The Key To the Kingdom (34 page)

Freeing Pal Mickey from his belt had become second nature. They found a dark nook alongside Grizzly Hall and huddled over the Pal Mickey to listen.

Gosh . . . Isn’t exploring fun? I can’t think of anyone I would rather be with than you, Hawk. Thanks for taking care of me with all those pirates. But now we are going to need a little luck to find the unlucky lights . . . I’ll be talking to you real soon!

Hawk clipped the toy back to his belt. “We need luck to find the unlucky lights.”

“So what is an unlucky light?”

“A light that doesn’t work . . . or a light that goes out just when you need it?”

“Do you have an idea?”

“Not yet.” His neck tingled as though he were being watched. “I’ve got to tell you though, I wish we were somewhere a little more out of sight.”

“I know what you mean.” Kiran stepped out of the alcove onto the walkway. “I promise you that Cambridge hasn’t quit looking for us.”

“Don’t you figure he thinks we slipped out with the crowds?”

“Let’s see.” Her tone dripped with sarcasm. “He spots you numerous times acting suspicious on property, he spots me with you, and since he already knows who I am, my guess would be that he decides to call it a night.”

“So the entire security force is looking for us.”

“Correct.” No sarcasm.

“Tremendous.”

“You don’t have any idea where we’re going next?”

“To the unlucky lights.”

“So that would be a no. All right, then, let’s keep moving.” She looked at him, waiting.

He joined her back on the walkway, eyes sweeping the park for anything unusual about the lights.

Nonchalantly moving along the Frontierland store fronts they headed back in the direction of Liberty Square. Their footsteps emitted a steady clunk along the boardwalk as they moved past the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade, bringing them to the edge of the Western-themed area. Now arriving back in Liberty Square they moved past the replica of the Liberty Bell and the Liberty Tree. Their walk carried them between the Liberty Tree and Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. Slowing to see if they were being watched, they decided to sit on the wall surrounding the Liberty Tree. The tree and the decorative hedges around it provided a small amount of privacy, preventing them from being seen as easily. The dim light provided by the lanterns suspended from the tree cast a soft glow over them.

“We have to figure this out,” Kiran whispered.

“I’m trying. The new clue sounded simple, but where do we find unlucky lights?”

“What makes something unlucky?”

“Well, if you believe in luck, I guess a lot of things. Broken mirrors, walking under ladders, spilling salt, stuff like that.”

“You don’t believe in luck?” Kiran quizzically leaned toward him.

“Not really.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I’m a man of faith, so I really don’t look at life as lucky or unlucky.”

“So how do you see life?”

“I believe I have been called to follow Jesus. So I live my life based on trying my best to be a God follower. If I am serious about doing that, I have to trust that the things that happen fit into God’s plan.”

“And that leaves no room for luck?”

“I guess not. Whatever happens good or bad, I remind myself God is in charge, and because He is in charge, I don’t spend a lot of time asking why. Instead I focus on what I should do or how I should react.”

“So all of this . . . this puzzle, Farren, Juliette, being chased, and even meeting me . . .?”

“Somehow fits into God’s plan,” he said softly.

Kiran hunched her shoulders. “I wish I had life figured out that way.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea, it isn’t always easy. And I am really not as good at living that way as I would like to be.”

“Tell me.” Her voice was filled with a gentle sincerity.

“Think about it like this. Here we are in Liberty Square under this tree. This represents the historical background that our country was born in. You have to know that as our founding fathers made decisions they weren’t always sure they were doing the right or best thing . . . but most good historians realize that these founders had a belief in God and that there was a divine reason to do the things they were trying to do. It had to have gotten pretty ugly, messy, and confusing, but history has proven our founders did an amazing job at setting us on course as a country.” Being here made Hawk feel something of the enormity of that responsibility. “I think that sometimes God’s plan is like that—ugly, messy, confusing—and sometimes you don’t understand it until you get the chance to look back at it later.”

“Your life and direction are a lot different than mine,” she admitted.

“God has been good to me, better than I deserve, kind of like the lights in this tree; even when it’s dark, there is just enough light to see.” Hawk shifted, causing Kiran to move away and give him some space. “Kiran, tell me about this tree.”

“Didn’t I mention it on the Keys to the Kingdom tour?”

“If you did, I don’t remember. I was distracted by my tour guide.”

“All right.” In the darkness he couldn’t tell whether she was blushing, but she sounded like she was. “The Liberty Tree is a huge oak tree that was originally found on the property in the initial phases of construction. When it was moved it made history as one of the largest trees ever to be relocated. The reason it was placed here was to continue a tradition established in Colonial America where each town would choose a tree as the symbol of its fight for independence. It was more than symbolic though, it also became the town’s meeting place. History talks about these liberty trees as the place the Sons of Liberty would gather.”

“What about the lanterns?”

“They automatically come on at dusk. And there’s a lantern tied to the tree for each of the original colonies.”

“And how many original colonies were there?” Hawk asked with a smile crossing his face.

“Thirteen.” Kiran’s voice conveyed her excitement.

Standing to their feet they both turned to face the tree. Hawk moved his lips, whispering the numbers as he counted. One, two, three . . . Kiran jabbed the air in the direction of each lantern. Nine . . . ten . . . eleven . . . Now Hawk was up and physically circling the tree to complete his count. He ended up on the opposite side of where he and Kiran had been sitting moments before.

“Twelve and thirteen,” he whispered with more volume. “Thirteen is certainly an unlucky number. Thirteen lanterns would be unlucky light.”

Hawk now stood under the tree in front of a bronze marker explaining the significance of the tree and the history behind it.

“Ha-ha!”

Kiran quickly moved around the tree to meet Hawk.

“I suppose Jesus and not luck caused us to stop right here,” she teased as she waited for him to free Mickey.

“Believe what you want. I don’t believe in luck.” He winked as he applied pressure to activate the voice of the mouse.

“You’re doing terrrrrific! But we have to keep looking because we have more to find. So watch out, don’t pout, and don’t cry. Let me tell you why! Walt’s grandfather has left you a gift. Find it quick, but be careful. I imagine there are a lot of people chasing us by now, and that can be a
huge
problem. But don’t worry, I once got seven with one blow; I’ll be here to help you, pal.”

Kiran’s eyes were dancing with excitement. Hawk saw the look on her face and had no idea what she was reacting to. Eagerly she waited for him to put Mickey back into place before she grabbed his arm, jerking him around toward the gift shop side of the Liberty Tree.

“Have you figured it out?” Hawk asked.

“Maybe!”

“What does it mean?”

“It is the one thing you didn’t learn on the Keys to the Kingdom tour.”

“I think . . .” Hawk stalled, trying to think of a detail she hadn’t revealed on the tour. “It was a very thorough tour, I can’t think of anything you didn’t tell us.”

“Oh, come on!” Playfully she slapped him on the arm. “What was the very last thing you asked me about that day?”

Suddenly the memory came to him. “Kepple. You didn’t tell me about the name Kepple!”

“Right.” She brimmed with enthusiasm, “Kepple is the name on Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe. The name is on the section that looks like a home.”

The entrance was directly across from where they stood beside the Liberty Tree. From this vantage point Hawk could see the small blue wooden heart fastened to the wall beside the door. The name in white letters read Kepple: the unanswered bit of trivia from the tour where he had first met Kiran.

“So tell me, why was the name Kepple chosen for the shop?”

“You really don’t know?”

“If I knew, would I have asked?”

“I’m just surprised. You seem to know a lot of Disney history, and I just figured—”

“Will you please tell me what is important about the name Kepple!”

“Sorry,” Kiran apologized. “Kepple is the name of Walt Disney’s grandfather.”

Suddenly the newest clue began sliding into place.
Walt’s grandfather has left you a gift
. Now he knew that the grandfather’s name was Kepple.
Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe
would be an obvious place to find a gift.
Watch out, don’t pout, and don’t cry . . . let me tell you why
was a reference to Santa Claus, meaning the next clue had to be inside the home portion of the shop. Kiran had already moved to the doorway of the shop. Hawk quickly moved over and stood next to her.

“Now all we have to do is get inside.”

After the park closed, the doors to the gift shops were closed and locked. During the course of the night maintenance crews might move in and out, occasionally doing the necessary cleanup from the previous day’s business. Kiran twisted the doorknob of the shop and it didn’t give.

“Locked.”

Hawk smugly stepped forward and took the key to the kingdom from his pocket. Sliding it into the lock he found it didn’t fit just right and it would not move once he had managed to finagle it into place.

“So the magic key isn’t always magic.” Kiran suppressed a laugh.

“It isn’t a magic key,” Hawk corrected her, feeling deflated. “It’s a kingdom key.”

He moved off toward the left and headed around to the back of the building. This was the same area he and Kiran had managed to hide from Reginald in earlier in the evening. Silently he moved to the door on this side. It was also locked. Once again he tried his key and the results were the same. Kiran had followed him and moved past to check a door further up.

“Hawk!” Kiran whispered loudly as she motioned for him to join her. “We just found our way in!”

Through the glass panes of the door he saw a cast member wearing a maintenance uniform entering on the front side of the building.

As they cautiously moved back toward the main entrance of the shop, Kiran whispered, “Still don’t believe in luck?”

“Nope, I still don’t believe in luck.”

As they confidently strolled through the front door, the unsuspecting custodian saw them. She jumped and yelped.

“Don’t mind us,” Kiran said enthusiastically. “We’re running a bit later than we had planned, but we won’t be in your way.”

“Nobody’s supposed to be—” The custodial cast member’s gaze settled on the Imagineer name badge Hawk wore.

“We’ll only be a few minutes,” Kiran continued her bluff. “We’re supposed to be looking at a few props and some theme details.”

“Do you want me to come back when you are done?”

“No.” Hawk waved off her concern. “We’ll let you know when we leave. We just need to take a quick look, sorry to be in your way.”

“Not a problem.” The woman smiled and moved aside so they could pass.

Hawk and Kiran stepped into the home-styled section of the Christmas shop.

“Watch out, don’t cry, don’t pout,” he whispered to her as they looked around. “Lets find the next clue and get out of here.”

On a normal day Hawk would have spent a great deal of time looking at all the Christmas decorations and gifts crowding the shelves and tables here. As far as Hawk was concerned, Christmas was, as the old song stated, the most wonderful time of the year.