The Beach

Chapter Two

Arriving at his grandparents home the memories of past summers came flooding back as if Franklin had lived there all of his life. As the car stopped he stared at the beauty of the home. He admired its grey painted wooden siding and the copper tinted metal shingles. Looking up towards the highest point of the home he admired the window of the room he spent many summers in. Franklin loved that room. Not because it was his but because every morning he could wake up to the sunrise over the ocean. 
Still, Franklin could not forget the pit in his stomach that reminded him that his parents were gone forever.
    The tower room was his; it always has been and now it isn’t just for a vacation but permanent. Franklin called it the tower room because it faced the ocean and had a spiral staircase that led to the bedroom door. The only issue was that he would have to come downstairs to use the bathroom, but he didn’t mind. When he used to visit in the summer he would pretend his room was the tower of a castle and he was a knight or king. Entering the house he could smell the cedar beams that lined the ceiling and made the central posts in the kitchen and hallway. Hearing the front door open Kara raced down the stairs that led to the loft which was now her bedroom. 
Greeting her brother with a one-armed hug, “I’m so glad you are here. Now I have someone to play with during the day. How is your head?” she asked. “My head feels fine now, the doctor gave me a prescription of painkillers if I need them. I just itch from the bandage.” he replied. “Hmm it looks like your head is pretty dry, come see my room with me. I’ve got some lotion that should take care of the itching.” Franklin put down his backpack and followed his sister up the stairs. “How has it been here, I bet your arm being in a cast makes things pretty difficult.” Franklin asked his sister. “It’s actually not that bad, I’ve gotten used to it pretty well. The only thing I’ve got to remember is that I need to lift my arm to avoid knocking things over. Most of my time has been just resting on the beach and getting my tan evened out.” Kara laughed.
Finding her lotion she told Franklin to hold still while she applied it to his head. “Thanks for the lotion, can I use more if I need it?” Franklin asked his sister. “Of course, in fact, why don’t you just take the bottle with you. I have other lotions and I don’t really need this one.” She handed the bottle to Franklin and leaned in to give him a hug. Whispering in his ear, “I’m so glad you’re still here with me.” As she pulled back Franklin thought he noticed her wipe away a tear. “Well I’m beat and I should go unpack my stuff. I’ll see you later tonight, ok?” he asked.

    Coming down the stairs for breakfast he was greeted by his grandfather. “”Good morning Franklin, how did you sleep?
    “I slept pretty good, I must still be exhausted from the accident. Do I smell bacon?” Franklin asked excitedly.
“Yes, you do. We are having a waffle, bacon and scrambled egg sandwich this morning. Does that sound good?” Gramps replied.
    “Oh boy, I haven’t had bacon in awhile so anything that has bacon is alright with me!”
    Walking around the kitchen island to the breakfast table Franklin found his grandmother and sister already waiting for him. Grams had the Daily Cod newspaper and Kara was looking at the comics and puzzles section. Gramps finished the last waffle and sat down with them.
    “Let’s take hands and say thanks.” said Gramps. “Lord, thank you for providing this wonderful meal for us to enjoy. We thank you for our health and the health of those in our lives. We ask that you comfort the family of the other driver and help us all to be at peace and to know that though Franklin and Kara’s mom and dad are gone in person, they are with us in spirit. We look forward to the day when we all are called home. Keep us safe in our daily tasks this week. Amen.”

After breakfast Gramps and Franklin went for a walk on the beach. Even though the temperature was warm both put on sweatshirts because of the ocean breeze. As they walked and talked about what life will be like for Franklin and his new school and meeting new friends occasionally they would stop to pickup some shells or a piece of debris that had washed ashore. Franklin was always surprised at the amount of trash that he found. Gramps explained that most of the time it was blown by the wind or had come from a boat.
    “Gramps, what do you do with all of your free time now that you’re retired?”
    “Well, I don’t actually have that much free time. I have my book club, I’m on the board of elders at the church. When your grandmother doesn’t have projects for me around the house I like to take long walks on the beach with her and sometimes I bring along my metal detector and find something unique or as I call them treasures.”
    “What is a metal detector?”
    “A metal detector does exactly what the name is. It finds metal that is in or on the ground. In some cases it can detect metal up to 10” deep. I’ve found old coins that are not American made, many pieces of scrap metal, pop cans, nails and such. Would you like to give it a try sometime?” 
    “Yeah, that sounds like so much fun!”
Gramps laughed, “It is fun, but it can also be challenging because you might dig and dig but not find what the detector finds. How about we go back to the house and I’ll show you some of the things I’ve found.”
    “That would be cool, I can’t wait to go treasure hunting!”

    On the walk back to the house Franklin asked many questions about his grandfathers metal detector and the many treasures he has found. When they arrived back at the house they first went to the kitchen to grab some lemonade and made their way to his grandfathers study.

Gramps went to his closet and took down a large box that resembled a small treasure chest and put it on the table. Gramps turned on a lamp that was connected to a magnifying glass and opened the box with a key.

"Gramps, why do you have the box locked if there isn't anything of value inside?" Franklin inquired.
"Some things may not be worth very much money, or may look like junk to you but other things can have a personal value." Looking into his box and removing a small binder he showed Franklin a series of items that had markings on them but were not distinguishable.
"These items I've found on the beach and they have value to me even though I'm not sure what they are. For some reason I can't seem to part with them. It's as if the pieces are waiting for something to happen."

Franklin took a round item that was slightly heavy and made from some kind of metal and put it under the magnifying glass. "This is cool. It's heavy, metal and kinda looks like a doughnut. There's markings on each side. Any idea what it could be?" 
"I'm not exactly sure but I think it could be either a token used as currency or some part of machinery like an old washer." Gramps replied.

"Do you mind if I do some research on it, do you have a crayon and some plain paper? I'd like to make an etching of each side." To Franklin's request his grandfather got a crayon from his desk and a piece of paper from the printer.

"Thanks" Franklin rubbed the crayon on the paper he placed on top of the washer. Then he turned it over and rubbed the other side.

Looking at the paper in the light he made sure his art was legible. Franklin went to the computer and placed the paper on the scanner bed. The machine came to life and a photocopy of the image popped up on the computer screen.  As Franklin studied the image he noticed the markings looked familiar with a crown on one side, the other side of the washer was not legible even with the image enlarged on the computer screen with the exception of a number, seven. “Gramps, where did you find this washer?”

“A long way up the beach near the cove. There are several large rocks and I found several nails in the same spot.”

“Interesting. I would like to use the metal detector there to see what else we can find. When can we go to the store and get one for me, my birthday is coming up you know.” Franklin said with a smile. He secretly hoped that what his grandfather had found was proof that pirates did in fact sail the nearby waters and maybe even landed on this very beach.
“How about I speak with your grandmother and let you know. I'm sure we can figure something out. Why don't you use my detector for now while I go and talk with her?”

“Great idea, just call me when you are finished. I'd really like to explore the rest of your collection. You've got some really neat stuff.”

His grandfather chuckled and Franklin closed the computer and went to the beach, grabbing the metal detector on his way out the door. Re-opening the computer his grandfather stared at the image on the screen. Thinking to himself, I've found proof at last. He would wait until Franklin finished discovering what it was before telling him he know. He wanted to keep it a surprise and to keep Franklin occupied.

“Dear! Do you have a moment to come to the study?”

Hearing footsteps Franklins grandmother appeared in the doorway of the study. “What is it dear, is everything alright?”


“Yes, do you remember when I found that old washer with the metal detector out by the rock pile on the south side of the beach? Well, Franklin picked it out of my treasure box today and made an etching of it, then he scanned it into the computer. Here, take a look.”

As Franklins grandmother turned around and looked at the screen she couldn't help but gasp. She knew exactly what she was staring at. An ancient form of money, more than that she knew whose money it was. After the was she attended the local university and obtained an archaeological certificate with a specialty in ocean salvage and discovery. This was unmistakeable, lost for over a century they finally had proof in their hands, this was a piece of pirate gold. Commonly known as a piece of eight. The number on the opposite side made it clear. There is only one pirate captain who reportedly marked his money according to the chest it came from, Captain Jonathan Crowe.

“I never thought I would see the day when you would actually find something like this!” She exclaimed.

“Franklin would like to have his own detector, his birthday is soon and it would go a long way to helping solve this mystery and possibly finding more clues and maybe, just maybe. The treasure left behind by my ancestor. What do you think dear?”

“I think that is a splendid idea. It's also a great way to keep him active and take his mind off of things. Why don't you take him shopping the day after the funeral when things have settled more.”

“That sounds like a perfect solution.”