THE MYSTERIOUS MANUSCRIPT

a riddle

 

By: Raphael Vercott

• A publisher from Los Angeles.

• A mysterious manuscript in a hotel room.

• The search for an unknown author. 

 

• Will you be able to discover the identity of the mysterious author?

 

Marc Jones is a publisher from Los Angeles. On a meeting in San Francisco he met many interesting authors, but he finally missed that special new idea. Late that night he went back in his hotel, with the disappointment that he hadn’t encountered any truly extraordinary new author.

The next morning, he had a flight to catch at 11:30. Even though it was very late and he usually had more reading than he could handle, he realized that he had nothing to read in his room; not a book, not even a manuscript.

Annoyed, he placed them in the drawer of the bedside table. For no particular reason, he chose the bottom of the three drawers. When he opened it, he discovered a folder. At first glance, he thought: "This doesn’t concern me." But instantly another thought crossed his mind: maybe someone had forgotten something important. To make sure, he took the thick folder from the drawer and opened it. It was a manuscript.

The title was: "35 years of my life, and a last day" - an autobiography, as he quickly realized. The author: Anonymous. At the end, he found only a single date: April 2016. No name, no address. "This really doesn’t concern me… but a quick look can’t hurt. Besides, there’s nothing here saying it’s strictly confidential," Marc thought, and began to read.

The author, a woman, began her story with her eighteenth birthday, in 1970. She recounted an emotional and eventful life: her youth in San Francisco, her first great love, and the sudden decision to leave him behind for a completely improvised journey around the world. She told how, at the end of the seventies, she found him again-only to eventually choose another path, another life, and another man in South America during the eighties.

She described how she drifted away from her family, how the nineties passed without her seeing her two sons or her little daughter. Only after the turn of the millennium did she finally reconcile with her daughter, still in the turbulence of adolescence.

And then came the final shock: a sudden, incurable illness, and the nearness of death. She had, it seemed, just managed to set her life down on paper, as she herself remarked in the last words of her manuscript.

 

• The author: an unknown woman

• The place: San Francisco

• Time: from 1970 across the decades, till... ?

 

 

• The aim: find the unknown woman

• Where: ...? (It wouldn't be a riddle..).

• But first: discover her identity, with the help of... (read here):

 

Marc read through the night. The manuscript felt authentic, compelling, its voice mature and assured. Whoever this woman was, whatever her reason for choosing anonymity, he felt a quiet resolve: he wanted to grant her one final joy: the publication of her story. But first, he would have to discover who she was. In the morning, he went to the reception desk and asked for any information that might help him identify the mysterious guest. As expected, the receptionist politely declined; such details could not be shared.

The young lady, however, was very courteous (and probably not very stressed at the early hour), so she listened attentively to Marc's explanation. Shortly after, she said, "You know, I really should not do this, but ... ... I hope you find this woman in time. Surely she was only discouraged. Over the past few weeks, five guests have stayed in your room-from early April until yesterday. It must have been one of them".

Marc thanked her and changed immediately his plans. He would begin with the most recent guest and work backward, determined to track down every person who had stayed in that room. One of them, he felt certain, was the woman behind the manuscript.

 

• The first person: an elderly lady

• Place: San Francisco

 

Marc could hardly believe it: the first person on the list came from San Francisco, the city where the mysterious woman had spent her tempestuous youth. He went straight to the address provided.

An elderly man opened the front door. He confirmed to have stayed in that hotel. Suddenly Marc noticed all his embarrassment. Without mentioning the manuscript - he wanted to check first the coincidences - he asked (admittedly quite clumsy and, moreover, indiscreet) whether he lost and regained in the seventies a particularly important love, which still has a great influence on his life.

Marc did not expect any answer, but the man answered quietly, with a trace of melancholy: "Yes".

 "Could I please speak with this woman?", Marc asked. "It would be pointless! She has been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for years. ...All our common decades exist only in my memory...".

Marc thanked the man and left.

The second name on the list led him to Las Vegas, to a woman who appeared to be a successful businesswoman. She looked to be around fifty. But somehow ... well, she could have had some help, Marc thought to himself. There was, at least, no sign of any incurable illness.

He asked her about the manuscript, but she denied knowing anything about it.

Marc wasn’t entirely convinced and pressed her again. The woman smiled faintly and said, "I must admit, my love life has always been… eventful. But since I have no children, it’s all right."

 

• The second person: a businesswoman

• Place: Las Vegas

 

• The third person: a charming young lady

• The fourth person: an author.

• The fifth person: ...just read yourself.

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