Page 29 - The Muse 2021

After another hour had passed, and I finally had thought of the clue. “Where knowledge is all around and animals surround you,” had to be the Museum of Natural History. “Look for where the bears are interested in a log,” had to be one of the animal diorama exhibits.
“I got it!” I shouted.
“Really?” Cole said in a surprised voice.
“Yes. This is where we go our separate ways after all this is an individual competition.”
“Alright, for a point there I forgot it was individual.”
I knew he was going to follow me once I left the statue. There was a lady who was walking past me up the stairs
on my way down. She looked determined to get to the top of the statue and find the next clue. She had blonde hair and brown eyes. She walked right past me without saying a word. I made my way out of the statue past the man sitting at the desk.
“You have a good day,” I said to the man.
“Thank you. Did everything go ok?” he replied.
“Yes. Maybe I'll see you around sometime.”
Max had delivered left because when I walked out to the docks of the island, I couldn't see his boat anywhere. It
would have been nice if he could have waited and picked me up. But I knew he had to do other things, but it was a nice thought. My only other option was to wait to buy a ticket for the ferry. I couldn't understand why the ferry was so busy if the statue was closed for the day and then I realized, the ferry was going to Staten Island. That's why all the other competitors were showing up so late. None of the ferries were stopping at the island. How was I going to get off it? My mind started to race. I was going into a nervous panic. I was sitting on the edge of the dock watching the waves hit the wall of the island. They were creating bigger waves going up and down, up and down, up and down. A small boat came past the island multiple times. Each time looking at me each time. It circled around about three times. Finally, it stopped and the man on the boat asked me a question.
“What are you doing sitting on that dock looking so lonesome,” The man asked.
“No ferries are coming to the island. I came over on a friend’s boat but then he left and now I'm stuck here.” “Well, that's not very good. Would you like a ride?”
“That would be great.”
Right before we left the docks, I heard a big thump. We thought nothing of it and decided to just go towards New
York. While we were on the boat, I got to know the man better. He was a fisherman who caught all different kinds of fish around New York, ranging from Sea Robins to Carp. He was an interesting person whose name was John. He dropped me off at the docks in the city. I told him my situation.
“Wow,” he responded, “you're really doing all that just for a bookstore?”
“Yes,” I responded.
‘If I want to read, I'll just go buy my book online. If I ever want to read. Why not just watch tv?”
Suddenly my picture of John changed. People like him were the reason the bookstore is closing. I was going to be
polite to him because after all he was helping me out.
I said to him “I like to read real books, sure I like tv but books are just incredible.”
John responded “Well I guess it's just down to personal preference whether someone likes to read or not. “Here we are.”
We had reached the dock.
“Thank you for your hospitality,” I said
“You are very welcome.”
I got off the boat and looked for the nearest subway entrance. The Museum of Natural History was near central
park. I could have walked but it would have taken a very long time. I boarded the subway and there was a man repeating stuff to himself quietly out loud. I could only hear a few words he was saying because he was speaking very softly.
“Excuse me sir, what are you saying?” I asked.
“I guess I’ll tell you there'll be no harm done. I've entered this competition to win 50,000 dollars and give it to a small business of my choice.”
“I couldn't believe it. What are the odds I would run into a person in the competition? At the Statue of Liberty, the only people there were working and competitors.
“See there's a set of clues and I'm having trouble figuring the first one out. The clue is where the bronze statue stands at the top if it will be your next clue. I think it's the charging bull statue. You know the one in the financial district.”
“I'm going to give you just a small little tip,” I said. “It's a big statue and you are heading in the wrong direction.” “Ok, thank you, is it the Statue of Liberty?”
“I'm not going to tell you that's all the help I'm going to give you.”
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