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“How long has what been here?” he said coming over.
“This,” I said showing him.
He took the book and examined the inside front cover.
“To the new park preserve, dig deep in the bramble. Always be prepared. Agatha Armoury.”
Lou continued staring at the text.
“Is that your grandmother’s handwriting?”
“I think so,” he said unsure.
“What do you think that means?”
“I don’t know.”
“If she were trying to leave you a message, wouldn’t this be the book she would leave it in?”
Lou flipped it over and looked at the cover.
“Would she?”
“It’s something you would pick up to remember her, but it wouldn’t hold meaning for anyone else.”
“Maybe.”
“So, do you remember there being an inscription when you were a kid?”
“It’s been ten years,” he said reading the note again.
“Be prepared. Isn’t that what she told you? That you should be prepared?”
“It is.”
“Then what would ‘To the new park preserve’ mean? It’s gotta mean something.”
“The lake,” Lou squeaked.
“What about the lake?”
“I once told her that it was so beautiful that I thought everyone should get to enjoy it.”
“You said you wanted to make it a state park,” I said remembering.
“And that’s what I said to my grandmother. But she said that it was on private property so it couldn’t be a park…”
“It had to be a preserve,” I said finishing his thought.
“Right,” he said turning to me.
“This is it. And it says, ‘To the new park preserve’. She’s telling you to go to the lake. This is your clue!” I said excitedly. “What else does it say?”
Lou read, “Dig deep in the bramble.” He looked at me. “Bramble is a bush. She’s telling us to dig deep under the bush. This is real,” Lou said stunned. “She left me a clue!”
Getting emotional, Lou bit his lip. He tried to stop himself from crying but he couldn’t. My heart broke for him. Wrapping my arms around him, he leaned into my embrace.
“She didn’t forget about me. She loved me,” he said with a painful release.
