Diary of The Journal Keeper

Entry Number Two

Dear Friend,

I thought that by now I would have already been off on my search for the rest of the Journals… but circumstances as they are, I cannot go just yet. This slight turn of events has actually been an advantage to me as I have been able to work out some puzzling aspects to the Journal…which will greatly assist me in my search. I will get into all this on a later date when I myself, understand it all better.

Since I have some time, I thought perhaps you would like to know a bit more about who I am. To be quite honest though, for reasons of secrecy, there is not a lot I can say. Generally…I am no one special really…not to put myself down, just to say there is nothing of greatness that I possess that I should be “the one” to have found the Journal. One advantage of this is no one would suspect me of carrying such a huge secret (which is helpful in remaining anonymous). On the down side though, I really have no background or training to do this! The responsibility of the Journal has forced me to be courageous and go forward to do things I never dreamed of (regardless of my obvious lack of expertise). Writing for example…let me apologize for my many grammatical inaccuracies. My hope is that the sincerity of the messages will override all punctual mistakes. I am also not any kind of “New Age” expert or profess to even remotely being some sort of faerie authority. The truth is the only faerie knowledge I had prior to finding the Journal was from my Irish grandmother. When I was younger, I helped her in the garden and she used to talk to me about the importance of welcoming in the faerie folk…now in retrospect, I wish I had listened closer!

The only real advantage I do have is a strong interest in photography and historical photographic processes. I, myself actually come from a long line of photography enthusiasts and have inherited some very archaic photographic equipment, some which I have actually experimented with over the years (and some of which I have no clue how to use). This knowledge has proven useful in understanding some terminology that the original Journal Keeper of 1829 had used. It was also this interest in photography that I came to find the Journal in the first place. Let me explain…

I have always been drawn to trees and ancient forests and they have become one of my favorite subjects to photograph. Over the years, I have made many trips oversees (often visiting a great aunt who lived in the U.K.). I would find myself scouring the country sides, in search of ancient trees (especially the magnificent oak). It was on just such an excursion, deep in a forest, that I made my discovery. Experimenting with night time exposures with my camera, I saw something through my camera lens, off in the distance. With the camera safely mounted on a tripod, I opened the shutter for a 10 minute exposure and let it alone while I decided to investigate. I walked towards what looked to be tiny flickering lights – a swarm of fire flies or lightening bugs, I suspected. Round and round they went, as if guarding some ancient secret. As I drew closer though, they disappeared and all was dark again. I walked further until I bumped into something…a stump of a dead tree. I looked down and there resting on the top of the stump, sat a chest. I glanced around thinking someone had left it there, but saw no one…nothing! It was just me, the forest, the full moon and a treasure chest! I really didn’t know what to make of it. What was it doing in the middle of no where? Now, looking back at that moment, I often find myself wondering whom it was meant for to find…perhaps I should have left it there. But I didn’t…I made the decision to take it back with me - as it looked as if no one had touched it in a very, very long time. I did leave a note though in that old stump of a tree, saying I had found the chest and how someone might find me if they were looking for it.

Now I have made a promise to myself that I will do everything in my power to uncover the truth. If I am unsuccessful, I will return the chest and Journal back to its home in that very same tree.
Maybe there is still “the one” who was supposed to find it, but for now, it is only me…

I will stop here, but will write more soon.

J.K.