Sarah and the Thing (standard:adventure, 2086 words)
Author: hvysmker	Added: Jul 30 2004	Views/Reads: 3672/2371	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A birthday girl on Vacation in Hawaii finds a very strange object

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story


“See, that wasn't so hard.”  He smiled back.  It did make Sarah feel a
little better. 

“This was supposed to be my dream trip, last week was my eighteenth
birthday.”  She was surprised that she said that to a stranger. 

“And now that you're a grown woman, you wanted adventure and romance. 
I'll bet that's the problem, uh?”  His smiling eyes got a sad 
sympathetic look. 

“I did expect something, not just stupid rain and wet sand.”  She
admitted, the spaghetti did look better with her depression fading.  
Talking did help a little. 

“Well, happy birthday.  I have to go, but I'll leave you a birthday
present.  All you have to do is go to the beach after lunch.  See, the 
rain even stopped.”  And it had. 

“How'll I find it?”  She looked back up from her meal, but he was gone. 
That was quick, she thought, looking around.  He was indeed gone, his 
chair and coffee also gone.  With something to look forward to for a 
change, she ate her meal. 

**** 

Sarah walked over the drying sand, sun out bright, trying to find the
old man.  It had been a half hour and, with the sand drying, other 
tourists were starting to leave the hotel.  No old man.  She did see 
what looked like an old wooden crate near the edge of the water. 

Walking over and seeing the lid askew, she looked inside and saw it.  
With the lid off, she could see it clearly.  It was beautiful with the 
sun shining on it.  Picking it up, she looked around. 

Nobody was watching or seemed to be around.  It must have washed up
during the rain and didn't belong to anyone. 

Sarah had never found anything in her short life, especially nothing
like this.  She picked it up and held it in her arms.  It was cool to 
the touch and looked expensive.   The girl wondered who had lost it, 
they must be sad to lose such a thing. 

It was lighter than she thought and easy to carry.  Sarah decided to
keep it, who wouldn't?  It wasn't stealing, she figured, sort of 
finders-keepers. 

She stopped at a soda stand on her way back to the hotel. 

“Just a large coke.”  Sarah told the clerk.  He filled a large foam cup
and while turning to give it to her saw her burden. 

“Hey, you get that thing out of here.”  His eyes bugged out.  “We don't
allow those things around here, go on get it out of here,  just take 
this coke and go.”  He shoved the container in her hand and, pulling a 
cord, caused the wooden shutter to drop down.  It would have hit Sarah 
on the head if she hadn't stepped back quickly.  She could only stare 
confusedly at the now blank wooden surface. 

I have to sit somewhere and think, she thought.  What's going on here. 
She looked down at her find, wondering what was wrong.  It just shone 
innocently in the noonday sun. 

Going toward a picnic table sitting in the shade under a tree, Sarah
carried it along with her free soda.  An older couple were sitting on 
one edge watching their kids play nearby.  Sarah sat on the bench at 
the other end of the table.  Sitting her things on the table, she 
paused to consider the crazy clerk.  She saw the shutter was raised 
again with him staring at her.  While she was looking back at the 
clerk, she heard a muttering near her. 

It was the playing children, who were staring at the thing and muttering
to each other, like they were scared or something.  The parents looked 
over and saw them, and it. 

“Well,” they rose and came over to chase their children away, “you have
your nerve bringing that thing around here,” the mother exclaimed, “I 
should call a cop.”  They hustled their children away, glaring back at 
Sarah. 

Sarah watched them hurry away and then looked back down at the table. 
Her lovely find seemed to look back at her.  What the hell is going on, 
she wondered, picking it up again and turning it around.  It felt good 
to her touch and she couldn't see anything wrong with it.  She was sure 
she hadn't seen any of them around before, but what was wrong with it?  
It didn't stink or have dirty words written on it.  All it did was sit 
there looking pretty. 

The girl had to smile though.  It did make her feel a little adventurous
to have people acting scared of her.  Like in a comic book or 
something. 

“Boo.”  Sarah made a face at the retreating tourists, smiling at her
nerve. 

For the rest of the afternoon Sarah, having fun for the first time,
terrorized the beach.  She didn't know why, never bothered to analyze 
her change in temperament, it just felt so good to have fun for a 
change. 

She would hide it in a plastic sack and merge with groups of other
tourists.  Then bring it out and laugh as she watched them run and 
dodge away.  At one point a policeman came over to her.  He was a 
native Hawaiian. 

“Uh, young lady.  You know you shouldn't have them around here.  Uh,
well, it's just something we don't like the tourists to see, a kinda 
Hawaiian thing.” 

“Yes, but what is it?  It's so pretty and everything, not scary at all.”
She pleaded. 

“I really can't tell you.  Just something we Hawaiians know about, not
for the tourists.  I can't arrest a tourist for having one, but it 
would be much better if you didn't ever show it to other tourists.  You 
must be very special to appreciate it.  You see we Hawaiians have to 
have some secrets from the tourists.”  He smiled at her, looking her 
thing over.  “Very special.” and left without arresting Sarah or 
anything. 

The sun was going down as a tired Sarah headed back to her hotel.  Word
had gotten around by then and she was surprised to see her bags packed 
and standing on her room's outside lanai, a note attached.  It read. 

“Sarah Jackson, we don't want your kind in our hotel.  You will not be
billed for your stay but we would appreciate your never setting foot on 
our property again.” 

Sarah looked around, sat in a chair for a few minutes and then picked up
her bags.  She guessed she had to spend the night on the beach and look 
for somewhere else to stay in the morning.  But, what if the word had 
spread to other hotels? 

She spread some of her clothes under a picnic table to spend the night. 
Now that her high was gone her depression returned.  Thinking the thing 
would ward off any assailants, she placed it near her head and tried to 
sleep.  The sight of it shining in the moonlight gave her confidence 
and she soon drifted off to sleep. 

“Hey girl you found it.” the voice woke her.  Looking up through the
boards of the bench seat Sarah saw a handsome Hawaiian teenager.  He 
looked very handsome with a large grin on face, his wide shoulders 
filling her vision.  She jerked up, hitting her head on the bottom of 
the wooden table. 

“I've been looking for it all day.”  He helped her out and they sat at
the table in the moonlight.  “The box fell out of my canoe this morning 
and I thought I had lost it.”  He made her heart beat fast by placing 
his hand on hers as she stared into his dark fathomless eyes. 

“It's been in my family for hundreds of years, my father would have
killed me.”  His eyes drew hers in.  “I was afraid a tourist would find 
it and throw it away or even bury it.  They can't stand the sight of 
the things, you know?”  Sarah could only nod, lost in his gaze. 

“What are you doing sleeping under this table?”  He asked. 

Sarah told him about her day, making him laugh. 

“Hey, girl.  Don't worry.  You can spend the rest of your vacation with
my family on our own island.”  He offered, which she did.  Sarah 
finally had her dream vacation.


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