Chapter 4

"Give us a bell" 

Holly, Molly and Dolly were triplets who loved to solve mysteries. They called themselves the Attic Investigations Club, because they used their grandmother’s attic as their headquarters. They had a secret code, a spy kit, and a notebook where they wrote down all their clues and suspects.

One day, they overheard their grandmother talking on the phone with someone. She sounded worried and frustrated. She said, “I don’t know where she is, she could be in East Overshoe, for all I know. She never calls, she never writes, she never visits. She’s my daughter, but she acts like a stranger.”

The triplets exchanged curious glances. They knew their grandmother had a daughter, their aunt, but they had never met her or seen her picture. She was always a mystery to them. They wondered who she was, where she lived, and why she didn’t keep in touch with her family.

They decided to make finding their aunt their new mission. They grabbed their spy kit and notebook and headed to the attic. They searched for any clues that might lead them to East Overshoe, the place where their grandmother said their aunt could be.

They looked at maps, books, newspapers, magazines, and old letters. They found nothing about East Overshoe. They wondered if it was a real place or just an expression. They decided to use the internet to search for it.

They opened their laptop and typed “East Overshoe” in the Bing search engine. They got many results, but none of them seemed relevant. They saw some shoe stores, some shoe brands, some shoe reviews, but nothing about a place called East Over shoe.

They tried different spellings and variations of the word, but still no luck. They were about to give up when they noticed a small link at the bottom of the page that said “Did you mean: East Overshoe?”

They clicked on it and saw a new set of results. They saw a Wikipedia article that said “East Overshoe is an unincorporated community in Penobscot County, Maine, United States.” They also saw some images of a small town with wooden houses, green fields, and a lake.

They felt a surge of excitement. They had found East Overshoe! They wondered if their aunt lived there or had ever been there. They decided to dig deeper and find out more about the town and its people.

They clicked on the Wikipedia article and read that East Overshoe had a population of 42 people as of the 2010 census. It was part of the town of Howland and was located near the Piscataquis River. It had no post office, no school, no store, no church, no police station. It was a very small and isolated community.

They wondered how anyone could live there and why their aunt would choose such a place. They decided to look for any online records or directories that might list the names of the residents of East Overshoe.

They searched for “East Overshoe residents” and found a website that claimed to have the most comprehensive database of people in the United States. They entered “East Overshoe” in the search box and waited for the results.

They saw a list of 42 names with some basic information such as age, gender, phone number, and address. They scanned the list for any familiar names or surnames that might match their grandmother’s or their aunt’s.

They found none.

They felt disappointed and confused. They had found East Overshoe, but they had not found their aunt. They wondered if their grandmother had been wrong or lying about her daughter’s whereabouts. They wondered if their aunt even existed or if she was just a figment of their grandmother’s imagination.

They decided to confront their grandmother and ask her directly about her daughter and East Overshoe. They closed their laptop and packed their spy kit and notebook. They left the attic and went downstairs to find their grandmother.

They found her in the kitchen, making cookies. She smiled when she saw them and offered them some fresh-baked treats.

“Grandma,” Holly said bravely. “We have something to ask you.”

“What is it, dear?” Grandma said kindly.

“We overheard you talking on the phone earlier,” Molly said nervously.

“You did?” Grandma said surprised.

“Yes,” Dolly said boldly. “And we want to know who you were talking about.”

Grandma looked at them with a mix of curiosity and concern. She put down her spatula and sat down at the table with them.

“Who do you think I was talking about?” Grandma asked gently.

“Your daughter,” Holly said firmly. “Our aunt.”

Grandma sighed and nodded. She looked sad and tired.

“Yes,” Grandma said softly. “I was talking about your aunt.”

“Who is she?” Molly asked eagerly.

“Where is she?” Dolly asked impatiently.

Grandma took a deep breath and looked at them with love and honesty.

“Her name is Lily,” Grandma said. “She’s my only daughter and your only aunt. She’s beautiful, smart, talented, and adventurous. She’s also stubborn, rebellious, and independent. She left home when she was 18 and never came back. She traveled the world, doing all kinds of things. She was a journalist, a photographer, a teacher, a volunteer, a activist. She was always looking for new experiences, new challenges, new causes. She never settled down, never married, never had children. She never kept in touch with me or anyone else in the family. She never told me where she was or what she was doing. She never asked for help or advice or money. She never said she loved me or missed me or needed me. She never said she was sorry or happy or proud. She never said anything at all.”

Grandma paused and wiped a tear from her eye.

“She could be in East Overshoe, for all I know,” Grandma said bitterly.

The triplets felt a wave of emotions wash over them. They felt sorry for their grandmother, who had lost her daughter and never heard from her again. They felt curious about their aunt, who had lived such an exciting and mysterious life. They felt angry at their aunt, who had abandoned her family and ignored her mother.

They wanted to hug their grandmother and comfort her. They wanted to ask their grandmother more questions about their aunt and learn more about her. They wanted to call their aunt and yell at her and tell her to come home.

But they did none of those things.

They just sat there in silence, holding hands, eating cookies, and looking at each other.

They realized that finding East Overshoe was not the end of their mission.

It was just the beginning.