THE CRYSTAL QUEST – OR WAS IT GOLD?
Back in 1910 there was a mineshaft with 15,000 dollars’ worth of crystals and gold. There were two boys named Dan and Bob from Johnston, Rhode Island. When they heard of this they immediately went straight to ask their moms, but unfortunately the mine was in California and they lived in Rhode Island. When the boys asked their moms, they actually said yes surprisingly, so the families bought train tickets to California and then they were on their adventure. It was about a 5 days’ trip to get to the Golden State.
Bob and Dan caught the local train from Providence to Boston. At Boston, the train station impressed them mightily. On the outside were lots of pillars and the inside was even more beautiful, with light coming in from the windows beaming right on them. It was like they were the chosen ones. Once they got into the train, it was like a dream. There were cushiony seats, smooth wooden tables and even plates and forks ready for them. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Dan yelled, “Oh my lands, this train is better than my grandmother’s house. I’m ready to get on.” Dan rushed into his seat waiting patiently for Bob to come.
The train ride was smooth as milk for the most part, but getting out of Boston required some stoppage and a few track changes, so we can see that the boy’s heads were knocking, moving left and right until the train came to a stop. More people got on and one big fat guy stared at the boys. After about two hours they arrived in New York City.
Bob and Dan marveled at Penn Station in NYC.
Once they arrived it was splendid. Everything was fresh and people were everywhere. Light was beaming right on them. Dan and Bob both looked up synchronously. The ceiling was probably 70-80 feet high. Then after they did a whole 360 and then they stared at the ceiling. It was like a honeycomb. Dan and Bob thought about trying to run up there and take a nasty bite. Then they went back to business and got ready for their next station and boarded, and were on their way to Philadelphia. It was about 1:00 pm and the train was estimated to arrive at 2:35.
A waitress gave them some pineapple and apple, but they both left the fruit sitting there. Dan and Bob could hear people chattering about them. They were starting to have the sweats of being uncomfortable. After about 10 minutes the both of them fell fast asleep until they arrived at Philadelphia. Once they de-boarded the conductor asked,”Hey kids do you want to check out the Philadelphia dome really quick right before you get on our next train?”
“Where? Where is it Mr. Conductor?”
“Do you see that brick long building? Go to the right of it and you will arrive at your destination.” The kids sprinted out and went straight for the dome. When they went to check out the dome, it was just like Penn Station’s honeycomb, but grander and rounder.
Phillie’s station smoke was flying everywhere. They walked back inside the station. The first thing they noticed were clocks ticking and ticking. People were everywhere walking in all directions. They went into and were again mesmerized by this beautiful station. Bob dropped his bag and fell onto his knees.
Dan said, “Bob you okay?”
Bob didn’t answer. He kept on looking at the ceiling like when it was his birthday and he would be just staring at the cake and not blowing the candles out. Dan checked his watch.
“BOB we got to go to Track 15 for our connection to Chicago to catch the Southwest Chief!”
Bob wouldn’t move. Dan picked up Bob and his bag and ran as fast as he could to the Chicago train. The doors were about to close. Dan yelled, “Wait! Not yet!”
The man looked at the boys and held it open for them. They entered safely but Dan was breathing heavily. They went to their seats and Bob looked surprised that they made it.
Bob asked Dan, “Why are you breathing so heavily?”
“Why do you think BOB?”
“Well I honestly don’t know. I’ll tell you later.”
Bob noticed an adult looking at them. Bob just ignored him until after 5 minutes, he was still looking at him. Bob got out of his seat and went over to the man. He asked,
“Why have you been looking at us for the past 5 minutes?”
The man chuckled. “Hear, you see I’m an adult and you aren’t, so I can do whatever I want.”
Bob asked, “What’s your name?”
“Jeff, what’s yours? Do you… have a guardian?”
“Nope! Our moms left us alone to go to LA and find some fine crystals,” replied Bob.
“Well then, can I come?”
“Let me talk to my pal. Hey Dan, should we let him come with us? We do need a guardian.”
“Why should we. You know the saying, stranger danger. Actually, you know what, let him come.”
Bob leaped in the air and stretched his head to the man.
“So, what do you guys say?”
“Well we came to a conclusion that you can come!”
Jeff put his fist up then down.
“What on earth is that technique.”
Other passengers then turned and stared at them.
“What technique?” they all asked.
“Nothing, just teaching him how to say ‘what technique?”
They all faced the other direction again.
As the train picked up speed, leaving for the great city of Chicago, the boys were able to look and excitedly point at all they saw there. They saw for an hour at least, the leaves and the long grass blowing. It was very peaceful and majestic. Maybe every 2-3 minutes they would see some animals walking in the tall leaves.
The Chicago station was splendid, the ceiling was high, there were benches, pillars, see through windows, hallways, it had everything imaginable. It was crowded as usual with people hitting each other left and right with their bags. It was kind of uncomfortable at first, but then they got used to the idea that Chicagoans were a rough people.
They didn’t have much time to look around though, as their connection to the SouthWest Chief was only 45 minutes. The boarded the train, this one bigger and brawnier that the East Coast trains. Behind them, they saw portly Jeff wheezing along with his bags, and he followed them into the same train compartment.
They also were thrilled when the train ran along the Mississippi River, and were astounded by its width and the speed the water seemed to flow. Their favorite part of the train ride was when they went through tunnels in small mountains. It would just turn pitch black for 2 seconds then LIGHT would return.
Once though, Dan seemed to fall asleep, and Bob roused him with a yell.
“Why on earth did you yell?”
Bob kept silent and went back to his seat. He looked outside. It was wonderful. There were buildings everywhere. There were fields, forests, and sometimes farms. Every probably 20 minutes, Bob or Dan would stick their heads outside the window for about 10-20 seconds. Now, Jeff, he had fallen asleep for over 50 minutes now!
“Hey Jeff!”
Jeff woke up from water being splashed on him. He was soaked and extremely mad but he had taken anger management and knew some skills to calm himself down so he didn’t really freak out. In Jeff’s mind, he was taking both Bob and Dan and throwing them off the train. Jeff breathed in and out slowly.
“How many times did I say it? What on earth is going through your little brains!”
Dan and Bob played dumb.
“Answer the question. What’s going through your little brains?”
Bob left his seat to go to the bathroom. Jeff looked at Dan.
“Come here, little boy!”
Dan ran to the bathroom. He saw Bob just about to shut the door. Dan barely squeezed through the door and fell on the ground, scraping himself. Bob rapidly locked the door before Jeff came in, and Jeff pounded on it. A conductor named Alberto asked Jeff if he could go back to his seat immediately. He stomped furiously back to his seat.
A lady nearby yelled, “STOP STOMPING SO LOUDLY YOU FAT FREAK!”
“Shut your mouth lady!”
The lady jumped in her chair. She got up and gave a good old smack to his cheek right before Jeff entered his seat. Jeff ended the conversation. His cheek was turning red and a little bit of blue, but Jeff didn’t notice anything because obviously he didn’t see the damage. Bob and Dan in the bathroom chilled on the floor, waiting for the hubbub to die down before getting out.
“So, Dan what do you want to do?”
“Not really sure. How about we play a classic game of rock, paper, scissor.”
“Sure thing, let’s get right to it.”
(Saying at the same time) “Rock, Paper, Scissor, SHOOT!”
“Dang it Dan, I know that you’re going to choose paper, why did I choose rock? I should’ve chosen scissors.”
“Bob, what do you think this fat man wants? Is he just lonely?”
“Well, maybe he wants to watch over us, but on the other hand, maybe he wants our treasure!”
“You never know. He could be some rich guy trying to help us out because he might think we are poor.”
“That is possible but I don’t think so. The fat guys are usually the poor people and the well-shaped people are rich.”
“Maybe you’re right Bob; I think he is trying to steal our jewels.”
“Well, we haven’t got any jewels yet! You know what, let’s keep him for now and if something goes wrong, you know what to do.”
“No I don’t actually.”
“Uh, you know …call an adult nearby and say: the guy over there stole our jewels!”
“Ohhhh yeah, you’re right.”
They got so caught up in the game that they were in the bathroom for 10 minutes.
They finally came out and checked on Jeff. Once again, he was sleeping with a droplet of water coming from his mouth. This time they went straight to their seats and started to eat some snacks. They were eating some light brown crackers. They waited and waited until Jeff woke up. He was surprised that they didn’t splash water on him. It was about 9:00 pm and the boys were about to end the day. Time ticked and was about 9:30 pm at night. The boys were fast asleep. The train was filled with Zzzzzzzs. The night was peaceful – there was no noise but the train engine.
After about 10 hours everyone woke up tossing their arms in the air, stretching and yawning. One of the waitresses came to the table and brought them some cereal to eat. They dug in and cleaned the bowl until there was not a single oat left. They went to look outside the window again to see the amazing view. The sun was rising, roosters crowing, and the grass blowing east. It was a wonderful day to play some railroad track, but at this point, if they could, they’d both prefer to run on a track, outside. Bob sat back down finishing the last of his apple. Dan looked behind at Jeff who seemed all hyped up, ready to do anything. Dan looked at Bob; he looked like he was staying home doing nothing and snacking on food a lot. Bob picked up his banana, peeled it open and offered it to Dan.
“No thanks, I’ll pass.”
A conductor came over to a passenger and in a goofy way, “Final stop, ladies and gentlemen, last stop! Santa Fe! Hey you in the blue striped suit!”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to know a fun fact about La Grande Station?”
“No not really.”
“Well, too bad: if you didn’t know, La Grande Station is sometimes called the Santa Fe station. It is called that because the railway company paid for it. The railway company is called the Santa Fe.”
“Okay, can you leave now?”
“Sure thing.”
The conductor walked back to the front of the train looking serious.
Bob, Jeff, and Dan left the SouthWest Chief. Bob and Jeff woke up about two minutes before they left the train. They left the train and arrived Santa Fe station at night. The Santa Fe station was built out of bricks and had loads of windows. They had benches, trash can and dangling light bulbs. They went outside and it was around 11:00 pm at night. They look up at the sky saw a full moon and majestic clouds moving, and for the first time, they beheld tall palm trees, their leaves rustling far above.
“So, where is this mine you are talking about?”
“It’s in Echo Park, and we have to find the right trolley.”
They all sighed and walked towards the trolley station.
“Hey Jeff, why don’t you go up to someone and ask if they know where the Elysian Park trolley is.”
“Sure thing. Excuse me young man.” He walked up to a stranger.
“Yes, what can I help you with?”
“I’m trying to go to Echo Park and do you know where the Elysian trolley is?”
“So, if you go up straight and take a left then take a right and go all the way down, you will find the trolly.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
They did what he said and walking they went. It was around 25 minutes, but they arrived. There was no trolly, so they had to wait. They got lucky this time because 30 seconds later, the trolley arrived. All three of them got on the vehicle and off they went. It wasn’t crowded. The trolley went off. It wasn’t very smooth, unlike the SouthWest Chief: it was pretty bumpy and they liked it for a change of pace. In the distance they had to go up a mountain which was very scary. Eventually they went up the mountain.
“I CAN’T DO THIS! I CAN’T DO THIS!” Dan realized that Bob had vertigo.
Everyone ignored Bob. He closed his eyes, getting overwhelmed with anxiety. When it was time it wasn’t that bad. He just breathed in and out. They now started going down the mountain which was really fun. Just below the mountain was Echo Park. The trolley stopped to drop them off. The three got off and were ready for the mine.
The mine looked very unstable and dangerous. There were lots of signs saying beware. Were they actually going to go in the mine or would take a pass? Well this is what happened: they first asked a professional miner to go in with them so they wouldn’t die. The professional miner had lots of rock dust on his jeans and his orange vest. The boys wore coats and jeans also. Then they went into the dark misty mine. Once they entered a thick cloud of cold air coated them and they didn’t feel anything because they were prepared. There were lots of old broken rocks on the floor. They saw lots of rickety wood structures holding the rocks above them. Once in a while there was some rock dust that fell on them but they didn’t care. The miner then said, “If you see some rocks do not go that way and turn to another tunnel.”
All of a sudden there was a big tumble of rocks that fell right on them.
“What a coincidence, right.”
They checked for injuries, had a small chuckle because they only sustained a few scrapes, then immediately continued with their journey. Luckily it didn’t squish any of them so they just turned to another tunnel. They saw something shining, they then ran over there, but rocks tumbled again, in front of the shiny prize.
They dug left and right, moving the rocks when all of a sudden… they saw the crystal! They jammed their hands in but luckily their hands didn’t get chopped off and also… they got the crystal! They weren’t amazed. Their crystal was the size of a pebble. It was probably 8 bucks. They kept on digging and digging and then they came across a fleshless body. They were starting to get scared. They kept on going until they came across a shiny rock. They left the skeleton alone, quietly grinning there.
The professional said, “That is the size of your knees to your feet! That would be the $15,000 crystal.”
They immediately tried to pull the crystal then all of a sudden the crystal broke into four parts. They were all frustrated and steam was flowing out of their heads. They quickly calmed down and continued with their journey, but it was also starting to get harder to breathe. It was getting so cold that they could see their breath.
“Hey Bob, do you think this guy is the guy?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean do you think this guy is trustworthy!”
“Yeah, pretty sure.”
“Also I had the idea, should we even share the prize with that stranger (cough) Jeff. He’s been doing nothing but sitting back and staring at the rocks. ”
“Let’s give him 100 bucks for coming along and pretending to be our dad.”
“Fine, but if he betrays us, that will be the last straw.”
“Okay okay, whatever you say boss.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Do you want a banana now – I took one from the train station?”
“What? No. Why would you even eat a banana at this time?”
“Okay, Just asking.”
After about 7 more minutes they found the jackpot. It wasn’t the jackpot-jackpot but it was better than nothing. It was a crystal the size of 5 notebooks. They were happy with their prize and decided to get out. They left the mine. The kids thanked the professional miner and gave him 200 bucks for a thank you for helping them with their journey.
They packed their stuff and headed for the train station. They got on as usual. They fell asleep. At the end they ended up paying Jeff $100 and safely arrived at home.
When the boys arrived at home, the moms were waiting outside patiently.
“Hi Bob and Dan. How was your adventure?”
“It was good, how was yours.”
“It was good, I was jumping on cows and horses in my dream,” quipped Dan’s mom.
“Nice!”
“Come give me a hug boys.”
“Oh yeah mom look what I got! It’s a crystal!”
“Good job, but the real prize was staying alive.”
“Bob you need to take a shower and then I’ll make spaghetti tonight.”
“Deal.”
They both took a shower and once done, Bob ate some spaghetti and Dan had beans. They ran back upstairs, put on their pajamas and lay in bed for the night.