Chapter 48
After those revelations, I feel as if looking for an old treasure is anticlimactic. But we’ve come this far.
“CJ, where is this secret location that my great-grandfather hid his treasure?”
Kelley sweeps the paddle in the water creating blue angel wings.
“This is so pretty,” Tabitha exclaims. She turns to me, “Yes, don’t keep us waiting, where is it?”
“A cave,” I say. “There’s supposed to be a cave around here.”
Kelley stands up and points straight ahead. “Go that way. I know where it is. Dad and I . . .” He stops and looks at Keston with stricken eyes.
“It’s okay dude.” Keston touches Kelley’s arm. “Tell us.”
“Dad and I used to go there to fish. He said the cave was special. But he didn’t say why.”
Keston starts the boat. We chug slowly along close to the tall mangroves. An eerie feeling lingers in the air. Like when the music in a movie turns ominous. Something is about to happen.
“Stop here,” Kelley says. “I haven’t been here since I was fourteen, but I recognize this spot.”
“Where’s the cave?” I ask. I lean on the side of the boat peering into the darkness. “All I see are rocks and trees.”
The only light is the blue glow of the waves when one hits the side of our boat.
“We have to drop the anchor,” says Keston. “I can’t get any closer.”
As Keston hauls out the heavy steel anchor to throw overboard, Kelley shines a light on the rock face. “There it is.”
Four faces stare at the rounded opening tucked behind a rock face. I wonder how Keston and Kelley’s father knew it was there. I get the feeling he knew a lot more than what he had told his family about.
“What’s next, CJ?” Keston asks.
I open my phone. “I wrote it down. Hold on.”
I find my Notes app. “I wrote out the entire secret log entry, which is too long and too sad to read now.”
“No, read it,” Keston urges.
“How sad?” Tabitha asks.
“What’s the point of finding treasure if we don’t know the story behind it.” Kelley sits back down. Crosses his arms. “We have time.”
“I’m warning you. It may upset you. These are real people. Your ancestors.”
I don’t hear any objections, so I read aloud:
December 24th, 1803
This night has been one of both profound joy and deepest sorrow. Under the eerie blue glow of phosphoric fire, I brought Charlotte, heavy with our child, to the hidden cave on the northern shore of St. Nicholas. The cave, known only to my crew and I, served as our sanctuary, its walls alive with light as if the very sea itself sought to guide our path.
We stare at the blue light flowing in and out of the cave. It looks the same as he described it on that long ago night. I continue reading.
Charlotte, ever the brave soul, faced childbirth with a courage that would put the stoutest heart to shame. Amidst the echoing sounds of the surf, she brought forth not one, but two lives into our tempestuous world. Twins they were, a boy and a girl.
“Twins!” Tabitha beams. “We have twins in our family! I didn’t know it started as far back as Charlotte.”
Kelley takes Tabitha’s hand. “Go on, CJ.”
The joy of the boy”s first cry was swiftly marred by the quiet of his sister, who was born into this world only to leave it before her time. My heart, so often steeled against the cruelties of life at sea, found no armor against this grievous loss. In the quiet hours of dawn, as Charlotte rested, I took our tiny, lost daughter and laid her to rest within the cave, her eternal cradle.
“Oh,” Tabitha sighs. “Poor baby.”
We all look at the cave differently, knowing it is where Charlotte’s and Kipson’s daughter is buried.
“This is the part with the treasure,” I say.
Beside her, I placed a chest of Spanish gold, spoils from a galleon we waylaid some months past. This treasure, once a symbol of victory and fortune, now marks the resting place of my child, a beacon of our love and loss. I buried them deep within the earth of the cave, under a formation that resembles the prow of a ship, as if to sail her safely to the next world. Here, in this luminescent haven, they are shielded from the world’s reach, guarded by sea and stone.
“That is a father’s eternal bond,” Keston says.
Kelley nods. “I think Dad knew about this treasure. He used to tell me there were two treasures. One was not for the taking. Maybe he meant this one.”
Charlotte knows nothing of the gold, only that our daughter rests in a place of beauty and peace, watched over by the light of the sea. As for my son, he shall grow not knowing the weight of gold but of the depth of the ocean and the call of freedom that it sings.
This entry, penned by a hand weary with grief, is a vow—a promise that while I may roam the seas, part of me will forever remain here, in this cave, by the side of my daughter, beneath the silent watch of the glowing waters.
We sit in silence absorbing the last words.
“We can’t take it,” Kelley says.
Keston nods. “I agree.”
Tabitha’s brow furrows. “If it’s still there, we need to protect it from others.”
“Or we can donate it to St. Nicholas. Think of how wonderful it would be for the museum. Lots of people would visit and learn the history of your island.” I smile thinking of the looks on the tourists’ faces when they see the treasure.
“It sounds like there’s a lot of gold and jewels. Pirate treasures are worth billions today. Our little museum won’t be able to handle all of that,” Keston points out.
“Let’s see if it’s even there first,” says Kelley. “Maybe someone found it long ago.”
“I’d like to know what Pirate Kipson captured from those Spanish conquistadores,” I add.
Keston says he doesn’t care about gold and jewels.
We all look at Tabitha who’s been quiet. “This man loved my great grams so much. I want to see his tribute to her and their daughter. They are my family too.”
It’s agreed. Tabitha and I will stay in the boat and shine the lights while Keston and Kelley go into the cave and search for“a formation that resembles the prow of a ship.”
They leap into the sea with shovels and pick axes that we’d gathered from Keston’s garage.
I can’t believe this is happening. We’re going to find pirate treasure. It all seems so unreal and mythical. Until I’m standing in a boat watching two brothers set out to claim their legacy.
“Do you think they’ll find any treasure?” Tabitha asks.
I press a fist to my mouth. Keston is helping Kelley up on a rock. Their arms are locked together. From here it is hard to tell them apart. I hear laughter and a big splash.
“I think they’ve already found it.”