A glimmer of reflected light caught my eye, and I found a magnifying glass on a shelf to my right. It appeared that the library was on my side this morning. I stepped away to grab the magnifying glass.
The globe had rotated a bit when I moved away from it, so I searched again for the coastline with the notch. I found it. In an entirely different place than where it had been a minute ago. I shut my eyes and spun the globe. And found the inlet in the area facing me. Twice more. No matter how I twirled the globe, the inlet was facing me. Apparently, I was invited to explore the group of islands, but where we were located was still top secret.
I used the magnifying glass to inspect the area. There had to be a cluster of more than a hundred islands in this inlet. Only the largest islands had names shown. I knew our town name was Destiny Falls, and the ferry docked at Caldwell Harbor, but I didn’t know the name of the island, as I’d never heard our location called anything other than Destiny Falls.
Just then, Edna walked into the room to check on me. Her eyes popped open wide and her jaw dropped. “Oh, my!” she whispered. “You’ve been granted a view of the globe!”
“And even a magnifying glass!” I held it up.
“Hayden, you are one of the privileged few. The library rarely brings the globe out.”
I looked up toward the ceiling. “I feel honored. Thank you, library,” I said.
Edna giggled. “I know exactly how you feel.”
I could feel the color creeping up my face. I felt silly, but the library did feel like a real being at times.
“I’m trying to find Destiny Falls on here, but there are so many islands and the words are tiny. Do you know where we are on here? And is the actual island called Destiny Falls?”
“Yes, Destiny Falls is the name of the island and the community.”
Oh, my God! A straightforward answer for once! I was shocked, but tried not to show it. Perhaps since the globe had appeared to me, Edna felt permitted to share more information. She walked over to the globe, leaned down, and pointed. “Here we are,” she said.
I brought up the magnifying glass and looked at the island. Sure enough, it was labeled Destiny Falls. I could see what appeared to be Caldwell Crest and the area where the ferry was located.
The Destiny Falls island was shaped like a crescent. Just across from it was another island of similar size and shape, but in reverse. It looked like it fit the shoreline of Destiny Falls as precisely as a puzzle piece. It was labeled Gladstone. The word the ferry captain had uttered in the same sentence as danger.
7
I left the library and was analyzing the experience in my head. When I had found Gladstone on the globe and asked Edna about it, she had said she knew little about it and changed the subject. I found that extremely odd, considering that she was the town historian and appeared to know everything about the community. The mysteries around here sometimes gave me a headache. I had to poke, prod, and persist to gain any bit of information about the town and its people. That’s okay. I’m a journalist by trade and, according to some people, a bit of a busybody, so I would just continue my informal investigation. Beginning with my meeting with the captain tomorrow.
I thought I would walk around town before heading home. I strolled over to the bench across from the ferry terminal and sat down. I thought I’d sit for a while, enjoy the view, and observe the ferry landing.
The ferry wasn’t there, but people were gathering in the area, waiting for the next sailing. I saw several families and groups assembled and a few cars in line. I could see the things that walk-on passengers carried, and some things that were inside the cars in line. Most people had beach blankets, blow-up floats, picnic baskets, and other supplies that signaled a fun day at the beach. Luckily for them, it seemed it was always sunny and warm here, so it was easy to plan for this kind of outing.
Oddly, a few cars back there was a group of people whose SUVs were loaded up with skis, snowshoes, parkas, and other winter sports paraphernalia. That was strange, as I’d only ever seen a small ferry here, one that carried a hundred cars at the most. I didn’t think the route would be long enough to get to a wintery stop. Could mountains be that high that you’d go from a warm beach to skiing on the same island? That was unlikely. I’ve heard of places where skiing is three or four hours from the beach, but I didn’t think that these islands were big enough for that kind of situation.
Scanning the line of cars, and the group of people waiting for the ferry, I noticed more odd differences. Some people looked like they were going to work for the day, wearing business attire and carrying just a purse and a briefcase. Others had large rolling suitcases or carts piled with supplies. A family was saying goodbye to a young man dressed in a military-style uniform, and the mother was hugging him and crying. I wondered if this ferry went to a military port. An airport was highly unlikely in a small chain of islands. You would think he’d go inland if he was traveling overseas. That is, if Destiny Falls let him out. It made me wonder if everyone here was as trapped as my father and I were.
People appeared to be getting tickets at a
