The Golden Label

Tom had felt so relieved that his dad believed his story and wanted to help. The whole Alsace expedition didn't really hit him until the next day, when his dad told him he'd bought airline tickets. His dad seemed to think they could find out who mailed the original letter and get more information from him or her. Tom thought a trip to Alsace seemed plenty exciting all by itself, and he could barely stand having to wait ten more days.

Every day of summer vacation, Tom and Hana exchanged emails, finally getting into a consistent groove of answering questions and learning more about each other. Tom could tell that Hana was feisty and confident—not someone to mess with unless you wanted a nice kick to the shin, or worse. She was also smart, and Tom rarely noticed a language barrier. He felt like they were similar in many ways, and he found himself liking her very much. They played chess online, though it took almost a week to finish one game because of the time difference.

Hana was the first to figure out the last piece of the fourth clue—the first letter of the special place. At first, Tom was worried they were violating some rules by helping each other with the clues, but Hana pointed out that none of the letters said they couldn't. In her opinion, the guy in charge should be impressed that they'd have the initiative to seek out others and collaborate.

Tom felt dumb when Hana told him the answer.

I only ask that the name of the place begin with a letter coming after A and before Z but nowhere in between.

Tom already suspected that the clue pointed them to a cemetery, but it was Hana who explained that the cemetery began with a "C," a letter that was certainly after A and before Z in the alphabet. Also, the letter was nowhere to be found in the word "between."

That's what the sentence had meant, which now seemed painfully obvious to Tom.

They wondered about which cemetery to go to, since any decent-sized town had more than one. But the wording of the clue made it clear that the particular place they went to didn't matter, as long as it was a cemetery.

Hana would choose one in her home town at the appointed time, and Tom would do likewise.

Of course, both of them recognised how strange it was that they had to go to a graveyard, but it didn't matter which one. But everything about the whole mess was odd, so they were getting used to it.

Tom was really happy to have found Hana; for the first time in a long time, he felt like he had a friend. Yeah, she lived in Japan and liked to beat up boys, but beggars couldn't be choosers. He couldn't wait to get the next clue and talk to her about it.

On one of the hot summer days, he got his wish.

                                ~

It has been a perfect couple of days. It drizzled in billions of drops of glistening water, blanketing the house in pure transparent, covering up dirt and grime that had begun to show up after a couple of weeks of sunny weather. The classic songs of Michael Jackson and the Bee Gees floated through the house like warm air from a fire. Tom's mom went all out in the kitchen, cooking up everything from honey-baked ham to stuffed bell peppers, cheesy potatoes to fruit salads, chocolate-covered peanut butter balls to her famous cookies, which were full of coconut, butterscotch, pecans, walnuts, and several other yummy surprises.

Tom was stuffed and happy, remembering once again why the holiday season had always been his favourite time of the year. And it only helped matters that he'd be heading to Alsace in a couple of days. Life was sweet.

After the hustle and buzz and laughter of that summer morning, tattered nylons were lying about in big colorful piles. Tom sat back on the couch, staring at the new goodies he'd received for traveling: some new summer clothes, French flag shirts, and three video games. If it was to be a Christmas gift, he usually felt a twinge of sadness once all the presents were opened, knowing it would be 365 long days until the next Christmas. But it wasn't Christmas, so he felt none of that. He felt content and warm, excited and happy.

The mystery of M.S. and his twelve clues had brought light into Tom's life, and, despite the dangers that came with the letters, he'd never felt more alive.

He looked up at the last shirt on the couch opposite to him, its dozen of French flag colours sparkling their reflection in the red, blue, and white square. Something that seemed to be a label was golden in colour. It didn't occur to Tom the first time what it was, but belatedly it was becoming similar and obvious, and he knew the label buried in the shirt hadn't been there before when the clothes were opened.

Instantly alert, he looked around to see what his family were doing. His mom had her nose in a book, his dad was in the kitchen, and Lorena had earphones on listening to her new CDs. Trying to look nonchalant, Tom got up from the couch and walked over to the couch opposite to him, staring at the label that had caught his eyes.

The normal golden envelope was sticking out of the real label of the shirt, with pictures of the designer's shirt and trousers. M.S. was scrawled on it, half showing. Tom looked around one more time before he snatched the unopened envelope and steadily placed it in his pocket. Then, grabbing a big armful of stuff, including the mystery envelope, he headed upstairs to his room.

He sat on the bed and stared at the familiar golden envelope. It was flat and he felt certain the next clue must lie inside. But who put it there, and when? He ripped the lid off the envelope. After flipping the lid, Tom saw exactly what he'd expected.