Instinctive Amusings

He was up and awake now, whether he liked it or not. He went to the
kitchen and made himself some hot tea laced with lots of honey, then
returned to the living room and began to re-cap everything he knew or
was told about the shipwreck.

In 1529, the Spanish were stealing all Inca treasures and historical
documents in the name of the Catholic church, to prevent native idol
worship of any kind. A small band of Inca holy men gathered together
what valuables they could and put them in a small, armored chest, to be
smuggled to the coast for safe-keeping. Hundreds of years passed and
in 1912, an international trader bought a roomful of old Inca artifacts,
which happened to include the chest. All of the items were to be shipped to
his brother's residence in the U.S.
In 1913, the artifacts were loaded onto a ship bound for the pacific north-
west, a ship named the Mimi. In high seas, and under strange circum-
stances, the Mimi went down off the coast of Oregon.
This is where Paul's great uncle came into the picture. A shipwreck
enthusiast, he collected all the information he could on the sailing of the
Mimi, its cargo, its crew, its final destination. He was never able to find a
trace of the Mimi, but he passed on the legend to Paul. And now Paul had
the itch too.

He would be ready in the morning. He hoped the weather would clear.

He awoke in the morning to find the wind had died down and the skies
were partially cloudy. No run on the beach today, he was all business,
packing his backpack and heading out at first light. He drew in big gulps
of fresh air as he walked, enjoying its briny aroma. The strong winds of
last night were gone, but he could see from the amount of debris
scattered here and there that they had wreaked havoc. Piles of seaweed
littered the beach, north and south.
Lost Boy Cave was in the process of draining when he arrived. Noisy
seagulls warned of his arrival. Taking the flashlight out of his sack, he
made a 360-degree inspection of the inside, finding many new items of
interest, including a picnic cooler that appeared to be brand new. He knelt
down and loosened the top until it fell off, revealing a package of hot dogs,
a jar of mustard, and three cans of beer, still packed in ice. Now that
would've been a great treasure has he been a castaway on some distant
island !
As he knelt, he looked up and out of the cave, and was astonished to see
yet another cave, maybe fifty yards out in the water ! It wasn't there the
last time he was here, he was sure of that ! Only a small top portion of the
cave was visible but it was surely a cave. Could it be the one ?

Lynn awoke slowly, and at first couldn't remember where she was, much less why she was there. She felt terrible, and one leg was strung up in the air with a cast on it. Looking around at the sterile room, the utilitarian metal bed, and the ez-erase board with patient care notes on it, she deduced that she must be in a hospital.

She tried to remember what had happened, but the last thing she remembered was walking towards the cliff to scatter the dog's ashes.

Her head was pounding, her mouth was dry, and she felt confused, abused, and very out of sorts. She punched the button for a nurse and waited impatiently for a response.

"My goodness!" said the nurse. "You're awake! I'll call the doctor immediately."

The nurse was kind enough to leave her a small glass of icewater, but not much else. Fortunately, it wasn't long before the doctor showed up.

"What happened?" Lynn asked. "I can't remember anything!"

"You're bruised, and the one leg is broken, but other than that you're not in bad shape, really. No internal injuries, no broken ribs, and only half drowned. Someone hang gliding saw you fall off the cliff into the water. He couldn't reach you, but the dog did. He said you'd have drowned if not for the dog. But when he got to you and called for help, there was no sign of the dog."

"Dog? DOG? What DOG?" Lynn instantly became agitated, and the suprised doctor attempted to soothe her.

"It's okay, yit's fine. Probably someone's pet playing fetch. Black labs love to swim. Anyway, the hang glider said the dog pulled you to shore."

Lynn turned very pale and shook her head mutely. The puzzled doctor got nothing else out of her, and finally left her with pain meds and permission to eat a light meal.

After he left, Lynn stared out the window and tried to figure out what it meant. Had it been the other dog? Or the one whose ashes she'd been trying to scatter. If the latter, did it mean her haunting was over? Were both dogs now at rest? She hoped so, but as the meds kicked in she fell asleep. Her last thought was a vague hope that she wouldn't have that dream again.

When Lynn woke up again the Urn with the ashes sat on the bedside
table. A note underneath the Urn beckoned to her. With difficulty, she
reached over and pulled it out.

"Lynn, - while you were sleeping some hang-gliding groupies dropped by
to see how you were doing. One of them said he located this Urn and that
you'd probably like to have it back. Seemed like really nice people."
Nurse Maryjo.

She looked again at the Urn, then turned to glance out through the
window. She remembered stumbling, falling, . . . .
God she was lucky to be alive !

Paul put his backpack on and headed out of Lost Boy Cave. He began to
wade his way forward, around and through the jagged rocks, carefully
avoiding a slip. The water was colder than usual and as it reached waist-
high he had that old childhood urge to pee in the water. He laughed at his
thoughts and continued on. Nearing this new cave, he could see that it was
almost completely filled with sand and seaweed. He reached out to steady
himself by leaning on the top near the entrance, and he suddenly
realized why he hadn't seen this particular cave before. It sat at an angle
opposite that of Lost Boy Cave, so that one would have to be in perfect
alignment to see one from the other. He marveled at his good luck !

He looked down at the mouth of the cave, then bent down and started
pulling handfuls of sand out into the surf. Soon he had an opening big
enough to crawl into. Pushing his pack in ahead of him, he crawled over
the remaining mound of sand and on into the cave. It was small as caves
went, about 6'x 10', but it was unusually dry inside. As he sat down to
gather himself, his hand touched something foreign. He turned to see what
it was. It looked like an old dog collar, and it had a nametag attached to it.
"BLUE" Fitting he thought, as the nylon itself was blue in color.
He wondered how this dog collar could've gotten so far back in this cave,
which was itself so far away from the beach.

When Lynn woke again, she rang the call button to get her nurses attention. She sat up in bed and waited.. wondering where they had put the clothes she had been wearing when she came in. Her cell phone! She needed her cell phone if it wasn't ruined from the sea water.

"What can I get you Missy" the nurse said smiling as she reached behind Lynn's head to turn off the call button. "My cell phone was in my pants pocket...I need my cell phone"

"Ahh you're lucky Lynn! We took that apart and dried it out so we could look for a relative to phone about your accident. You came to us with no ID, we didn't have a clue who you were! I'll get your phone right away." and she promptly opened the cupboard in Lynn's hospital room to retrieve that.
"Here you go honey! I bet you're getting hungry, can I get you something to eat?"

"Yes... Please! I'm starving." Lynn said as she opened her phone. "Coffee too if I may please" Lynn said smiling. There was a message, she opened it to see a self portrait of Angela flipping her the bird...with a quick note that said "Where the "F" are you? I've been looking for you for two days!!! Call me-I'm worried sick about you! Love you...Ang"

She couldn't help smiling as she hit Angela's speed dial number.

He recognized those legs ! The last time he saw them they were covered
in net stockings, but they were definitely the same pair of great legs !
Paul sat by himself at a small table in the Anchor Inn and watched the
owner of those legs grab a seat at the bar. It was Angela ! The girl he had
bumped into at the general store. He watched her order a glass of wine,
then he got up and went over to sit beside her. He noticed she wasn't as
vibrant as she was the other day so he started off by saying, "Everything
okay ?"
"Oh hi. Paul . .right?"
"Right. And you're Angela." "You look a little down. Is everything okay ?"
She looked up into his face and saw genuine concern.
"It's my girlfriend. I think she's missing. I saw her two days ago, the day
we bumped into each other as a matter of fact. I found her cabin thanks to
your directions and we hooked up. Later that afternoon she said she had
some business to take care of and would see me later on. That's the last
time I saw Lynn. I'm worried sick !"
"Lynn!" "Did you say her name was Lynn?"
"Yes, Lynn. Do you think you know her ?"

Just then Angela's cell phone rang.

When Angela answered, Lynn said "Come and get me right now. Please!! I want out of here right now!"

"Where the hell are you? Seriously...I am so disturbed with you Lynn! Why haven't you answered my calls? I've been looking for you for two days! Scotts about to call out the National Guard. Jesus Christ Lynn!" Angela said yelling.

"I'm in the hopsital for god sakes. Come and check me out of this place right now. There's an IV in my arm, you know I hate needles Ang! Tillamook General...come get me right now!"

"Tillamook General Hospital!! Oh my god!! What the hell are you doing in the hospital?" Angela started to cry. "Oh my God! Are you ok...what happend? What happened?!?! I'll come get you, I'll come get you...I promise" Angela said sobbing

Paul heard enough to know that Lynn was in the Hosptal? But was it his Lynn? He knew the odds of it not being his Lynn were slim. After all, how many women could be in this small town named Lynn & Angela? Concerned, he said to Angela, "Hang up the phone I'll drive you. Let's go...right now."

Angela couldn't stop crying, then she said to Paul "She's my best friend, (sob) she's my best friend...everything will be ok...I found her (sob) Yes, please take me to her" Then she reached for her phone and called her husband Scott crying....

Nurse Mary Jo heard the loud commotion coming from Lynn's room and ran in there. "What are you doing Missy? You lay down!" The nurse demmanded

"Don't you tell me what to do! I'm an adult & I'll do what I want to do! I'm checking out of here! My best friend is coming to get me right now!!" Lynn said in defiance.

"You're not going anywhere Missy...I'm getting your doctor!" the old nurse said very matter of factly with her hand poised on her hip and with the other hand she shook her index finger at Lynn.

"Yes I am Leaving!! I'm leaving here in 10 minutes! Help me out of this bed right now so I can put my clothes on." Lynn yelled back

The doctor stepped in and instructed his nurse to bring a sedative asap to help calm the combative patient. "You're not sticking another needle in me...god damn you people!!"

Lynn was oblivious to the fact that she had undergone surgery to pin her leg bone back together. She was in no shape to leave the hopsital. Nurse Mary walked back into Lynn's room thumping bubbles out of the needle...

Lynn shouted..."Don't you dare poke me with that needle!" That being said, in went the needle and Lynn was out cold.


[edit on 8/28/2008 by jensouth31]

Paul and Angela arrived at the hospital and checked to see what room
Lynn was recovering in. #215. They took the elevator, and signed in with
the duty nurse, who directed them to room 215. It was a private room
and Lynn was sound asleep when they entered and walked over to her
bedside. Yes, Paul had his answer, it was the same Lynn he had come to
know and enjoy during his brief stay here in Oregon ! She looked pretty
good for someone who had fallen off a cliff, into the ocean. Of course she
did have one leg with a cast on it, suspended in mid-air with traction
pulleys. A stainless steel pin ran through her leg and the cast, emerging
out both sides to fasten to the angled pulleys and weights.
As they sat down she awoke.
Lynn looked around the room until her eyes fell on Angela. She smiled
and rolled her eyes. She then noticed Paul . . .and screamed.
"Don't poke me with that thing again!", she hollered hysterically. Paul was
excited to see Lynn again but he didn't think he was that excited. His face
turned red. Unbeknowns to him, nurse Maryjo had entered the room
behind him with another needle. Lynn began to jump around and scream
even louder as the nurse closed in. Paul was wondering "what the hell ?"

Meanwhile, back at "Paul's Cave", the tide was rising faster than usual.
Two sneaker waves crashed into the small opening that Paul had dug out
with his own two hands, enlarging the entrance so that seawater now
poured into and out of the cave at regular intervals, washing away some
of the sandy floor as it went.
If one would look closely, one could see the rectangular shape of a box or
chest materialize right out of the swirling sands.

The next few weeks were so busy that Paul didn't have as much time as he wanted to visit Lynn in the hospital. He had returned to the sea cave,
discovering the chest buried in the floor near the entrance. Two more days
went by until he was able to free it and move it without getting over-run
by the rising tides. Back at his cottage, he kept the chest submerged in
salt water that he replenished daily. He was not yet ready to open it, and
he did not want the air to ruin anything about it until he was ready.
On one of his few visits to the hospital he had given Lynn the "Blue" dog
collar that he had found on his first visit to the cave. She had immediately
become quiet, . . .then tears rolled down her cheeks.
Seems the collar had belonged to the mate of the dog whose ashes she
now sought to disperse ! How ironic !

Paul returned to the hospital after finally catching up on some rest, only to
find that Lynn had checked out and gone home. He drove down to where
she had rented a cabin and that too proved futile.
On his way back to the cottage he stopped and picked up a nice bottle of
red wine, some Tillamook cheese, and some red delicious apples. Right
now he just wanted to sit out on his deck overlooking the ocean and ask
himself "What if ?"
After parking the truck, he decided to check for mail and messages in the
lobby, and was surprised to find a letter waiting for him.

In his cottage he opened the bottle of wine, poured himself a glass, then
opened the letter. It was from Lynn.

"Dear Paul,

Time has passed us by this time around. That's okay. Hopefully there will
be other chances. Thank you for helping out and being there, especially
for Angela. I took the dog's ashes down to Paul's Cave, (yes ,yours), and
spread them all around inside. Since then I have had no more bad dreams
about the dogs or hauntings of any kind. Thank you for bringing the collar
to me in the hospital. It seems to have been the cure. I can now go home
and tell my dying friend that the mission was successful. In case you ever
make it back to your cave, I left something there for you . . .that I think
you will like. Take care my friend, may we meet again. Love, Lynn. "

Lynn was pleased to be home even though she had always felt more at home when she was at the coast. The trip had been a nightmare for her, so it was nice to be in the comforts of her own home again as she recovered. Still on crutches, however with the promise a walking cast soon, Lynn was anxious to return to a more normal routine that freed her hands up by not having to hold onto crutches constantly.

Angela had just arrived, she stopped by to make sure that Lynn had everything she needed. They got to visiting over a cold beer and somehow Paul was mentioned. Lynn told her that she hadn’t seen him for a couple of days leading up to her dispatch from the hospital and with no way of contacting him the only thing she could think to do was leave something for him in the cave, followed by a letter that thanked him for his kindness. She mailed it to address he’d been staying at during his vacation, but she had no idea if he’d received the letter. She included a return address on it all the same…only time would tell.
She was excited for him to find what was hidden in the cave, perhaps he never would?

“Just what did you put in the cave for Paul? Angela asked suspicously.
Lynn smiled and said “I left a wealth of information…well, it could be a wealth of information… in the right hands that is.” She said smiling.
“Yeah, I’m hearing you skirt the issue- Lynn…tell me what the hell you left for him!?” demanded Angela (laughing).
“OK, I’ll tell you…. I left him with old tales of a buried treasure!” Lynn continued on relaying a ledgend from the Clatsop Indians. Tale has it that there was not only a Spanish ship that ran aground aground carrying a cargo of beeswax, but also of another ship that had anchored offshore of the Neahkahnie mountain just north of Mazanita. This dates way back to the 1600’s Lynn affirmed.

“People are still finding chuncks of beeswax to this day, with some of it on display in the Tillamook County Museum. But there’s more to the story if you have the time to spare?” Lynn asked knowing that Angela probably needed to get home and cook dinner for her family.

“I have the time! Cough it up! I’m getting another beer…you want one?”
“No thank you”….and with that, Lynn continued the story of what she had left for Paul in the cave. Angela learned that not only was there hunks of beeswax on display in the museum, but also a rock that had been found on the Neahkahnie mountain. Rocks that appeared to have some sort of cryptic map carved into them.

“Treasure Maps!!! Oh My God!!” Angela shouted clapping her hands

“Shhhh, let me finish” she asked….
Lynn was getting to the most exciting part of the ledgend, the part about the ship that had anchored offshore. According to the indian ledgends, a crew of men landed on the beach with treasure and buried it in the side of the Neahkahnie mountain. The treasure still unfound to this day, but is said to be guarded by the ghost of a black man that was killed and buried along with the treasure. The spot where the treasure was buried was marked by an inscribed rock. But, was it the same rock that was found on the Neahkahnie mountain that was now on disply in the museum? Regardless, the treasure was still ripe for the finding.

“So who know’s maybe Paul will be the lucky guy that finds the treasure! There have certainly been 1000’s of men that tried before him, with some still actively looking. Paul’s a smart guy! He’ll probably google the information, try to decipher fact from fiction and go looking for it. I hope he finds it Ang!”

Angela said “You’re pulling my leg! Aren’t you?”

“Find out for yourself” was all Lynn said. She smiled, and then stuck her tongue out at Angela……

He still had an hour of daylight left and that was all he needed. She had
piqued his curiosity. He laughed, thinking about what she might have left
behind in the cave for him. Quickly he jumped into his bathing suit and
running shoes and was down to the shoreline in less than five minutes,
running at a comfortable lope towards Lost Boy Cave. The weather had
gone from beautiful to forbodding, with rain expected any minute. He
reached LBC and headed out into the breakers for "Paul's Cave". The tide
was just beginning to rise as he splashed his way up to the cave's entrance
and crawled on in. Immediately he began to laugh.

Leaning against the back wall was a severed leg cast, probably the original
cast she had on when he went to visit her in the hospital. By now she
would have a second or third cast, maybe even a walking cast. On the
cast were all of the signatures of all her acquaintances, including his little
ditty. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, cliffs can kill, some of us, But not the
lady, from the Inn, . . .a cool one, . . this one . .Lynn."

Beside the cast were two envelopes. One was rather large and one quite
small. He opened the smaller one. Inside there was only a single snap-
shot. But what a picture ! It was Lynn in a teddy, waving hi or goodbye,
he couldn't tell, but looking very nice indeed. (God, I'd like to . . . he
thought to himself). On the back was an address and phone number,
which suddenly made this little momento even more valueable. He care-
fully put the picture aside and turned to the big envelope. Opening it, he
found that Lynn had given him some information on a another possible
treasure here in the Pacfic Northwest. He was elated to think that she
would go out of her way to do something like this. Damn, she was some-
thing else !

Gathering up everything he headed back to the beach, holding his arms
high above his head to keep the water from touching his prizes. As he
walked down the beach to his cottage he could feel the wind picking up,
the rain right behind it. Just as he turned the key, big puffy raindrops
began to plop all around him. Paul slipped inside, laying everything on the
kitchen table, and made his way to the living room, where his glass of wine
still waited. Ahh, he drank it down and poured another. He cut thick slabs
of cheese and thin slices of apple and sat them next to the wine. He then
sat down in the easy chair and began to relax. He ate. He listened to the
rain. He drank some more wine. He then re-read Lynn's letter. He looked
at her picture. More wine. Louder rain ! Peacefulness. Sleep . . .


They lay together on the bed, facing each other, looking into each others
eyes. The rain came down in torrents, noisily. Suddenly the window
directly above their heads blew open, bringing wind and rain in and onto
them. A second window that faced the cliffs now blew open, blowing the
curtains in all directions, covering them with pelting raindrops. She
started to reach for the window above them but he held her in place,
kissing her firmly on the lips. She laughed lightly as he kissed her neck
and chest. The rain was now soaking them, battering them, and still they
held tightly, preventing each other from moving. She was trying to pull his
shirt off, and he was thinking about losing that Teddy. They were wet and
wild, just like the wind and rain, but they were laughing together.
Ahhh, . . . .to dream.

The next morning Paul awoke to find himself still in the easy chair. The
rain continued to beat down on the deck outside, showing no inclination
whatsoever of ever stopping.
It would be a good day to stay inside. He turned on the fireplace, then
went to the kitchen to make some eggs, toast, and coffee. Lynn's
informational packet was there on the table and he made a mental note
to look through everything after breakfast.

The smell of fresh coffee drifted through the cottage.

The eggs were simply delicious.

It continued to pour buckets outside.


Down on the beach, two dogs romped together in the rain, chasing each
other around and barking happily. No one seemed to hear them. And they
weren't easy to see. But they were there, two ghost dogs, . .wagging their
tails in friendship. Together again.

Hours later Paul finished reading all of the maps and articles Lynn had
given to him in the packet. He went to the chest he had set beside the
fireplace to dry and checked to see if it was ready to be opened. No time
like the present he told himself, carefully putting it down on the table.
Taking his small penknife in one hand, he traced over the now welded
fissures of the chest with the sharp edge of the blade, prying and cutting
at the same time. Ten minutes later a small crack began to widen, then
another. He wedged the blade partially inside and exerted as much
prying pressure as he dared. The lid popped up and open !

Inside he found an assortment of precious items. Gold rings, braclets, and
what appeared to be gold coins.

Packed snugly underneath were the Quipu and an inscribed flatstone that
appeared to be marble. These, he knew, were the real treasures. The
Quipu, or "talking knots" were made from Alpaca hair found only in Peru.
There were maybe ten or fifteen different Quipu. He wondered what
information they might contain. History, maps, directions . .whatever! He
studied the flatstone briefly, noting a jagged line that wore its way across.
A map ? Turning it over he discovered a prmitive glyphic of what looked
like a mountain, and the word "Neah-Kah-Nie". He almost dropped it !

He couldn't believe what he had just found. It was information that
related directly to the packet that Lynn had given him. About a mountain
here in Oregon. A haunted mountain at that. Strange!

He carefully put the contents of the chest in air-tight plastic bags, then
wrapped the chest in plastic sheeting. He'd take everything back with him
to study and record. Maybe he should turn everything over to the state ?
Nawwww. He'd never see it again. Better to keep it for awhile and do some
research.

In the morning he checked out and made his way to the Interstate,
heading south. As he drove he thought about what kind of vacation this
had been and came to the conclusion that this was one that he wouldn't
ever forget. He'd had a good time, lots of excitement, and he'd met alot
of nice people. Especially Lynn. He had liked her very much. She had been
the catalyst. He wished her well.
He wondered what new adventures would come from this.