Today we are sharing Day 10 of the Boot Camp writing Prompts. Day nine was to write an Obituary for your favourite character. You are welcome to do that. I wrote one for one of my characters but I don't want to spoil anything so I won't be sharing it. Today I moved on to "Dollar Message" again there is more information you can find here. The main idea of this one is, you are given or find a dollar bill (you can use a five or higher if your story is in Canada) and it has a message on it.
Three fifty-five is your change,” the cashier smiled as she handed her the bills and the coins. “Have a nice day.”
Daniella was in a hurry as she stuffed the change in her purse and grabbed up her bags. Milo was coming over for dinner and she had all but forgotten about his dairy allergies. But with a bottle of Lactose-Free Milk and a bag of Lactose Free Mozzarella, her birthday dinner for him was going to be a success after all. Now, all she had left to do was pick up a bottle of wine and everything would be perfect.
As she pulled into the Liquor Store parking lot, Daniella had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a car that just carelessly was backing up. Some people shouldn’t be given a driver's license. Her wallet that had been sitting on the passenger’s seat had opened up and gone flying. Her ID, her cards and her cash were all sitting on the floor of the passenger’s side. One of those days. She couldn’t help but sigh as she looked at the mess. She would have to wait until she got home to pick everything up. No way she was going to do that in the parking lot! She bent over and managed to grab her ID and her debit card and that was all she needed for the moment.
Once she was finally at home, Daniella had time to pick up the mess that she had made. Thankfully her change had been securely zipped up in one of the pockets so she only had to retrieve a couple of cards and a few dollar bills that had snowflakes haphazardly on the ground. As she picked one of the dollar bills up she noticed some writing on it.
Your journey has begun. That’s all it said as a series of numbers followed below. Daniella brushed it off at first. Just someone being a jerk. Or maybe that had made a treasure hunt for someone they knew and the dollar bill had just gotten lost to time. Either way, she shoved it in her wallet and finished picking up the rest of her belongings.
That night after she and Milo had finished eating, the dollar bill was still on her mind. Daniella told him about her day and all the stops she had made. She even showed him the bill and asked for his thoughts.
“Those are coordinates,” he replied after a split second of holding the bill. Without skipping a beat, he pulled his phone out and typed them into a search. “It’s a park,” he showed her his phone as he zoomed in on the area and the little red point.
“Holden Park,” Daniella read outloud. The name sounded familiar but she wasn’t sure why. Living in the big city most places sound familiar probably because you pass them in your everyday hussle from place to place. She didn’t think she had ever been there before though. “Must be a romantic treasure hunt or something.”
“We should go,” Milo smiled as he took his phone back. “It might be fun,” he smiled as he pulled her in close to him.
“You think so?”
He smiled as he got up and kissed her. “I do, besides we don’t have much going on this weekend. It would be good to get out of the house for a while.”
The next day Milo drove them to the exact spot he had found on the map. The small little park was actually a city block and had different sections to it. There was a water park on one end, soccer fields on the other, a building that housed an indoor pool and nature trails in the back. It looked very beautiful and frankly Daniella was surprised they had never gone there before.
“This is the spot,” Milo said as he checked his phone.
They were standing right at the entrance way to the trail system that led back into the woods. There was a small plastic box that held maps of the trails and it encouraged everyone to be safe and aware of their surroundings. The system was more complicated than it looked. There were several different branches that went in different directions, but judging from the map they all led to the same clearing. They decided to take one of the hiking trails, up a hill that overlooked the park and back down. Daniella and Milo loved the outdoors and though they weren’t experts or really used to it, they enjoyed hiking when they got the chance.
The trail was nice, it wasn’t very challenging, and the scenery was nice. They got to see the park from a nice altitude and the whole city beyond it. They also got to see some pretty cool wild birds in the thick trees. They took a few photos of the interesting plants and animals and the amazing view, along with a couple selfies of themselves. When they got close enough they could see a bunch of people setting up chairs in the clearing.
“It looks like we’re early,” Milo said as they watched from afar.
“Early?” Daniella looked up at him.
“Well clearly something is going on. Maybe this is what the clue was for.” They watched for a little while longer before Milo took the lead and led them down the trail to the huge circular area. “I’ll go ask what’s going on.”
Daniella watched as he talked to one of the gentlemen setting up. The area was beautiful and she could see a body of water on the other side of the clearing and it seemed all the other trails led to the area also. It was truly a hidden gem of the city. She was still amazed they had never heard of it or been there before. It was almost the perfect place for them. They loved the outdoors and they loved being around nature.
“It is a concert in the park,” Milo informed her as he joined her again. “Apparently every Saturday afternoon during the summer bands play here for charity and stuff.”
“That sounds pretty amazing,” Daniella smiled as they grabbed a few sets upfront. “Can you believe we never saw this place before.”
Milo smiled and kissed her. “We should explore the city more often.”
Daniella smiled and nodded as she interlaced her fingers in his. She still didn’t know what the point of the message on the dollar was all about but she was glad they decided to follow it. Copyright: A.L Keegan (2020)
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