Noah Sacksteder, 1/5/2015 to 8/12/2018
Years ago in a nearly abandoned town a quiet normal family began to unpack their belongings in their newly purchased home. This large Victorian house on the corner of Derek Lane and Walker Street guarded more secrets than the family was aware of. A young boy by the name of Noah had been their only child but the exciting news of a pregnancy had led the family to Springville for a new start.
Noah sprinted inside and upstairs eager to explore his new bedroom. As Noah crept around the corner at the top of the stairway he spotted a bedroom at the end of a long hallway. This room is perfect he whispered to himself. He glanced inside the room. His eyes were locked. A strange yet beautiful tapestry of an eerie landscape was left loosely draped along the far wall. It gave off the appearance of peeling wallpaper generously covering the bright blue walls. "Mom, Dad, come quick you've got to see what I found!", bellowed Noah as he rushed to the top of the staircase.
Noah's mom Betty slowly appeared at the bottom of the stairs, "My goodness Noah, you dog boy, we've hardly unpacked any boxes down here! What silly thing have you gotten into already?"
"I found the most intriguing looking wall hanging, can I please have the room at the end of the hall?"
Betty smiled and laughed, "I'm sure we can figure something out, I'll ask your dad and uncle Donald to move your bed upstairs."
Chris, Noah's dad, and uncle Donald struggled to haul Noah's massive bed upstairs. "Thanks so much, I think I'll unwind after I get rid of some of these boxes." Noah grinned. Noah knew just how long this could take and he wasn't prepared to spend all day working. He then decided to shove all of the boxes under his bed leaving only a tiny wooden box in the corner his dad had crafted for him. The tiny box held one of Noah's most valuable sculptures, a small red horse that he had made out of clay. Maybe I'll just leave this on my window he thought to himself.
Pulling the covers back Noah leaps into bed. Hours later a multitude of sounds caused the room to rumble and sent the young boy skyrocketing to his feet frozen in terror. The loud sound appeared to be coming from behind the tapestry generously draped on the wall. Shaking slowly, Noah approached the cloth, hand outstretched, he wrapped his fingers tightly around the fabric.
Pulling hard downward, Noah manages to send the wall hanging cascading to the floor. To his surprise behind the cover lay a strange wooden door. No stranger was the door than the etchings of a foreign land strewn across its worn surface. A land more beautiful than anything Noah had ever seen before.
Reaching for the knob, something caught Noah's eye under the door. There appeared to be a golden piece of paper stuck to the floor of his room. Bending down to pull the paper free, he noticed that it wasn't paper at all but actually a small leaf the color of the sun.
Looking more closely Noah realized there were tiny words written across the surface. a poem, called the final hero. The poem actually seemed to be some sort of a riddle.
Follow my light past the yellow pile of dry ptch. yellow like fallen leaves that left too soon.
On past a large box with hinges and shelves.
A room the will hide your belongings away.
Look behind a small covering that keeps rain out to see how tall I stand.
Inside I hold childhood dreams everyone holds onto but never come true.
Every line was a mystery that needed to be solved and Noah wasn't sure where to start. Inside key points of information that might lead him on an adventure await. Too many questions to go over right now and Noah had more unpacking to do. As he returned to his room he heard a strange sound from behind the tapestry. It occurred to Noah that perhaps he could find the answer to the riddle just by looking behind the tapestry. Noah walked up and grabbed the edge of it and began to pull it back. Only to find that there was nothing there but bare wall. He put the tapestry back down over the wall. He was disappointed to say the least but he had some unpacking to do. If he got it done quickly enough he could get back to investigating and find out what the riddle meant. He wanted to find how he could open the secret of the riddle and find what was really behind the tapestry. He ripped open the boxes and pulled his stuff out and put them away in two hours. His mom called him to dinner when he was done so the riddle would have to wait a little longer.
It was only a little past eight when he finally returned to his room. He began to read the riddle again and again. No matter how many times he read it he just couldn't figure its meaning. Everything seemed to be connected to the tapestry. It was inconceivable that the poem was found behind it and not be connected in some way. Right at the moment all he had was a lousy rhyme and no idea what it meant. Unless he could reveal the meaning behind it he was no better off than he was earlier. No two lines seemed to have anything to do with the other. It was as if they were out of order and needed to be rearranged. He began to look at the first line or two again. Something having to do with the color yellow was important. It was mentioned at least twice in the first two lines.
Perhaps the yellow symbolized aging like the yellowing of age. Maybe something that also aged too soon. What would yellow too soon with age? What really yellows with age was probably a better question. The only thing he could think of was paper like the kind you might find as pages in a . . . in a book. That's it! A book. An aged book might have the answer.
But wait how could a book age too soon? That would most certainly be impossible. Unless the book was damaged by water and not properly cared for. But this house is so large he wasn't sure where to begin looking. Perhaps there was a library in the house where some old books were kept. Right then it was too late to go poking around in the house so the search would have to wait until morning.
Noah wasted no time in finding the library but the books all looked so new there was no way it would be mixed in with them. He began to go over the books on the shelf. All of the books were new. Nothing was left that could be old enough to be yellow from age. The book was probably thrown out when they redid the library. Maybe the book was still around somewhere packed away. Perhaps they were just in the attic. He ran out of the room to the attic leaving the library a mess. He found a box full of antique books but none of them looked like they were yellowed more like brown. Little did he know that at the bottom of the box there was a book with yellow pages. It was tucked beneath an old copy of the Jungle Book. Only problem is the pages were blank other than the yellow coloring. Perhaps it was written in invisible ink and he needed to find a way to decipher how to read it. Maybe some lemons would do it. Or maybe it was hot air? Or both? Noah wasn't sure what way it worked. He needed to research how to read the hidden message. Maybe the computer was set up to use. Good thing. His dad obviously would have set it up since he loved technology. Unless he had been busy.
Just as he suspected the computer was ready go and waiting for him to use. He started to type his search on the computer so he could move on to the next phase of the riddle. Very soon he knew he would be able to solve the riddle.
Later that day he had a bowl of lemons and hair dryers ready to start revealing the hidden message in the book. He began to cut the lemons in half to start to juice them to find the message. He would need plenty of juice to try the whole book. It took the whole bowl of lemons to try the book and he had one last page to try. Only as he began to cover the page it looked as though nothing would show up on this page. But then he saw a symbol start to form in the corner, it was an eye.
What could that mean? What significance could that hold in relation to the riddle? He began to reread the riddle looking for clues. But there was no mention of an eye. Maybe long ago an eye was more like a symbol than a literal eye. Locked behind that meaning could be the part of the key he needed to find the answer. He wondered if what the riddle referred to was hidden in the house or if he would have to travel to find it. He was impatient to find the rest of the riddle now. Just what might he find in his new search .
Now what would the next line lead him to? What large box has hinges and shelves? A suitcase? No. Only a hinge on that. He wondered if it needed to be a literal box or just the shape. Maybe it was a cupboard or a closet? Maybe there was a hidden compartment in one. It or just something stuck on a shelf.
He started to look through all the closets but none seemed to have any shelves in any of them. He had just about given up when he noticed a strange marking on the cupboard. It appeared to be a drawing of something. He crept closer to the cupboard door and stared at the worn drawing that suspiciously looked like an eye. He flung open the door and looked at absolutely nothing. How could that could be? The eye looked just like the symbol in the book. Maybe the clue is hidden in a compartment in the cupboard. Hoping to find it Noah climbed onto the counter for a better view. Opening the door farther he stuck his head in to there for a better view. He saw no indication there was anything hidden in the cupboard. Over little juice boxes he looked to see if there was any catches in there to open a hidden door.
In under a minute he jumped off the counter when he heard something catch and gears whir like they were trying to open a door. Before he knew it he was looking at an open compartment in the wall. In the opening there lay a small brass key covered in cobwebs that looked like a skeleton key. Just as he was reaching for it the door slammed shut almost on his hand. Opening the door might be problematic since he didn't know how he had opened it in the first place. He felt around the area he had been near when the door lifted the first time. Only points jutted into the cupboard that were stationary not movable. Maybe it was something having to do with the shelves or the door.
Wait . . . the door had opened after he had jumped on the counter. Just where should he jump? It might take some trial and error to find the right spot. He hopped onto the counter and heard the door groan as the compartment opened. It was too far to reach the key from where he was kneeling and he did not want to risk the door closing before he got there. Little by little he inched toward the opening careful to keep all eyes on the key. As soon as he could reach the key he snatched it. He hopped off the counter and looked at his prize. It could open anything, so how could he find what it did open? Maybe he could use the rest of the riddle to figure it out. Only he needed to remind himself of what it said. Perhaps he needed to read it again. If he went back to his room he could find the answer in a flash.
He read the riddle but a reference height as to towering over something he felt could only be a type of tree. The only tree on the grounds is an old willow. The branches would give shelter in rain because of obvious length. Only way to find out is to check it out. You would also only see a glimmer of its height because of the length of its branches.
Glinting sunbeams shine off some dewdrops that still cling to the grass in the shadows as he passed by on his way to the tree. Before pushing the leaves aside to look at the trunk he admired the great height of the tree as the sun's rays shone through the branches. More time passed before he went to find the next clue. Young groups have of late grown around the trunk of the tree. Very beautiful blossoms bloom in the trunk, he saw, as he pushed through the branches to see what is hidden there. There didn't seem to be any hiding places. It might require more searching than only a quick glance. Under the growing threat of rain he knew he was running out of time before he would have to get back inside and postpone the search. He attempted to climb up the tree to see if he could find the next marker. Maybe the clue was on a higher branch. Trouble was he couldn't find a place to get up. Under the cover of the branches only small amounts of sun gave light to his task.
He only pondered for a second before he swung onto a low hanging branch to see if he could find the next symbol. Given how quickly he climbed up it was a wonder he didn't miss the marker on a narrow branch. The eye stared back at him tauntingly as he sat on the branch across from it. Before he reached for the hole on the branch he thought he saw the eye wink at him. It occurred to him that it was an optical illusion but it looked too real. Perhaps it would do it again if he stared long enough. He looked into the eye on the branch for what seemed an eternity. Finally it blinked again. The eye glimmered as it blinked, as if there was a diamond in the iris that was just polished. On the outside of the branch there was some writing that appeared after the eye blinked a second time. He could not make it out in the bark. Other than a flashlight he had no way to decipher it, then translate it if need be.
Perhaps he might be able to read the indentations by touch. It didn't feel like words as he ran his hand over the branch where the etchings were formed. They felt like hieroglyphics. It looked like there might be only a few phrases and words judging by the pictures on the branch. He was pretty sure he could decipher the pictures on the branch. Before putting his fingers on the engravings he grabbed a notebook out of his back pocket to write notes. One picture felt like a bird of some kind. On the ridge he ran his fingers over the inscription he found. The bird was a vulture, he was sure of it. He could feel there were two. Only a inch away he felt another symbol with multiple instances on the branch. Little hourglasses were populating the branch in the message but wouldn't that mean there would be many of the same letter or word? Holiday-like symbols pooled in the corner of the branch. Under the inscrutable message he found a series of numbers that looked like a combination to a safe. Then he realized that the original message might have been a distraction from the combination. Now he only needed to find the lock it opened and where it was located. Understandably he figured that the lock was placed far from the code. Back in the house he had seen a safe that might use that code. In the hall it peeked out from behind a picture of a group of children. He jumped down from the tree and ran to the house.
He could find the painting--he just had to remember what was on it. He very clearly recalled a man in the painting. There was something distinct about him. Something that set him apart. Not a color but something that reflected in his eyes--a penetrating gaze that holds old knowledge and years of hidden secrets. Behind the painting must be the final vault. He scanned the walls until he met the piercing eyes. A push revealed the doorway he had been looking for. He grabbed the side of the picture and pulled it off the wall. Behind it was a door fitted with a combination lock. He entered the code quickly and was thrilled to hear the lock click. As the door opened he peered into the space past the opening to find a jewelry box. He grabbed the box and opened it quickly. As it opened, he was able to see the object inside. It was a finger that looked as if it was cut off recently, possibly within the last week.
Just a week ago the last family had moved to another state so perhaps they did it as a joke to scare the new residents. Last week was Halloween, but there never seemed a dark sense of humor about them. At least not from what he remembered when they talked about buying the house. They had to of done it since they were the only ones that had been in the house recently other than his family. They must have planned it as a way to welcome the new family. The real question is whose finger was he holding in his hand? Good luck though figuring that out since he was new. He couldn't even begin to know who to ask. The only people he knew to ask were the people who lived there before. But how do you ask someone about a finger you think they left for you to find? And what would stop them from taking his finger too?
Maybe it was best if he just asked his parents about them. Just maybe going to them would help explain what was going on. He of course might not be offered a solution he particularly wanted or needed. He figured he just had to try or he might never have an answer. Yesterday he had heard them talk about unpacking the attic. He walked up the stairs and started to hear whispered voices as he drew closer to the attic. He reached for the doorknob and he heard a hush from the inside the room. He hesitated for a moment before turning the handle, not liking the quick silence he had heard from the other side. The door creaked open slowly to a dimly lit room. It appeared that the room was empty but he knew he had heard voices in there only moments ago. Surely he had heard voices in there. He began to search the room scanning the dark corners of the space. But he could not see any figures lurking in that darkness. Ghosts perhaps? Or maybe some crafty critters were playing tricks on him to throw him off the trail. He almost laughed at the thought of a few mice plotting like in the nutcracker. Or were those rats? Regardless, he had to find the culprit and ask them what this was all about and why they were doing all of this. Just as he was about to leave the room he heard a cough in the corner of the room. He started to walk toward the corner the noise came from.
The odds of them being in the corner are slim to none since he heard them. But he had to check just in case. He looked over the box he heard the noise came from. Just as he began to peek over the box a shadow leaped from the floor. The black cat stared into his eyes for a moment before slinking to the door. The cat stopped at the doorway and looked back at him. He could have sworn he saw the cat incline his head toward him to tell him to follow. Stranger things have happened today than a cat wanting him to follow it. Over the boxes he climbed to the cat then followed it down the stairs. He took slow steps down the stairs after the cat. Only after the first few steps did he hear the voices he had known he heard in the attic. Under the hallway stairs there was a door, the only one that he had not checked before. He reached for the knob. The latch began to click open as he turned the knob and pushed the door open just a crack before swinging it open.
Big loud voices were heard yelling SURPRISE! the door was flung open and he saw all his family. The time is now right for a party. The clues he had been following were to lead to a big home warming party to celebrate the new house they moved into. The party eventually began to wind down as the night wore on. Yes he had tons of fun at his party, especially with the scavenger hunt to start the whole party.
"So what did you think of our little game?" His parents asked
He smiled, "Of course you know I love puzzles."
You might think that would be the end but there is one more item to consider. On Noah's bed there was a box and in it was a surprise. It was a severed finger. And on it was a single gold band.
The end.