Below the Surface

Below the Surface — page 1 — For Kathy and Glenn treasure hunters and explorers

Below the Surface — page 2 — Chapter One Something bad happened in my town a long time ago I don't believe in ghosts but my best friend Syd swears that last September she spotted the one said to haunt Sawyer's Bridge She was walking home after dark when she saw a figure in a long coat crossing the bridge toward her 1

Below the Surface — page 3 — is When the man got halfway across Syd blinked and he was gone Lots of people have seen him over the years but no one can agree on why he's on that bridge or what he's waiting for The way I see it if there a ghost we have something in common We both haunt the bridge There's no need to get in each other's way He can have the night and I'll take the day Now that summer break has started I'm out here almost every day searching for treasure There's a boat rental place upriver where people launch rafts and kayaks Thing is they aren't too careful and tend to drop sunglasses and phones and even wedding rings into the water I find them in the silt and do my best to return them to their owners Phones are easiest as long as they still turn on And for anything I can't identify Syd's dad is always happy to help He runs the local pawnshop and keeps a lost and found box for all the stuff I bring in 2

Below the Surface — page 4 — Today though there aren't any phones The almost noon sun bakes my bare shoulders but it feels nice after the cold river The empty cans and fishing lures are laid out on the wooden planks of the bridge It's the least impressive photo shoot ever There isn't even a cool lure in the bunch just plain weights and hooks But I log everything even the boring stuff on my social feed There are a bunch of us who look for lost things but the serious ones are looking for old stuff They take their metal detectors through fields searching for history Sometimes they go places where important things happened a hundred or more years ago I'd like to try that someday but I like my river It's familiar It comes from the mountains and flows out to the sea For this brief stretch under the bridge all the possibilities it carries are mine if I can catch them Except there hasn't been anything interesting for a while I'm starting to feel a little lost myself 3

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