Fill in the Spaces

Chapter One

The city of London was quiet as the sun rose above the hills, bathing the apartment buildings and many houses and shops with light. It was early in the morning in London, yet surprisingly silent. Not much was thought of it; after all, there were always quiet days to rival the louder ones.

Inside of a small apartment complex, up a couple of floors, was home to two particularly well-known people. To no surprise, that floor of the apartment was bustling as per usual.

"Professor, have you seen- Ah, never mind, I found it!" Luke, a twelve year old boy, yelled, almost running into a dresser. He reached his hand under it and pulled out a baby blue paper boy hat, putting it on.

A man with a large top hat turned the corner of the room. He smiled at Luke and handed him a small journal.

"Is this what you were looking for?" The man asked. This was Professor Hershel Layton, Layton for short. Luke took the journal and scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, I was looking for my hat, but thank you anyways, Professor." Luke tipped his hat as Layton had taught him to do whenever he thanked someone. "Professor, has anyone called us this morning?"

Layton shook his head and walked over to his desk, "I'm afraid not. It's odd, too. Usually, we would have a puzzle to solve by now."

Luke nodded and looked out the window. There was no one strolling down the streets, and almost not a sound was heard besides the squeaking of a swing set and the chipping of birds. The twelve year old furrowed his brow and huffed in frustration.

"Patience, Luke," Layton said calmly, straightening a stack of papers.

"But, Professor-" Luke started, but Layton cut him off with the signal of his hand. Luke crossed his arms and muttered under his breath.

Layton chuckled, "Now, Luke, a gentlemen never mutters."

With these words, Luke seemed to cheer up and he smiled again. However, Layton had to admit that it was odd that no one had called in for their help yet. Usually, they already have a puzzle by the time he and Luke are up. Luke said that he wanted to go check outside, so Layton gathered everything he needed and headed out, locking the door behind him.

Once outside, Luke darted his head around. Layton followed his movements then put his thumb and index finger to his chin, indicating he was in deep thought.

"Where is everyone?" Luke asked, frowning, "No one is here..."

"Yes, no one is here. Where could they be...?" Layton said his last sentence more to himself rather than Luke.

"Professor," Luke looked up a him, "are they all on vacation?"

Layton laughed a bit, "No, I'm pretty sure they are not. However, I don't know where they are, so they just might be."

A black bird swooped down from above, aiming for Luke's head. Luckily, Luke ducked before the bird could pick at him.

"That was weird! What was that for anyway?" He asked, straightening his hat. Layton looked up at the sky to find dark, gray clouds forming above them.

"I think we might have found our puzzle, Luke," Layton smiled, tipping his hat. Luke took out his journal and scribbled something in it.

"Where do we start?" The boy asked, his eyes practically glowing with excitement.

Layton tapped his chin then pointed to the park. Luke almost fell over from excitement and ran as fast as he could to the playground, making Layton smile at him as he got in touch with his childish roots. Sometimes, he forgot Luke was only twelve.

"What do we have the solve here?" Luke asked, searching the playground.

Layton looked up at the trees overhead. He gasped and ran over to a tree with dead leaves all around the trunk, sending Luke to follow him.

"What's wrong, Professor?" Luke asked, his hands trembling slightly as he felt the worry of Layton.

"Oh no, this is not right! Luke, what is today?" Layton was almost hysterical.

"Uh... Today is July 23rd," Luke said.

Layton's eyes went wide. He dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a small calendar, flipping through the pages until he got to July. His fingers skimmed across the dates as he counted quietly to himself. He stopped on the 22nd then went silent. With the slap of his calendar, Layton bit his lip in slight panic.

"Professor...?" Luke stuttered. He was beginning to shake more visibly. Layton suddenly bolted down the street, making Luke hold his hat and run after him.

"Luke, we need to head to the boating dock," Layton said, panting a bit. Luke nodded and ran up to Layton, panting so heavily his chest heaved. Layton seemed to notice because he slowed down.

"Professor, what's the matter?!" Luke yelled.

Layton grunted, "There's no time to explain right now. I'll tell you once we get to the dock!"