Nana Ana's Secret Hideout

Chapter 15 - Nana's Secret Hideout...

They crowded the straw doormat as Anders fished from a zippered pocket the iron key given to them by Nana's aide. The key turned in the lock without resistance.

Here we go. Holding his breath, Anders flicked Eirik a glance and pushed open the green door.

Together they entered a spacious sitting room. The panda immediately padded away over warm hardwood and nosed through a swinging door beside a trio of floor-to-ceiling bookcases. An ivory white curved sectional sofa faced a large clean hearth, bathed in natural sunlight from a gaping collection of tall windows, framed by sheer clover green curtains, through which shone turquoise waves and gently shifting palm fronds. At the front and back doors hung long wall-mounted hat racks choked full hats, scarves, gloves and a variety of paired stockings. Every item contained a tasteful degree of green.

Eirik whistled, taking it in. "It's like a beach rental house." He moved to investigate the picture frames and knickknacks on the mantel.

"I didn't know she liked the beach." Anders frowned in puzzlement as he realized a nearby 2m standing floor lamp was actually shaped like an elongated seahorse, textured like coral, colored with several pastel hues. Another lamp by bookcases was a conch shell. Another a starfish. Looking at the lamp, he felt betrayed. 

She never mentioned beaches or wanting to visit the coast.

He recalled in 4th grade Nana Ana picked up he and Eirik in her green VW Bug directly from one of their soccer games to go hiking for the weekend. She liked hiking, forests, and horseback riding. Of their whole family he had spent the most time with her. He was her best and only friend. He had included her in everything he did, let her in on every secret, told her everything. Seeing all this and realizing she hadn't returned the same trust and friendship he'd given all these years--not really--it stung.

I thought she couldn't swim.

He heard Eirik chuckle. "Check this out." 

In the home of an average old woman one might've expected wall décor reading "home sweet home" or "love always" or "faith, hope, love". Might be store bought or handmade. And, indeed, above the bungalow's hearth hung an intricate cross-stitch quote surrounded by ornate bunches of flowers, dotted by butterflies and bees, and punctuated by a heavy black frame. Lovely. However this quote read: "If you see a dog foaming at the mouth and acting strange, take shelter immediately." 

Seeing Anders' reaction, Eirik laughed. "What's not funny though," he added, "is that we can't take anything she ever said at face value. I mean, just imagine what that could really mean." 

Anders scoffed. "Are you kidding? Anything we'd guess, we'd be wrong." 

Chuckling, Eirik pat his friend's arm, giving it a squeeze, and continued to explore. 

Ooooooh, Nana. An unexpected wave of grieve washed Anders' skin cold. Hands on his hips,  he sucked in a steady breath to quell it when a splash of crimson interrupted somber thoughts. The heck is that? A hat? 

In the far corner beyond the hearth stood a lone head manikin wearing a snappy red fedora. Stuck to the manikin's forehead was a folded piece of paper. A note, with his name on it. Emotion gripped Anders' throat. 

Eirik browsed the bookshelves. Various narrow volumes crammed the shelves, worn and yellowed with age, though there was no writing on any of the binding. Curious, he plucked one and opened it. 

Panda reemerged through the swinging door. "The pantry is stocked so you can stay a while to figure all this out. It'll be mind numbing. Sorting through history, dust, riddles, ancient to-do lists, more dust, and much rubbish. Returning to your vehicle and civilization will be much easier once you have." 

As Eirik flipped a page, he glanced aside at a nearby hat rack loaded with green scarves. He grabbed one, wrapped it around his neck and continued reading. "What we need is an instruction manual, or at least a starting point." He looked over to Anders whose back was turned and head bowed. "These books are all journals, by the way." 

"Of her adventures," said the panda, clamoring onto the sectional. "She wrote everything down. But she did number them chronologically so you'd do well to find #1 before you confuse yourself." 

Eirik hesitated when his friend didn't acknowledge him. Wondering what preoccupied Anders, Eirik leaned to see around him and spotted the hat. He gasped, "A RED HAT!" 

Anders jumped. "What?! Yeah, ahem." He crammed a hurried folded note into his sleeve as he heard rustling of paperbacks and Eirik coming across the hardwood to join him.