How to Solve a Mystery
By: Kait Walsh, 2020
On a crisp February morning, bundled in the back of a yellow cab, four friends arrived at Union Station, headed to find the abandoned mansion.
As they stepped out into the street, they checked their pockets
“Keys, wallet, phone? Check!”
———
Inside, bustling under the stars, travelers of all kinds were setting out on their on their own adventures
Philadelphia, Boston, Montauk, DC, Providence, New Haven, Baltimore, Niagara Falls, Toronto
Cold Spring leaving in 3 minutes
The four friends had to decide
To breakfast or to make a break for it
And In less than a minute they had downloaded four tickets into the palm of their hand and had settled into their seats
——
The view facing the south meant you might get a little queasy
(especially with no breakfast)
But it also meant you could watch the city vanish and the river widen
Cold Spring was about an hour away and only a few stops past Sleepy Hollow
——
When the train pulled up, The Foundry Cafe was waiting patiently with a table for four in the window
After a meal consisting of multiple cups of pour-your-own coffee, a serious serving of "darlin'" and "baby" from the waitress and a side of local newspapers
The friends set out to find the abandoned mansion.
_____
“Keys, wallet, phone? Check!”
But actually, one of them needed a hat.
The waitress knew just the right place.
"Baby, go see Ellen across the street."
——
Ellen's store sold everything
And hats
But mostly, Ellen's store sold Mysteries
18,000 bags of mystery to date.
Love mystery bags, dog mystery bags, kid mystery bags, music mystery bags
The real mystery was which mystery to get?
——
But they were on a tight schedule and it was getting late
They promised Ellen they would return, like all travelers do, and headed out the door
“Keys, wallet, phone, hat? Check!”
__
They followed the signs down the street, across the tracks, up a hill, over some rocks, “wait. maybe those rocks”, over those rocks, through the woods to the look out, back through the woods, down a hill, across a bridge, along a path and there it was
The Abandoned Mansion
(a quarter of a mile from the parking lot)
There were other travelers there. Some wandering, some reading signs, one boy hiding from his dad.
There were stories in the bricks. There were tales in the fireplace. The ivy had secrets.
But the only thing on the four friends’ minds was
Which mystery would be their mystery?
——
An hour later, across the street from Ellen's, in a barber shop that was actually a restaurant, they unpacked their bag.
Their new dog mystery bag. Number 18,001.
One by one they pulled out the treasures.
A tiny porcelain poodle
A pack of Kleenex
A birthday blower
A candle
A collar
15 mysterious treasures
From Ellen
——
As they headed out they checked their pockets
“Keys, wallet, phone, hat, poodle, kleenex, candle, collar? Check!”
__
It would only take 30 minutes to get home by car and the route had them heading far from the river bank.
One fell asleep, while the others watched the city appear in the distance.
Tomorrow they would definitely get breakfast first
Tomorrow they would get a bagel from a very cranky man
Tomorrow they would laugh about the cranky man in central park while drinking coffee from their styrofoam cups and looking for a sighting of the hot duck
Tomorrow they would have to pack, say goodbye and fly home
——
But for now, they watched the city get bigger
Driving alongside all the night travelers
Bustling under the stars
Their pockets full of mystery.