Chapter 1 — The Stone

“I wonder what time it is,” she thought. The quiet that filled her grandparents’ home made her think it was early. The sunlight made it seem later. She glanced at her clock. It was 10:00 in the morning! How could everyone have let her sleep so late?

She stretched again, got out of bed, and began to dress for the day. Surely by now people would be up. Her younger cousins should be up and running around. The quiet was beginning to bother her. It was so different from everyone’s noisy arrival yesterday.

“Maybe they are all playing outside,” she thought.

She wandered through the silent rooms and arrived at the kitchen without seeing anyone.

“A note,” she thought. “Now maybe I’ll find out where everyone is.”

She picked up the paper and read: “We need your help, follow the blue stone.”

“The blue stone,” thought Sharon. “What blue stone?”

She looked back at the table where the note had been. There was a small blue stone on the table. It had been hidden under the note. As she lifted it off the table she realized it was attached to a gold chain. The blue stone was the pendant of a necklace.