by H.L. Nguyen
Chapter 5
A Case with the Silver Handle
Three days later, Major Sands got his leave paperwork and they were off to Grandpa’s place. They were heading to Lake Arrowhead, California, a city near Big Bear, where city dwellers would ski once or twice a year.
Lake Arrowhead was not a populated area but the people there liked it that way. It was where the rich and famous would sometimes hide away from the sprawling paparazzi and fans. It was where people could get away from city life, a way to come back to nature without giving up indoor plumbing.
Pulling into the driveway, Traveler could not take his eyes off the dirty old white house. Traveler assumed it must have been a beautiful house before the move to San Diego, but through years of maintenance neglect, the house looked creepy. The two-storied house stood in the middle of a poorly kept lawn. Getting out of the car, Traveler walked through the grass. It grew as high as his knee. He noticed several brown spots in the lawn hoping it was from lack of water. He saw overly mature weeds soliciting their presence along the side of the house. The vines that wrapped around the house gave it the illusion the earth wanted to swallow the house whole.
The only things that looked new were the items lying on the ground next to the house. The stacks of lumber towered over Jake as he passed by. They came in all different shapes and sizes. Major Sands walked over and checked the number of buckets of white paint he had. Curiously, Mrs. Sands asked, “Where did all of these things come from?” Major Sands had the foresight to call ahead for supplies.
“Okay everyone front and center!” As Major Sands’ family lined up, he could not help but feel a little familiar with his surroundings. He grew up here, creating many childhood memories. He stared at the lofty silver maple tree at the western side of the house, and then a sudden flashback of him planting that tree with his father.
Now watching his family here, he could not help to be a little nostalgic. He turned back to his family and continued with what he had to say.
“The next two months are going to be long and hard.”
“Really Dad? I thought we were on vacation,” Jake interrupted.
“Listen up; there’ll be plenty of playtime after the work,” Major Sands said. “We don’t have a lot of supplies here, so we have to make do with what we have.” General confusion set upon the family. “That means we have to do more with less. Alright?” Everyone nodded. “So I’m going to be tasking everyone with different jobs, and yes I know what everyone is thinking. Don’t worry; nothing on these cards is hard. It is all cleaning and minor repairs.” He pulled out a bunch of index cards; from what they could see, he had more than four. “Once you have finished with the task on your card, see me for the next one.”
Traveler hoped for something easy, something inside. “Come on, house dusting.” He crossed his fingers until his turn; He picked a card. It said “THE ATTIC.”
“Dad, I would like to trade.”
“Sorry kiddo, the cards are not transferable and can’t be redeemed for money. What you picked is what you get and...” Major Sands looked at the card, “...and I need you to clean the attic.”
After handing out the cards, Major Sands knew the family needed to rest after a long car trip. The family rushed into the house. He heard the stampeding of their feet as they went into their rooms and dropped off their personal belongings.
“EVERYONE HAS FIVE MINUTES TO UNPACK AND MEET AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STEPS FOR DINNER!” Major Sands shouted.
Five minutes later, everyone met at the bottom of the steps and fell into a straight line. Once Major Sands had everyone present, they headed out the door. Major Sands remembered this great Italian restaurant in town called “Poppy’s” and hoped it was still in business. When they got to the restaurant, they saw that it was still in business; in fact, the line wrapped around the corner.
“I don’t remember this place being so popular,” Major Sands said with a puzzled look.
“Honey, do you really want to stay in this long line?”
“Yeah, I used to work here,” Major Sands said trying to avoid the dirty look. “Maybe the owner is still here.” Major Sands walked to the front and unexpectedly, a man with salt and pepper hair dressed in a nice light green shirt and black pants with an apron, personally came out of the restaurant and greeted Major Sands. He had a big smile on his face.
“Oh my, is that you Eric, I remember when you used to work for me that one summer. You were my best delivery boy.” The owner with a thick Italian accent had many words of praise.
“I remember that I was your only delivery boy,” Major Sands smiled.
“Okay, let just say we had good times that summer. Eh. Good to see you again my friend.” They gave each other a warm embrace as they rekindled their friendship.
Major Sands motioned for his family to walk over to meet his estranged boss.
“Hey Poppy, this is my family,” Major Sands said as he pointed.
Poppy hugged each one of them as they were a member of his own family.
“Oh my Eric, you-eh have beautiful strong children. And your wife, she’s a one-eh pretty lady.”
Mrs. Sands covered her cheeks hiding her embarrassment.
“Hey, your family don’t have to stand in line anymore. Follow me.” As they followed him, they felt like they were part of a mafia family getting the VIP treatment. He led them to a nice plush red velvet booth near the kitchen. “I make-eh our famous dishes here for you, your beautiful wife, and your little-eh bambinos. Okay. Just seat here,” Poppy said.
Traveler could feel that something was not right with Poppy. He had this glowing aura around him as if he was highlighted yellow by a four-year-old child. He noticed it when he was outside, but did not think anything of it. When Poppy came back with glasses of water, Traveler reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“What is it bambino? How can I help you?” Poppy said with delight.
“I am so sorry Poppy; we didn’t raise him to be so rude.” Mrs. Sands turned to Traveler, “Traveler, let him go, if you need something just ask.”
Traveler did not realize what he just did. He knew his mind wanted to see if the glowing light was real, but his body decided that it needed to be sure. He let go of Poppy’s wrist, but before he did, he noticed the glowing aura did not go away.
“I am sorry Mr. Poppy.” Traveler looked at his drink. He had to think of an excuse fast. “Umm, I was wondering if I can have a milkshake,” He blurted out.
“It’s just Poppy little one, and I am sorry bambino. I don’t have milkshakes here. Let me-eh tell you what, I can bring you something much better. Okay?”
“Poppy, we don’t want you to go to too much trouble for us,” Major Sands requested.
“For you-eh, it is no trouble. It is your home too. I like-eh to treat my family.” Poppy walked away with a skip in his step.
“Traveler, what has gotten into you?” Mrs. Sands pleaded.
“I’m sorry mom, it won’t happen again...Mom, can you tell me if Poppy is glowing to you?” Traveler asked.
“Hmm, yes I think he is. He seems to be glowing with happiness to see your father again.”
“Is that all you see?”
“Traveler, what has gotten into you? Why are you asking these questions?”
“Never mind.”
Traveler turned away and drank his water. It was hard to explain that his arm had a mind of his own, but his mind has been acting strangely since the fire. He saw more people glowing around him. In addition, he had a heightened sense of smell. He noticed the difference with himself when he was at the gas station coming to Lake Arrowhead. He thought it was strange that he knew the restroom needed toilet paper before he entered. When he was in line to pay for his drink, he knew the cashier ran out of one-dollar bills before he paid. He also noticed that some of the customers were glowing just as Poppy did. He did not know what to make of it at the time and he still did not know.
A couple of minutes later, Poppy came out
with a tray full of different foods and drinks, each one of them looked more appetizing than the other did. As he slid the plates to the middle of the table, the wonderful aroma dispersed through the air.
“Poppy this is too much, we didn’t bring enough cash.” Major Sands looked at his wallet.
“Hey Eric, shut up your mouth, your money-eh is no good here.” Poppy paused. “Well, your money-eh is no good here, today. Okay. Now shut up and eat.” Poppy continued. “Here are your stuffed mushrooms, seafood toasts, and eggplant treasures. I’ll be-eh back for your entrées. Enjoy.”
After 20 minutes of eating the delicious food, Poppy came out again. He came out with more food and drinks, but he was not alone. There was so much more food than before in addition to a cute brunette. She was wearing an uniform like the rest of the girls in the restaurant, off-the-shoulder white ruffled blouse, black leather belt, and a red and white checker dress. She had her curly hair tied up giving a wonderful view of her face. She was not wearing much makeup; she had this natural beauty like Mary’s face.
“Hey Eric, do you-eh remember this one?” Poppy pointed to the lovely girl. “She-eh came back and turned my restaurant into a madhouse. I love-eh it.”
Poppy sat the tray down and passed out the food.
“Hi Eric, it has been a long time. I would have came by earlier, but it is little busy here,” The lovely girl said in a soft voice.
“Stephania. Wow, how long has it been?”
“Twenty five years”
“Really? I didn’t think it was that long ago.”
“Hey Eric” Poppy said with a smile. “I remember she-eh used to follow you-eh all over the place when you worked here, like-eh a little lost puppy.”
Major Sands got up from the table and gave her a hug.
“I see that you and your father are doing well here. I remembered you used to be this high to me when I started working here.” Major Sands stuck out his arm and leveled it to his waist. “And now, look at you. You look so grown up.”
“Yeah, my bambina, she’s a all grown up.” Poppy gave her an one-arm hug. “Okay. I go back to the-eh kitchen. Let me know if you need anything. Okay.”
“So you must be thirty-one now,” Major Sands said.
“Nope, you may want to try again. I just turned thirty,” Stephania said.
“Wow, so what have you been doing?”
“Well nothing, I live here with my daughter.”
“So you have a kid?” Major Sands said.
She nodded.
“How old is she?” Major Sands said.
“She’s ten,” Stephania said.
“Where is she? I would love to meet her,” Major Sands said.
“She is at home with her grandma,” Stephania said.
“Well, this is my family.” Major Sands turned and pointed.
He went on and introduced Stephania to the rest of the family.
“Okay, it was nice to meet everyone. I have to get back to work.” Stephania grabbed a pen from her pocket and bent down to grab Major Sands’ hand. “It was good to see you again. I’ll take you up on your offer.” She wrote down her phone number.
“It was good to see you again too. I will call you when we settle down.”
“Hope to see you soon,” She said walking away.
WACK!
It was not Jake this time. Mary leaned over and punched Eric in the shoulder.
“I don’t like what just happened,” Mary said.
“Honey, what do you mean?” Eric said.
She gave him the glare.
“Oh babe, don’t be jealous,” Major Sands said. “Kids, help me out,” Major Sands pleaded for some back up.
“Huh.” Traveler looked up confused. “did you say something? Sorry, I was not paying any attention. But could you get the recipe for this pizza from Poppy? This is the best pizza I have ever eaten,” Traveler said with sauce all over his mouth and fingers.
Without any help from Traveler’s comments, Major Sands turned to Jake who was staring at Stephania leaving.
“Pops, she looks hot for an old lady,” Jake said.
Mrs. Sands’ glare had somehow gotten bigger.
“Okay, okay, look. Let’s not be rude. Poppy went to all this trouble for all of us. Let’s try to finish the rest of the food and we will go. Yes?” Eric said.
They went back to their dinner, but it was not a surprise that they did not finish the main course. Poppy came out to check on them.
“Poppy - that was delicious – but – but we can’t finish.” Major Sands could barely speak.
“No-eh problem my friend, I’ll pack up the rest. Okay. You can eat all of it for your breakfast. Eh,” Poppy said.
When the night was done, the air seemed a bit lighter around them. They headed for the door satisfied with the happy Poppy escorting them out.
“You-eh come back soon, okay,” Poppy said.
“Yes, we will come back soon,” Major Sands said.
The next day, Traveler stared at the entrance to the attic. There was a nagging feeling that lingered around. He intensely looked at the small red plastic ball hand down from the attic’s entrance. He shifted his eyes side to side following the plastic ball that was pushed by the drafty house. Finally, he gathered himself and reached up to pull the ball down. As the stairs unfolded, they creaked slowly seemingly trying to hide their old age. He climbed each step carefully, being aware the stairs have not had much attention and could snap under his weight.
Entering the murky attic, he felt the dampness in the air. It had a musty smell. It reminded him of that time when he helped his neighbor wash his dog. He tried to hold his nose, but the smell was overpowering. He glanced around the dark room. From what he saw, he could tell that nobody had been up there in years. He carefully moved towards the only visible light source hanging in the middle of the room. The floorboards squeaked every time he stepped on them. If he listened carefully, they each had their own particular tune. Traveler wondered if he could play his own rendition of chopsticks. As he got closer, he noticed thin shiny lines in the middle of the room. The light entering from slight cracks in the attic’s walls highlighted them ever so slightly. The spiders must have felt the need to Feng Shui their attic by adding white to the appropriate areas. He tried to avoid the cobwebs. However, his attempts of bobbing and weaving were useless, the natural Halloween decorations stuck to his head and he managed to take the rest of the structure with it. After he managed to get through the minor obstacles, he pulled the string and lit up the room. Traveler looked in disgust as he saw the floor moved a little; he could not help but be quite repugnant with the blatant speckles of dust hovering around the room. But when he overcame his initial aversion, he noticed the misleading first impression the attic had given him. The size of the attic was roomy.
He remembered his father telling him not to move anything out, just dusting and organizing. He grabbed hold of a tablecloth and with a flick of his wrist and arms, he flipped the sheets and uncovered a piece of furniture, boxes, and storage chests, creating a small dust storm in the process. He hastily tried to put on the mask he brought with him, but fumbling around with it as he coughed out the dust. He finally managed to secure the mask on and went back to work. Though his lungs were safe, his eyes tear up, he wished he had brought the goggles that came with the mask.
Maybe Grandpa has some goggles in these chests. He thought.
The nearby brown treasure chest caught his eyes. The old, worn out leather chest looked like it had been through a lot, but still had its luscious antique shine. He had a feeling that something must be important in there. He grabbed a chair nearby and as he opened it, he felt a rush of memories hit his face. He grabbed a worn out gray shoebox, flipped the top, and reached for the stack of photos. As he flipped through the past of his grandpa, he found many surprising things.
In the last photo, he saw a figure that had a similar resemblance to Traveler. In the photo, he saw the figure that stood next to a figh
ter jet name “The Golden Ticket” The individual was wearing a medal around his neck that looked just as shiny as if he might have seen it in real life. He recognized the last name on his uniform and knew who he was.
“Wow, Grandpa must have been a famous fighter pilot,” Traveler said.
He set the shoebox down and grabbed a bigger box. When he opened the lid, he gasped with excitement when he saw Grandpa’s flight suit and fighter jet helmet. He reached down to the bottom of the box and grabbed the entire outfit. He peaked around for anyone that could be watching him and did what any kid would have done in his situation.
The uniform seemed to be big on him, but he did not care. He looked at the mirror and felt a great energy running through him; it was a good feeling. He strapped on the gray helmet with the retractable visor and thought while looking in the mirror - Man, I look like a fighter pilot. He snatched a stick and ran around the attic acting like a fighter jet. He pretended to maneuver around the tall boxes and different pieces of furniture. He accidentally knocked over a bunch of boxes starting a domino effect and then pretended to crash-land into the chair.
He was a bit sweaty pulling off the helmet, but had a great smile. He looked around and saw the mess he created, but continued to smile as he cleaned it up. As he picked up one of the boxes, a small black case with a silver handle dropped out. As it fell, the silver handle sparkled its way down to the ground; he could not escape from his curious nature. He picked it up and walked over to the chair, but once he grasped the silver handle, there was a lowly rush of voices as he walked back to the chair. He thought his mother was calling him but the voice did not feel right. He quickly looked around trying to figure out where the sounds were coming from. He tried to make sense of what they were saying, but he could not. It sounded like a group of people wanting to talk all at once.
At first, he could handle the small chatter, but when the voices grew louder and louder they turned into a thunderous herd; the head-splitting sounds were too painful. The noise level seemed to rise higher and higher with each stride towards the chair. He immediately dropped the case, and raised his hands to cover his ears increasing the pressure of his hands as an attempt to create a soundproof barrier, anything to ease his painful eardrums. On the other hand, there was no need too. The second he released the case, the voices grew silent. He was even paler and sweatier than before, but a bit intrigued; however, at that moment, being in the attic did not feel like a good idea. He gradually back peddled towards the exit, making sure to avoid another surprised vocal attack. When he was close enough, he sprinted down the steps leaving everything the way it was.
Moments later, Traveler saw his mother in the kitchen fixing up lunch. He tried to warn her of the voices in the attic, but...
“Traveler, what do you have on?” Mrs. Sands asked.
Traveler completely forgot that he still had on Grandpa’s flight suit.
“It belonged to Grandpa; I just wanted to try it on,” Traveler said.
“I don’t think your dad is going to like that. Why don’t you show him?” Mrs. Sands said.
“But Mom, I have something to tell you,” Traveler said.
“Go see your father first,” Mrs. Sands said.
He sensed that it was not the right time to tell her about the extra guest in the attic.
“Okay, where is he?” Traveler said.
“Check the front yard,” Mrs. Sands said.
Traveler made his way outside and saw his dad sitting in the hot sun, sweating through his shirt as he tore out the old wood.
Dad, look what I found in the attic,” Traveler said.
Major Sands turned and laughed a little.
“Doesn’t look like it’s your size.” Major Sands paused. “Did you know that Grandpa wanted me to be a pilot? He made me wear that for a week to see if he could change my mind. It looks good on you.”
“So I can keep it?”
“Sure, I am sure Grandpa wouldn’t mind, but don’t ruin it, okay? Hey, since you’re out here, can you give me a hand?”
“Okay, I’ll take it off and put it my room.” Traveler ran upstairs. As he came close to his room, Jake came out of his and they collided.
“Well looky here, where did you get that?” Traveler tried to avoid Jake’s question and walked towards his room.
“Don’t be rude.” Jake quickly grabbed his arm. “So, where did you get it?”
“Leave me alone Jake, I found it in the attic and Dad said I can have it.”
“I don’t know about that. It doesn’t seem to fit you. I think it’s more my size.”
“Dad!...” Traveler tried to yell for help, but Jake covered his mouth.
“Listen you nut, I don’t care about the uniform. I just need to borrow it, okay. I need it for a date. Once I am done I’ll give it back.”
“You promise?”
“Yeah, yeah, I promise. Now give it up.”
“You have to pinky swear.”
“Shut up, I’m not twelve. I’m not doing that.”
“Do it or I’ll tell Dad.”
“Okay, Okay, pinky swear.” They both held out their little finger and grasped one another.
“Remember, you know it’s bad luck to break a pinky swear.” Traveler said.
Jake remembered; the last time he broke a pinky swear with Traveler, he ended up in jail one night.
