responded with an astounding yes. They continued talking for a while before meeting up later that day.

Fast forward to the day of excavating the capsule, they had small fences surrounding the premises. To get in, you have to pay a small price of 5 dollars and then they will give you a ticket with a number on it. Ben did not hesitate and headed into line. Once he got his red ticket, the number “181” was on his ticket. He waited for them to completely sell all the tickets. Once all the tickets were purchased, the mayor spoke on the everlasting imprint that this excavation would leave on the people. A direct link from the past to the present and all through old items stored away in a container. They had a bright yellow bulldozer ready to dig up the capsule. The operator was wearing brown boots, a dark blue shirt with blue jeans, a yellow vest, and a yellow hard hat to match. The area where they would dig was surrounded by a portable silver fence to keep the people out of the vicinity. With the sun shining so bright and the metal absorbing the heat, there was doubt that anyone would lay a finger on the fence. The loud sound of the bulldozer overtook the rustling of breeze hitting the leaves. It overtook the chirping of birds in the trees but everyone was focused on the ground. After about 25 minutes of removing the layers of soil from the ground, they saw the time capsule. It was bigger than what they had anticipated but they knew it was larger than usual capsules because of the letter left behind all those years ago. They attached a chain to the top of the capsule and attached the other end to the bulldozer. The man operating the bulldozer went in reverse and the capsule was dragged out of the hole it was buried in leaving a wide trail of dirt along the path it took. The capsule could have been removed by people but it was buried extremely deep into the ground and it would have been rather illogical for them to try.

Once the capsule was outside for everyone to see, everyone clapped in excitement. Some people whistled and others cheered. Ben’s eye opened wide and never had he felt this way before when it came to the town. He had his ticket along with the number stamped on it. “181” was his number. On the stage near the crowd, the mayor, who’s name was Stephanie Holiday, stated that she was ready to give away the items inside the capsule. Yeah, that is the Stephanie that Ben was seeing. Inside the capsule consisted of, a brand new leather black journal, a cracked glass bottle with a sheet of paper inside, a grey stone carved statue of the town founder, an antique compass, and finally, a small wooden chest that can be carried with both hands. Ben was ecstatic and gave Stephanie a look. She looked back and smiled as she continued to flip through her pages. Ben wanted the compass and he was set on having it. The detail on it was astonishing. It had an engraved design and words written on the back.

It’s design was intricate yet simple and the history it had was worth more than anything he learned in town. They began calling numbers to give out the prizes to the townsfolk. They had made two separate batches of tickets. One for the townsfolk and the other for the mayor to put into a bucket and choose from. “Number 173!” Holiday shouted. A police officer raised his arm while holding the ticket in his hand. His number was 173 and they handed him the stone carved statue of the town’s founder. He smiled and thanked the mayor and went back into the crowd. Mayor Holiday continued with pulling numbers, she called out the number 71, and that person received the cracked glass bottle. She then proceeded to call out the number 25, and that person received the small wooden chest. Now there was only two objects left, the compass that Ben so dearly wanted, and the black journal which seemed to have not aged a day. She calls out the number 18 and give the woman the antique compass. Ben’s excitement left his body as if it was yanked from him. He still had a shard of hope that he’ll at least get something. They called out the number 42 and a man wearing a brown coat and a fedora received the black journal.

The mayor thanked everyone for showing up and being a part of the towns giveaway and historic moment in finally digging up the capsule. She concluded the event and dismissed the people. Afterwards, she met up with Ben right outside the excavation event. She gave him a hug and playfully joked around about how she could’ve gotten him something from the capsule. Ben laughed and said “Nah, the people won fair and square. Honesty is what keeps people in good shape, one step away from it and people become corrupted.” Stephanie responded with, “Especially in my line of work.” She told him she had work to catch up on. They kissed and she went into the town hall where her office resided. The man who won the journal stuck around and he noticed Ben just standing there. The man approached Ben and said “Hey you, here, you’ll cherish it more than I will.” He titled his hat and went on his way. The man was an elder, probably in his late 60s and had a peculiar look on his face. A face Ben couldn’t forget but he shrugged it off despite being confused as to why the man gave him the black journal but he accepted it and went home. He was happy that he was able to receive something from the capsule. He went home and started reading the journal. At first it was just writings about someone’s life. It had no last name, no age, no description, and not even an address of who the book belonged to.

As he continued to flip through the pages, he noticed that the person who wrote the book started talking about an abundance of documents and wealth that they discretely hid somewhere near town because they had no one in their family line to inherit it. The person who wrote this book only stated his first name. His name was Jonah. He claimed the town founder and his colleagues were corrupt and would often take advantage of the people who helped start the town. This was alarming as the history of the town always portrayed the founder and his crew as a blessing and some would even say they were the finest people they had ever met. Ben continued reading and it was spoke of the time capsule. Jonah had an idea and proposed it to the other townsfolk. He thought it would be a simple cover up to store his journal and leave it to someone in the future long after they were all gone. The townsfolk thought it was a great idea and they notified the founder. Though reluctant at first, he agreed and he saw it as a way to add on to his legacy. By covering it up as a fun event that would allow the town to leave behind shards of the past, he could sneak his journal in and give someone a better life, hopefully someone who deserved it.

The founder agreed and they met in his office at the town hall to put their possessions into the capsule after they built the container itself. The founder put his prized stone carved statue inside, Jonah put in his journal, one of the founder’s colleagues put in the cracked bottle with a sheet of paper inside, and one of the townsfolk put in a compass he used when he sailed from the old world to the new one. Ben continued reading and found out that not only was there treasure to be found but many other things such as statements from townsfolk that showed the true intentions of the founder and how he treated the people. Ben was a tad surprised about this but he didn’t know if what was written held any true validity until he saw evidence or multiple statements of what Jonah vowed to be true. The founder, Jonah, and three others carried the capsule out of the office and straight to the Town Square. Everyone grabbed a shovel of their own and began digging a hole. This is where the capsule was buried and where it would remain until the present day.

As Ben flipped to the next page, his interest sparked up more than it already was. There was a map that was said to lead to the lost abundance of wealth that Jonah left behind. The starting point of the map was exactly where the capsule was buried. This was nearby the statue of the town founder. Ben decided to explore while the sun was still up in hopes that he can dictate whether or not it was a wild goose chase or not. He grabbed his backpack and stored a couple of items that might be useful to him. He stored two water bottles, the black journal, his cellphone, a flashlight, a lighter, and some protein bars incase he got hungry them. He was set on this being a covert op mission because if he did find some sort of hidden treasure, he didn’t want anyone to know about it. The town might try and claim it as their own or something worse. Ben was ready to go and left his apartment, he went down stairs and headed straight for the statue of the founder. After about 2 minutes of walking, he arrived at the statue. He stood before it and read the name engraved on the base. The name was “Timothy Cain Brown, Founder of New Leaf Cove”.

The map directed Ben to go North directly from where the statue was turned away from and keep heading in that direction, until he saw a tree stump. From there he would have to head East until he stumbled upon an old structure. It was in ruins by this point but it should be a former prison meant for any outlaws. Ben chuckled at the thought of him wanting a compass and now needing it. Luckily they are well on into the future and there’s apps for that. Jonah wrote that the back of the state was in the direction of North so Ben pulled out his phone and made sure it was factual information, which it was. Ben was ready to go but everyone in town was well acquainted with one another so Ben tried to remain as ‘usual’ as possible. He wasn’t trying to draw any attention to himself.

He started walking North in hopes of coming across the tree stump. As he was exiting the town, the towers of tree overcame the blue sky and he knew was entering unknown territory. The beams of light traveled through the gaps of tree leaves and branches. He admired the view but kept walking despite not seeing any stump in sight. He pushed it a little longer and finally saw the small stump. He sat down and reached into his bag for something he brought. He grabbed a water bottle and a protein bar. While he was eating, he saw something sticking out from under the leaves in a pile nearby.It seemed like a pole of some kind but when he reached for it, it was just a rake with end nearly falling off the stick. He broke it off and took the stick with him just incase he might need it. He finished up his bar and drank some water. After that he continued on his path only to see an odd structure in the distance. The town never spoke about it but it was mentioned by Jonah that the reason for a prison outside town was to keep the prisoners and any noise away from the people.

Ben bolted and ran for the structure. Once he arrived he looked at the building. The cobblestone had moss overgrown on it and it seemed to be falling apart. “No maintenance will do that to ya.” He said to himself. He tried to open the door but it was stuck so he gave it a kick but it did not open. He tried running and pushing it but that didn’t work either. The door was pretty heavy but Ben wasn’t a small guy nor was he a big guy either. He was about 5’11 and 183 pounds. When he pushed the door one more time, the door caved in and dust emerged from the seams as he started coughing a bit from inhaling the dust. Ben waved his hand across his face in order to clear the air. The sun was going down and the building had no light except for the shards entering through the cracks. Ben removed one backpack strap and unzipped the opening. He grabbed his flashlight and turned it on. You could see the dust particles right off the beam of light protruding from the flashlight. Ben used the flashlight to secure the perimeter, he made sure everything was clear of any animals or worse.... spiders. Ben did see some Cobb webs in his path so he moved them with the stick he had found.

The map had no other directions so he flipped the page. There was more writing indicating where to go. He was directed to go to the bottom sector of the prison which was in a basement of sorts. In the last prison cell on the right, there was a hidden exit covered by a bed. It was originally used as a pathway that the prisoner in that cell was trying to dig but according to Jonah, Timothy executed them all. Apparently, he did not want to keep “wasting” supplies on them. His colleagues assisted him in this massacre. Ben wondered if these people were capable of such things what else could they have done? Ben asked himself how did Jonah even get this information? Where were his sources? And most importantly if they were credible enough. Ben continued to head in the direction of the lower prison sector and saw a dozen cells down the hall. “Last set to the right.”, He told himself as he walked down the dark ominous hall. A scatter in one of the cells left him spooked and his adrenaline surged but it was just a bat flying about. He let out a nervous chuckle and kept walking. The floor was wet and there was mold growing on the walls. Only So much years of rain and humidity would cause such conditions.

He got the cell and the door was locked but right next to it were a set of keys hanging off a nail in the wall. It only had to two keys but he tried them both and the second one opened the cell. The wooden bed was falling apart and had bugs crawling all over the frame. He dropped the stick and put his flashlight on the ground and pulled the frame from the corner of the room. Under the bed was a rug and when he lifted it, there it was. A tunnel leading to the supposed treasure. Ben gave a final glance to his surroundings before entering. He picked up his flashlight and went down the rabbit hole. He probably walked about 12 feet before stumbling onto a flooded area. “That water has been sitting there for who knows how long.. Let’s see if I’m gonna regret this or not.” Said Ben right before he set his right foot in. The water would reach his ankles but he shrugged it off as there was only one way to find out if there was even a treasure. He shined his flashlight in the direction ahead and saw a curtain. He moved the curtain to the side and found a small room with a numerous amount of items. There was candles and luckily they were still intact. He pulled out his lighter and lit the four candles up. The small room was bright enough for him to see without having to hold the flashlight. He came across a desk with a bunch of papers but he found a photo.

The photo had the words “Founders” written on the side and there was 5 people in the picture. The picture had their names written below them. From left to right it was: Downey Hatchet, Bartholomew Todd, Timothy Cain Brown, Silas Donovan, and lastly Jonah Clint. Now Ben connected the pieces of the puzzle. Jonah was part of Timothy Brown’s crew.. It is exactly how he knew about everything and that was because he was involved. He twisted the truth a bit in the beginning but he knew whoever found this journal would also find the truth. The fear on Ben’s face was unmatched. The face of Jonah Clint was eerily similar to the man who gave him the journal. There was absolutely no explanation for it. Ben was quite shocked but he was sure there was no such thing as immortality for us humans. He stored the picture along with any other document he found in his backpack. He had room for plenty more items. There was a box near the desk and Ben went to open it. When he did, he found a stash of gold bars.

There wasn’t an excessive amount and they weren’t very large either but this could help him out a bit. He put the gold bars in his backpack and though they were heavy, he was willing to struggle on his walk back home. By the time he left the abandoned prison, the moon was out and shining, and he had no cell phone service. He was worried that Stephanie would call or text him but it wasn’t too big of a deal. He made his way back to the town without an issue and once he got home he peaked behind his blinds to make sure no one was following or watching him. The next morning Ben traveled to the nearest city outside of New Leaf Cove in order to try and get cash for the gold he found. He went to a jeweler in a major city called North Breeze. It was about an hour drive but it was worth the time. He arrived to the jeweler and the jeweler accepted the Gold. He knew he could melt it and turn it into jewelry. As for Ben, he received a total of $72,500. He used a portion of the money to donate to a charity and another portion for a down payment on a house in North Breeze. He was left with $20,000 in cash. He stored this money away only to be used if he ever needed it. Now that he was ready to leave the small town he grew up in, he put the documents, the photos, and the journal all in an envelope. He made sure there was nothing else on the journal and ripped out the pages talking about any sort of valuables, even the maps. He anonymously dropped the package off at Mayor Holiday’s office.

A few weeks after the entire treasure hunt and Ben obtaining the money. He asked Stephanie if she would like to move in with him at North Breeze. He just set a downpayment for a house and said he’d love it if she were to share it with him. Stephanie was eager but she still had a year left as mayor before elections. She politely declined but told him she would love to once she finished her duties. They continued dating despite living an hour a way from one another. A few months after living life in a new city, Ben received a letter in the mail. It was from a resident of New Leaf Cove and the name was “Samuel Pierce Clint”. Ben immediately recognized the last name and opened up the letter.

“Dear Stranger, we may not be acquainted at all but I was the man who gave you the journal at the excavation of the time capsule. Jonah Clint is an ancestor of mine and I have many of his possessions and other journals. He mentioned the black journal he had put in the capsule and I knew I had to get my hands on it. He had subliminal messages spread out through his other journals alluding to what would be found in the black journal. Once I figured them out, I knew the truth had to be exposed. My knees haven’t been kind to me throughout the decade and they prevent me from walking too far so I knew I couldn’t go out and do it myself. I chose you. You may be wondering how I was able to get the journal when there was so many people. It was easy, I went to town hall and spoke to the council before the excavation took place. As a direct descendant of Jonah Clint, I was entitled to claim his belongings. I confirmed the lineage through documents and the house deed I currently have so they had no other option but to have the outcome in my favor. Mayor Holiday is one of the best mayors this town has ever had and ever since she has taken office, the town has seen major improvements. Seeing your interaction with her and your eagerness to have an item of the past, I took a chance. You delivered. I don’t want the treasures you found or a response. I just wanted to give my thanks for cleaning up the town’s history and finishing the job my predecessor started. I felt as if it was my duty to get the job done somehow and it was finished thanks to your efforts.”

The town had since updated the history and everyone knows who Timothy Cain Brown truly was. Jonah was no saint either but at least he was able to tell us what really happened. The statue of Brown continues to stand but it is a perfect reminder of our history. How does the saying go? The people who don’t know history are bound to repeat it. It’s been a few years since it all happened, New Leaf Cove had a new mayor, Ben and Stephanie are happily married with two kids, and as for old man Samuel, he’s still kicking back in his rocking chair.