The Traveling Coin

By Lisa Griffiths

Can Alice find out what it is? How long can she keep her travels hidden from her mother? Will the evil Mr. Wong haunt her in more than just her dreams?
Follow Alice’s adventures with a magical coin as well as her journey from an ordinary kid with an annoying brother, soccer practices, and otherwise middle school life through her trips to the past which will leave her forever changed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lisa Griffiths
• Release date: Nov 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9780990897019

Lisa Griffiths

Lisa M. Griffiths is the author of Creepy Shorts, a collection of spooky bedtime stories, and The Traveling Coin/Margeaux’s Secret. A fascination with the paranormal, macabre, and mythology influences her writings. She lives in California with her family and faithful dog. She is currently working on Book 3 of The Traveling Coin series.

Book preview

The Traveling Coin

Margeaux’s Secret

Lisa M. Griffiths

Cover Art by Brittany Ciauri

Copyright 2019

All rights reserved

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 978-0-9908970-1-9

License Notes

This eBook is intended for your personal enjoyment

It cannot be resold or given to another person

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to events, places, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental

Author’s Note

Let me first say that this book started off as a short story assignment. It took on a life of its own, as stories sometimes do, and I followed along without complaint. Along the way, I had lots of suggestions, creative input, and just plain help. I am very appreciative for so many people. And while most are the usual suspects, who include my family, friends, and everyone from writing class, there were a few unexpected souls who left their marks. One such person deserves a shout-out: the elderly gentleman whom I saw walking every day with a stick, tap-taping it on the sidewalk. By watching him, I created his background history in my mind. My kids affectionately named him Stickman and we came to look forward to his wrinkly smile. I thank him for inspiring the creation of one of my characters.

A huge thanks must also go to Brittany Ciauri for her wonderful cover artwork. I count myself lucky to know an individual who takes my writing and creates a fantastic visual.

Chapter 1

Alice Hammond wouldn’t normally look through someone else’s stuff without permission. But today she was just too curious.

Margeaux, Alice’s mother, had been in her study going through the contents of an old trunk. She left the house with a quick, I’ll be right back, and went to help their neighbor sort out some paperwork. Alice peeked into the study, eyeing the open trunk. This was where her mom kept some of her childhood things: a small music box, a toy panda bear, and lots of diaries.

It was the pile of secret writings that interested Alice. Sometimes her mom would read a few pages to her and receive lots of laughs in return. It was during these times that Alice felt a bond with Margeaux. Her mom would eventually stop reading, saying that Alice wasn’t old enough to understand the rest of it.

Like what? Alice would ask herself. Sometimes she thought that the diaries might help her find something in common with her mom. They were so different, Margeaux and Alice.

They looked alike, with blonde hair and hazel eyes, but that’s where the similarities ended. Alice was athletic, impulsive; she couldn’t resist an adventure and had been hurt many times climbing trees or trying a trick on a skateboard. Margeaux was quiet and reserved; everything she did seemed thought out and well planned. Alice didn’t think her mom had a spontaneous bone in her body. She figured she was more like her dad, funny and fun to be around.

She was still staring at the trunk as if cast in a spell. She really wanted to see some of those diaries. Would it hurt to just take a look at a couple of them? I’m almost the same age now as she was when she wrote most of these. Doesn’t that count as old enough?

Alice felt a tingle of excitement, which made her palms sweaty. Leaning over the trunk, she noticed a small, red-velvet pouch among the diaries inside. She picked it up carefully and pulled open the drawstring to reveal an old, bronze-colored coin. It was quite large, about the size of a quarter. It had some Asian characters on one side and a relief of a panda bear on the other. The weight and coolness of the coin felt good in her hand.

She looked at the collection of diaries, closed her eyes, and reached into the trunk snatching up the first book she touched. She opened her eyes to examine it. It was about an inch thick, smaller than a notebook, and covered in some very dated fabric.

Alice could feel her heart hammering away in her chest. It was now or never. She opened it and flipped through the pages, watching the inked handwriting swoosh by. She went back to the very front and looked at the first page. It looked like a title page. In big, neat letters across the middle was written:

MARGEAUX’S DIARY JOURNAL

Alice laughed a little at how the word ‘diary’ had been crossed out. She remembered her mom explaining once that when you got old enough, your diary became your journal.

Turning the page, Alice read the date at the top and scanned the sentences quickly. Her mom was twelve when she wrote this. Alice noticed, with a twinge of jealousy, that the handwriting was much neater than her own. But there wasn’t anything interesting written, just some comments about the weather and excitement over the end of school and summer vacation coming up. She noticed that her mom used a lot of exclamation points.

She was just about to put the book back when she decided to flip ahead a few pages. It was July and Margeaux was getting ready to take a trip with her grandparents to San Francisco. Alice always liked listening to her mom talk about some of the trips she went on with her Grammy and Grampy. They took Margeaux to an interesting place for a week every summer.

Alice was anxious to read about San Francisco, so she skipped ahead of the introduction of weather and details of food at a roadside diner.

The weirdest thing happened after we got checked in to our room. I opened the bedside table drawer and found an envelope. It didn’t have a name on it, and it was sealed, but I opened it anyway. Grammy and Grampy were on the balcony, so they didn’t see. There was a note inside and a sticker of a panda. The note said to put the sticker on and go to the Ming Chen store on Grant Avenue in Chinatown on Wednesday at 1:00. I wonder which Wednesday they mean. It isn’t signed at the bottom or anything, but the writing is curly and fancy. I don’t know why I didn’t show it to Grammy and Grampy. It’s my own little secret! But tomorrow is Wednesday!!! Should I try to get them to take me there? What if it’s not 1:00 in the afternoon, but in the morning? It’s just like the stuff that happens in mystery books. Bye for now, M

Alice looked up from the journal entry. This just didn’t sound like her mom at all. It really sounded more like Alice herself, curious and looking for excitement. She would have jumped at the chance to find out more.

Alice hadn’t noticed that the coin she still held in her hand had become warm. She absently rubbed it between her fingers and stared at her mom’s handwriting. I wish I was there, she said softly. She became instantly dizzy as everything went dark and closed her eyes tightly.

Alice thought she was going to throw up when she opened her eyes. She was in a hotel room and could hear someone unlocking the door. Panicking, she ran to a closet next to the bathroom and hid. She swayed for a moment trying to get her head to stop spinning. She had no idea where she was.

Wasn’t that the best breakfast? asked a voice that sounded like an older man.

If that’s what they get to eat for breakfast in France, then that’s where I want to go someday, said the voice of a young girl.

Alice was squished in the closet with a suitcase and some jackets. She was trying her best not to make any sounds, but it was quickly getting stuffy.

Then she heard an older woman’s voice say, Margeaux, what would you like to do today? We could take a city tour or do some walking around.

Alice put her ear near the door to try to hear more clearly. She used all her willpower not to jump out of the closet and see these people for herself. Strange as it was, she somehow knew who they were: her mom at twelve years old visiting San Francisco with her grandparents.

Oh, I dunno, said Margeaux, a little too casually. What about Chinatown? They have little shops there on Grant Avenue. I looked it up in your travel guide.

Sure, we can do that, said Margeaux’s grandma.

Alice’s senses heightened as she tried to grasp what had happened. Just then, the closet door opened. Margeaux’s grandfather reached in to get a hanger, and Alice took a quick intake of breath. He stopped while his eyes moved around the closet. He shrugged his shoulder, put his jacket on the hanger, hung it on the rod, and walked away without closing the door.

Alice stayed as frozen as a statue. How did he not see me? she thought. The coin in her hand felt hot now, and she put it in her pocket. She didn’t know what to do but wait.

An hour had gone by, and Alice could wait no longer. She needed some fresh air. Carefully and quietly, she inched out of the closet and looked around the room. Grammy was looking through some brochures while Grampy was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. Sitting on one of the beds was Margeaux. She was arranging things in a small, green backpack. She looked very much like Alice did now, but with longer hair. It was so strange for Alice to be standing across the room looking at the kid version of her mom.

Margeaux’s head snapped up, eyes landing on Alice. She didn’t seem to see her; Alice waved, just to make sure, but nothing happened.

She slowly realized just what Margeaux was doing with that backpack and why she wanted to go to Chinatown. She’s going to go to that store with the sticker on her shirt! Is she crazy?

Well, let’s get moving, said Grampy as he held the door open.

They made their way out of the room, and on impulse, Alice moved quickly to be as close to Margeaux as she could. It was an awkward move, and she bumped her shoulder on the doorjamb clenching her teeth to hold in a yelp.

They started by walking north on Second Street. Three blocks later at Market Street, they turned left. Alice had never been to San Francisco or seen so many people walking around.

Grampy would point out the architecture of some of the old buildings while they walked; he complained about how the new buildings didn’t look good at all. Alice watched her mother. Margeaux didn’t even look like she was paying attention. There were a lot of distractions though: street musicians, the homeless people pushing carts, and the trinket vendors on the sidewalks. One particularly grungy man smiled in Alice’s direction with a toothless grin and tipped an invisible hat. Can he see me? She kept looking back at him until he was completely out-of-sight.

An hour went by as they walked the streets. They ate lunch at Lori’s Diner on the corner of Sutter and Powell streets. Alice wasn’t able to squeeze through the door with her mom. She waited a moment and took a chance by opening the door herself. As she slid through, she heard a man nearby say, That was weird. It’s not even windy.

It was a 50s diner, and Alice loved the music that played on the jukebox. She could tell that her mom was enjoying it too, as she bobbed her head in time to the song that was playing. The food looked good, but the milkshakes looked even better. It was hard work to stay out of the way; she made sure she kept her back pressed against a wall.

Margeaux kept looking at her watch. Alice noticed the clock on the wall said 12:30. Margeaux excused herself to the restroom while her grandparents paid the bill. Alice followed. Once inside, Margeaux took the mysterious envelope from her backpack. She opened it and took out the panda sticker. It was about an inch around in diameter with a drawing of a panda eating a shoot of bamboo. She unzipped her sweatshirt and pressed the sticker to her shirt, just above her heart. Then she zipped up her sweatshirt and left with Alice trailing behind quietly.

They left the restaurant and made their way east on Sutter Street toward Grant Avenue. Here, they came to what was known as the Chinatown Gate, the formal entrance to the area. On either side of the ornate structure was a bronze statue of a Chinese dog. They looked very much like guardians to Alice. When she walked up the steps, passing underneath the archway, she felt a chill upon her face and thought she could hear the deep strike of a gong far away. Margeaux’s strange expression had Alice thinking that her mom heard it too.

Alice could see her mom scanning the storefronts searching for Ming Chen’s. The streets were crowded, filled with slow, elderly people and faster, local shoppers. Strange smells drifted by as they passed a restaurant with plucked chickens hanging in the window. Alice gave an involuntary shiver. She had never seen any place like this.

Suddenly, Margeaux stopped. There it was just up ahead: Ming Chen Souvenirs. It looked kind of shabby from the outside. The window display had many faded boxes of cheap, plastic toys and silk slippers. It didn’t look mysterious to Alice.

Margeaux looked back at her grandparents; they were picking out hand-painted chopsticks from a sidewalk vendor. Running back to them she asked if she could go ahead a couple of stores. There’s a store up there with some cool toys, she said.

Grammy paused, still holding the chopsticks in her hand. We’ll catch up in five minutes. Don’t go anywhere else though.

Promise—thanks!

Margeaux took off her sweatshirt while walking to Ming Chen’s and tied it around her waist. Alice felt an urge to reach out to her