Written by Kelsey Smith
Illustrated by Kian Amos & Barbra Daly
"She grabbed her toothbrush in the bathroom and looked at the old mirror. It wasn’t her. It was the reflection of a skeleton."
1,263,113 bricks of Castle Heinz were moved from a small German village to the tiny Texas Hill Country town of Weber. The hill it was placed upon looked over the town and basked in the glow of the rising sun. The original owner, Sir Johann Heinz (no relation to the ketchup company), built the castle to showcase his vast wealth and hide a rumored family treasure. Soon after the castle was rebuilt in Texas, he mysteriously died. Time passed, the castle was abandoned, restored, reabandoned, and eventually converted to The Hotel Heinz the world knows and loves today around the 1950s.
And soon enough, many years later, tourists drove in from about everywhere to see one of the most authentic castles in the Lone Star State. Weber became the unsung gem of travel in all of Texas as proclaimed by USA Travel for its beautiful views and friendly locals. More tourists flooded into The Hotel Heinz for weddings, conventions, and festivals. Tourists like Minnie Mueller.
Minnie Muller drove three hours from her college with her cat, Pumpkin, to The Hotel Heinz for The Bluebonnet Book Festival. Her favorite author Noelle Williams was the headliner, and she couldn’t miss the chance for Noelle Williams to reveal her next book.
She pulled up to the hotel and Pumpkin ran ahead on her harness, almost pulling Minnie’s arm out of its socket. Minnie caught up and picked Pumpkin up so she wouldn’t get away. Pumpkin ears flattened.
A tour guide almost bumped into Minnie, leading a large group like a flock of migrating birds. He raised his red flag in the air and motioned them forward, “I know you loved our talks on the secret passages here and Sir Johann’s ghost! But sadly, we must move on. In the next room, is the Heinz Mirror. Legend says it’s a secret door and leads to an underground room in the castle, but we haven’t found any proof. But if any of you find any treasure in that secret room, don’t forget to tip me on your way out.”
Minnie went up to the desk and rang the bell. A young woman came out of a door and waved.
“Hi, I’m Minnie Muller.” Minnie perched on her feet, trying to see over the counter. “I booked a night here.”
“Ooo!” She typed on the keyboard. “For the Bluebonnet Book Festival.”
“Yes.” Minnie smiled.
She pressed enter and opened a drawer. “Are you excited? I hope I can catch some of it, but I might have to man the desk.”
“Maybe you can slip out when no one’s looking.”
“Thanks.” She giggled and dropped the key in Minnie’s hand. “You and your kitty friend are in the study room. Sir Johann used to—well, the name explains it.”
“Thank you.”
Minnie went to the brand new elevator and got a peek of the next room the tour guide was talking about. 19th century restored furniture and décor were scattered around the room, making it look like something out of her grandma’s living room. A giant crystal chandelier spanned a quarter of the room. The mirror the tour guide mentioned scaled the wall as if it were an enormous painting, and its weathered golden frame stretched from the floor to a couple of feet below the ceiling.
Minnie’s own room reeked like an old seventies motel. The bed was a small twin with an old quilt that needed to be dusted and the window had a layer of dust so thick she almost mistook it for frosting. On the wall, was a small portrait of Sir Johann as a young man in a purple suit with his brown hair pulled back in a bun.
“Whoa. This wasn’t anything like the website said.” Minnie undid Pumpkin’s harness, and when Pumpkin jumped on the bed, a cloud of dust sprung up.
Pumpkin’s whiskers drooped and sent a stare to Minnie.
“Don’t look at me like that. We can’t change rooms. The whole hotel is booked.”
Pumpkin jumped from the bed and walked to the door, rubbing against Minnie’s leg. She subsequently pawed on the door and meowed. “Ok.” Minnie clipped on Pumpkin’s harness. “We can hit the festival early.”
Down the elevator, Minnie followed the noise to the outside. That was always how she found her way to people. She walked through the fancy room adjacent to the lobby and stopped when what she thought was a skeleton flickered in the mirror. She clutched Pumpkin’s leash.
She and Pumpkin approached the mirror. Whatever she saw was gone.
She thought, They probably used that in the tours to get more money out of people.
She started to feel what was behind the frame. “I wonder.”
“Hey! No touching!”
Minnie jumped and grabbed Pumpkin. It was the tour guide from earlier. “Sorry…”
“Carter. Carter Fischer.”
"Sorry, I overheard your tour when I was checking in.”
“Oh the secret door? But don’t obsess over it. I’ve tried opening the mirror myself dozens of times. Really want to find that secret treasure. Haven’t found a way to open it since my family made me get a summer job here. Too bad Johann was a master builder. You and your cat going to the festival?”
Minnie nodded.
“It’s this way.” He pointed to the door down a long hallway. “Have fun!”
“Aren’t you going?”
“No, I have another tour at three. Hopefully, I can persuade more guests that Johann’s ghost exists than the last tour.”
Minnie and Pumpkin explored the festival. She went through the book tent as Pumpkin chased after a leaf and got some looks from people who had never seen a cat on a harness. Soon dusk snuck over the bright blue Texas sky, and the cicadas chirped their country tunes. Minnie whacked away some mosquitoes that tried to bite her, but one may have gotten her on the elbow.
Minnie’s scratched Pumpkin behind the ears as Noelle Williams revealed her new book The Quest for Everything. Minnie pressed her fist against her jaw. The book was the same thing everyone else was writing about. So and so had to go on an adventure to defeat an evil force, all while dealing with newfound powers.
Later that night, Minnie rolled on the bed. “Well that was ‘eh.’ Too bad Noelle Williams was a letdown. Maybe I should’ve stayed back and worked on homework.” She touched Pumpkin on the nose while Pumpkin started to knead on the sheets. “How about some shuteye?”
She got under the sheets and brought Pumpkin close, her purring making her sound like a snoring bear.
“Rats. Forgot to brush my teeth.”
She grabbed her toothbrush in the bathroom and looked at the old mirror. It wasn’t her. It was the reflection of a skeleton.
Minnie dropped her toothbrush. “What the—”
The skeleton spoke, “I am Sir Johann Heinz. The original owner of this castle. I need your help.”
Minnie pinched her arm. She felt the expected jolt of pain, but this had to be a trick. “I don’t know what this is, but if there are special effects in my room, I’m going—I’m going to not recommend my friends come here!”
“I’m no trick.” He pressed his bony fingers on the mirror. “I am the ghost of Sir Johann Heinz. Please, I implore you to help me to protect my family’s treasure.”
“This isn’t real...”
His hand came out of the mirror, and he whisked out the mirror in a red mist and hovered over Pumpkin. Pumpkin woke up with red eyes instead of her beautiful caramel.
“Pumpkin!” Maisy ran to the bed.
His voice came out of Pumpkin’s mouth, “Since you believe me now. Please follow quickly. Being in a cat will be useful soon.”
Pumpkin waved her paw, and the door opened on its own. Pumpkin glanced back, and Johann spoke again, “Are you coming? We do not have much time. The descendant found out how to get to my treasure and will try tonight.”
Minnie just gave a nod. A thought blazed through her mind about staying, but she ran out of the door instead. Pumpkin was possessed, and the only way to get her back was to help Johann. Pumpkin raced ahead while she lightly treaded on the carpet down the stairs. When Minnie got to the bottom of the stairs, Pumpkin whisked down the hall towards the mirror.
Minnie traced the grooves of the frame. A person traced them all by hand for months and months. She touched the mirror and a cold shiver sizzled through her fingertip.
Johann’s voice broke the silence, “Hold on to my—Pumpkin’s tail. Don’t let go.”
Pumpkin touched the mirror and the glass rippled like a pond. Minnie held onto Pumpkin’s tail and tried not to hold on too tight. Pumpkin walked through the glass, and Minnie rushed through the glass, a fresh wind washing over her face.
Inside the mirror, was a compact hallway that reflected a lot of light. They walked down a shiny stairwell, and at the bottom was a poorly lit room. Another fresh wind swept over her face. It was another mirror.
Minnie gasped. Mountains of books filled the room. Kerosene lamps illuminated the perfectly preserved covers layered in a veil of dust and cobwebs. There was lost Shakespeare, scrolls from the library of Alexandria, and any other kind of book or knowledge that was considered dead. For all of this time, the world thought its forgotten history was gone forever, and it was buried under The Hotel Heinz.
Pumpkin jumped on one of the book towers and looked into Minnie’s eyes and Johann said, “This is my treasure. My family has collected these books for centuries, protecting them from war, thieves, and anything else that threatens their existence. That’s why I moved the castle here to keep it safe. Like all the others who came before, that terrible family wanted to destroy this secret knowledge that way they could keep their hold on power.”
Minnie turned around. The tour guide was right. The mirror was a door. “Who are these people—” she muffled herself. Someone else was there.
Footsteps plodded behind Minnie onto the cobbled stone floor. It was Carter the tour guide.
“The people who caused Sir Johann to have a mysterious demise after drinking a cup of warm tea. Some historians say it was from old age, but the Fischer family all knows he was poisoned. No need to tip me on your way out.”
Pumpkin hissed and hunched her back up. “Carter Fischer.”
“Carter?”
He chuckled. “Yes, Carter Fischer. Nice to meet you again, Minnie wasn’t it? I see you teamed up with Mr. Skeleton.”
Minnie jumped in front of the books. “You will never steal them”
“Books are a funny thing. Some hold lies, but most hold truth. Like these lost treasures. Books are powerful, and I rather not let them fall into the right hands. My family still lurks in the shadows, but truth—truth is the most dangerous thing that threatens our power.” He turned off the lamp and ripped the bottom half from the wall. He sprayed the liquid on the books and took out a lighter. He flipped the cap off and flickered a flame.
Oh no. Kerosene, she thought.
“No!” Minnie and Johann screamed.
Carter threw the lighter into the books and an inferno erupted.
“Finally,” he grumbled, “You have protected this treasure for centuries, but you’ve failed tonight. My family has won.”
Johann screamed, “No!”
Carter took a book and jumped through the mirror. “Good luck protecting your precious treasure from the fire!” He threw the book and shattered the mirror into a million pieces of glass.
The fire took fires across the kerosene, crumbling the papers into ashes. Minnie grabbed the scrolls and the books and collected as many as she could hold, but she looked at Pumpkin. Johann revealed himself from the cat as a full phantom, and he looked just like a faded version of his portrait.
“It’s fine. Take the cat. Leave. Go through that shard. It’s large enough for the both of you.”
Minnie dropped the books. “What about you?”
“A captain goes down with the ship.” When he realized it was not enough to move her. “I’m a ghost. Like it or not, I want to be with the books until they burn! Just leave!” he softened his tone, “I’ll be fine.”
She picked up Pumpkin and stood before the mirror shard. The fire raged and blazed as hot as one of the sun’s solar flares. She waved. “Goodbye, Johann.”
She closed her eyes and took a breath. She whispered into Pumpkin’s ears, “Come on Pumpkin, we’re checking out early.” Minnie held onto Pumpkin tight and jumped into the mirror shard.
Comentarios