The following is the second of a three-part series. Part III will be published next week. Abel Fonseca, II, is a lifelong San Benito resident and community advocate who has served students and families for more than two decades. Through his “Heart of San Benito” series, he shares stories celebrating the people who make the Resaca City special. He can be reached at abelfonsecaii@hotmail.com.
Caden Trevino barely slept. The mysterious newspaper sat on his desk all night, folded open to the article about the approaching storm. Even more troubling was the story about him.
The article never explained how he failed. It simply said that despite his efforts, not enough people took the warning seriously. By sunrise, Caden had made up his mind.
If the newspaper could predict three small events happening today, he would know whether it was real, and if it was real, he had less than 24 hours to save his town.
The first event was listed for 7:04 a.m. A golden retriever named Bo would be rescued from a drainage ditch near a neighborhood park.
Caden rode his bicycle there and waited. At first, nothing happened. He began to feel foolish. Then, at exactly 7:04 a.m., barking erupted from behind a row of bushes.
Several people hurried over. A large golden retriever had slipped into the ditch and couldn’t climb back out. Within minutes, city workers helped pull the dog to safety.
The crowd cheered. Caden stared at the newspaper. Every detail was accurate. Even the dog’s name. His stomach tightened.
The second event happened shortly before noon. A delivery truck stalled in front of a convenience store (Lucky One) just as the article predicted.
The driver stepped out frustrated and opened the hood. Three people stopped to help. Again, every word in the newspaper came true. By late afternoon, Caden’s hands were shaking. There was only one event left. The lost wallet.
The article said it would happen at 4:14 p.m. at the city park. He arrived early. Families played on the swings. Children chased each other through the grass. There was nothing unusual.
Then a little girl named Alyzae spotted a wallet lying near a picnic table. She picked it up and handed it to a police officer who was speaking with another resident.
The officer opened the wallet and smiled. “There it is,” he said.
The exact words were printed in the newspaper. Every prediction had come true, every single one. The newspaper was real, and now Caden had a problem.
How could he convince everyone else? Nobody was going to believe that a newspaper from the future had landed on a bench by the resaca.
He couldn’t even believe it himself. As darkness settled over San Benito, he sat in his room staring at the storm article once more. Then he noticed something he had missed before, a handwritten note that consisted of three words written in blue ink across the bottom of the page.
LOOK CLOSER, CADEN.
He nearly dropped the paper. The note hadn’t been there before. At least he didn’t think it had. With his heart racing, he searched every page.
There was nothing until he reached the last page. There, hidden beneath an advertisement, was a small map. It wasn’t there yesterday. The map circled a location he recognized immediately.
It led to the old San Benito News building, now abandoned for years. A strong wind rattled his bedroom window. Caden looked outside. Dark clouds were gathering in the distance.
For the first time, the sky matched the newspaper’s prediction. The storm was coming, and somehow, the answers seemed to be waiting inside the abandoned newspaper office.
The next morning, Caden pedaled across town. The old building stood silent with broken windows, faded signs, and overgrown weeds.
The place looked forgotten. He chained his bike to a rusted railing and stepped inside. Dust covered everything. Old printing equipment sat frozen in time.
Stacks of yellow newspapers lay scattered across the floor. Then he heard something. A noise from upstairs. It was the sound of footsteps, slow, heavy, and deliberate. Caden froze. The building was supposedly empty. The footsteps stopped.
Silence filled the room. Then a voice echoed from above. “You’re earlier than I expected.” Caden’s blood ran cold because the voice sounded familiar, very familiar. It sounded exactly like his own.
To Be Continued…