LUCK'S DIARY: A Change in Fortune

CHAPTER 7

Holding her head in her hands, Keone dreaded the oncoming headache and decided she was going to take a short nap to refresh herself. Explaining this to Vincent, she got up from the table and took her leave. Before heading to the guest bedroom, she first made a stop in the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. She leaned on the counter and contemplated what happened the past few days. From the run down shop in the middle of nowhere, to the magical altar in the Amazon, to the stupid diary, Vincent's connection to the entire situation, her dream - if you can even call it that - and now the paragraph in the book. She pushed it all to the back of her mind and headed for the room where she plopped face first on the bed. 

Keone rolled onto her back and just stared. She so desperately wanted to go back to before she got the map but at the same time there was the excitement she got from this situation. Is this the adventure she's always wanted? If it is, could she handle it? With these questions swirling around her mind she drifted off into a deep, soundless sleep.

In the meantime, Vincent continued working on deciphering the rest of the page when he remembered his friend who used to work at the museum he met Keone. He wheeled himself to his office and opened drawer after drawer searching for his little notebook. At last he found it and flipped through looking for his friend's number.

"Ah here it is!" he exclaimed, smiling in satisfaction.

 He hurriedly pushed himself back to the table where he left his phone and dialed the number. It picked up on the third ring.

"Hello. This is Grady speaking." a voice on the line said.

"Grady! It's been so long since we've talked."

"Vince? Is that you?" Grady asked, "It's been forever. How've you been?"

They continued catching up for a few more minutes until Vince brought up the reason he called in the first place.

"OK so I'm working on deciphering a diary of sorts right now and everything to do with it is all really crazy." he started.

"What do you mean it's crazy? And deciphering?" Grady inquired, "Is it some kind of relic?"

"I'm going to need Keone to help explain so can you come over in, let's see, an hour and a half?"

"I'll be there." He said then hung up.

Vincent put down the phone and checked the time. It was quarter to one so he decided to make a late lunch for Keone when she woke up and for Grady when he got here. He whipped up some easy chicken wraps and a salad, plating some for himself and putting up the rest for the other two later. He went back to the table to continue his work while waiting.

It was almost 2 hours later that Vincent heard a knock on the door. Knowing who it was, he yelled for the person to come in. He listened to the front door open before closing, and soft foot falls making their way to the dining room. He looked up just as the figure turned the corner. There, a pale, towering man with a lean muscular build was removing his jacket with a huge grin on his face.

"Vince!" he exclaimed, in an almost childlike manner despite being a thirty year old.

He stomped over to Vince and bent down to hug him, squeezing him a bit in the process. They hugged for a few more seconds before letting go. 

"I can't believe it's been 6 years since I last saw you Grady." Vincent marveled, "I see you've put on some muscle."

They both laughed, remembering how skinny Grady was when they met and when they last saw each other. Coincidentally, it was at the same museum he met Keone, only years before.

2005...

It was a particularly rainy day and a young  Grady was walking towards his boss' office with a stack of papers in his hands. At the end of the hall, he noticed a man and a woman staring at his favorite painting and whispering among themselves. He walked over and observed the painting again for what may be the hundredth time. At the edges of the frame, warm toned colors gently licked at the trees and plants of a serene forest. Almost like a sunset. Instead of the usual shades of green and blue hues, this forest had bright and soft pinks, purples that feel like lullabies and deep blues. At the center was a sleeping fox surrounded by dandelions in full bloom.

It was the most beautiful piece of art he'd ever seen and that's saying a lot considering he worked in a museum filled to the brim with all sorts of fantastical and mystical art pieces. He was still staring when he heard the man beside him make a comment.

"Hm, such a deceiving piece," he murmured, "I feel like that title should be "Fake Serenity" don't you think?"

The woman beside him nodded her head in agreement, "That would be appropriate."

Confused and curious by his comment, Grady turned to him to ask him what he meant.

"Um pardon me, but what do you mean by that?"

The man looked at him then back to the painting.

"Well, at first glance - or many glances - it just looks like a fox sleeping peacefully in a forest, but if you look closer, you can see eyes peeking through the trees. They're barely noticeable but they're there if you look close enough." he explained, rubbing his chin.

Not believing the man he whipped his head back to the painting, carefully observing the trees. He was surprised when eyes he didn't see before started appearing one by one. Probably seeing the disbelief on Grady's face, the man laughed and patted his back.

"It looked like I just ruined this painting for you." he chuckled, "That wasn't my intention."

Grady shook himself out of his head an turned to smile at him.

"Nah you didn't, if anything it just made me appreciate it more." he reassured.

"That's good." he said and held out his hand, "Oh I'm Vincent and this is my wife Eden."

Grady took his hand and shook it replying, "I'm Derion, Derion Grady."

Present..

While in the middle of catching up, Keone emerged from the room, finally awake from her nap. Audibly yawning, she stopped in her tracks at the familiar stranger seated at the table.