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By now, it was November 9, 1998, almost seven weeks since Linda�s first dream. She was now inches from planning a trip to Honolulu. She was glad that she hadn�t, though, because it was on that day that the second postcard came. It was the same way as before, just sitting on top of the other mail in the box. This one featured a picture of a Hawaiian island. The words �Dreams Come True on Oahu� were written on it in loopy sky blue writing. Linda swallowed tensely, a feeling of dread in her stomach. She turned the postcard over and began to read it. This time, it said:
�Hello again! Did you get my first postcard? I just wanted to let
you know that I still don�t know when I�ll be coming home. It doesn�t
look like it will be very soon, but I didn�t want you to be concerned.
Don�t worry about me; I�m fine.
Missing you,
Laura�
That last line, Linda thought. It�s the same as before. That struck her as significant. However, that wasn�t all of what the postcard said. As Linda stared at it, she noticed something, something other than the lack of postmark yet again. In the bottom left hand corner was a group of eleven numbers- a phone number, Linda realized.
�I have to call,� she said to herself, not realizing she was speaking out loud. �This could be the answer I�m looking for.�
Walking back to the house, Linda felt like she had really found something. As soon as she got inside, she placed the postcard, on the counter alongside the other one and picked up the phone. For a few seconds, she just stood there, holding the receiver to her chest. She felt very nervous and shaky. Slowly, she looked over at the postcard. She read off each digit one by one, dialing with a trembling finger. Linda took a beep breath and brought the receiver to her ear. With each ring, a mix of emotions coursed through her.
Linda heard the soft click of the phone on the other end being picked up. �Hello?� It was a woman�s voice.
�Um, yes, hi. My name is Linda Davis. I was wondering if you could help me with something.�
�What is it?�
The woman seemed cooperative. Linda was happy. �It�s about my daughter, Laura. She�s been missing for some time.�
�Oh, I�m sorry to hear that. What can I help you with?� the woman said sincerely.
�Laura is nineteen- well, twenty by now- about five foot eight, medium brown hair, green eyes, average build, stutters a little bit- oh, and she almost always wears blue. Have you seen anyone like that recently?�
�Hmm�actually, I have," the woman said slowly. �That sounds just like the young woman from the restaurant I went to yesterday. I had her as a waitress. Now that I think about it, I think her name was Laura. She wrote it on the check. And she did have a slight stutter, if I�m not mistaken.�
Linda didn�t know what to say. �By any chance,� she managed to croak, �Could you tell me where this restaurant is? I mean, what city and state?�
�Honolulu, Hawaii.�
Linda wasn�t surprised. She proceeded to ask the woman for the name of the restaurant, the restaurant�s address (there was a pause as she searched her phone book), and her own address (Linda had plans to thank the woman in person). The woman- Anne Cook, she said her name was- was very kind and helpful. Linda thanked her endlessly and then hung up the phone. Linda was surprised that Anne hadn�t even asked how Linda had gotten her number.
When Richard came home that evening, he noticed the second postcard along with the paper with the addresses. Linda noticed that he had seen them and went over to tell them what happened.
�Another postcard came today.� Linda spoke very nonchalantly. �Here, read it.� Richard took the postcard and began reading. While he was reading, Linda pointed at the phone number in the corner, saying, �See? It�s a phone number. I called it this afternoon.�
As soon as she said that, Richard stopped reading and looked over at Linda.
�You called it? Who answered?�
�A woman named Anne Cook. She lives in Hawaii. She was very nice.� Linda cleared her throat, just to make sure Richard was really listening. �I asked her about Laura.�
"You did?� He sounded disbelieving. �Did she say anything?�
�Oh, yeah. I described Laura to her and she told me she saw her yesterday. Apparently she works at a restaurant in Honolulu called�- she paused to reference the paper- �Candy�s Old Fashioned Diner. She�s a waitress there.�
�Seriously? She really saw Laura? How do you know it�s really her?�
�Anne said she fit my description perfectly, the stutter and everything. She even said the name on her bill was Laura.�
Richard appeared shocked for a moment. �Linda,� he said finally, �I have to admit, I think you were right. Laura is in Honolulu.� He paused. �Maybe we should go. I mean, if someone saw her, then�� He trailed off. Linda was smiling. After some further deliberation, they decided that with this evidence, they couldn�t afford not to go to Honolulu. They booked two seats on a flight leaving November 24.
