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September 9, 2025 17 mins

With help from The Secret Spot and a hint from her dad, Marie discovers a new clue pointing to the "oldest on this island home." But how will she get there?


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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Previously on Adventures on AwayIsland, the annual Away Island
Animal Shelter fundraiser was full of unexpected twists.
Madam Amato made a surprise return.
Despite the excitement, Marie still couldn't wait to get home
and continue reading the Secret Spot in the hopes of finding

(00:20):
another clue. Welcome to adventures on AWE
Island. Chapter 6 The Secret Spot Part 3

(00:42):
When Marie got home from the AWEIsland Animal Shelter
fundraiser, she said goodnight to her parents and got ready for
bed. Her mom told her to go to sleep
as quickly as possible because it was quite late and they had
to be up early the following day.
But truth be told, Marie was so energized by recent events that

(01:04):
she knew there was no way she could fall asleep right away.
Madam Amato was back and they were going to get to create a
custom ice cream flavor with her, and she had the book she
had been waiting to get her hands on again for a long time,
The Secret Spot. Although she was still in the

(01:24):
early chapters, the story was already captivating.
She fervently hoped there would be another clue somewhere within
that would help them solve the riddles.
They still had not figured out the oldest thing on Awe Island,
though. They had found the strange
symbol on Dragon's Cave in the Awe Island forest.

(01:46):
Marie still thought it looked like a butterfly with a circle
and some extra lines, but she could see the similarity to A4
leaf Clover too. She hopped into bed with the
book and her flashlight and began to read some more under
her covers so her parents wouldn't see that she was still
awake. At some point, she fell asleep.

(02:07):
The next day, Marie brought the book into the kitchen to
continue reading as she ate breakfast.
After breakfast, however, she had to put it down because it
was their assigned day to volunteer at the animal shelter.
She and her mom arrived promptlyat 9:30 AM.
The first thing Marie did was goaround and greet each animal by

(02:28):
name. Then she and her mom began to
clean their spaces, starting with the cat room.
As they worked, Marie told her mom about the secret spot, and
then the kids encountered this creature called a misanthrope.
Marie explained. The misanthrope has a clue they
need, but it keeps running away and won't speak to the kids.

(02:52):
What do you think they're going to do next?
Her mom asked. I don't know, Marie said.
But maybe they could find something the misanthrope likes
and trade that for the clue. Good idea, her mom replied.
After finishing the cat room, itwas time to take the adoptable
dogs for a walk around town so people could meet them.

(03:14):
Marie took two of the little dogs on leashes and her mom took
two of the bigger dogs. They tied colorful bandanas
loosely around the dogs necks that read Adopt Me and off they
went. This was one of Marie's favorite
parts of volunteering because people around town loved meeting
the dogs and if anyone was interested in adopting, they

(03:38):
could set up a meet and greet with their favorite dogs through
the shelter's website. Marie and her mom walked the
dogs for an hour, then headed back to the shelter.
After putting the dogs back intotheir kennels and giving each
one a treat, they headed out andwent to lunch at their favorite
Cafe. Marie loved having this special

(03:59):
time with her mom. After getting caught lying a
couple of days ago and having her mom be so disappointed in
her having this time now just the two of them reassured Marie
that things between them were still OK.
It was nice to just hang out. It was early afternoon when they

(04:20):
got home, and Marie went straight back to her book.
She had to read The Secret Spot in its entirety before it was
due back at the library on Monday.
So far, she still hadn't found any special information within
the story. She was at the part where the
kids were trying everything theycould think of to get the

(04:41):
misanthrope to share its clue, but to no avail.
Each time they tried, the misanthrope just ran away,
forcing them to find the creature again and come up with
a new tactic. Then, just as they lost sight of
the misanthrope again, the kids encountered a wise old woman

(05:02):
walking on the path. She asked them if they needed
help, and they explained their problem.
The woman told them they had to tempt the misanthrope with a
treat while it ate the treat. They could ask it anything they
wanted and it would give them the answer.
Luckily, the woman just so happened to have a basket of

(05:25):
freshly baked scones and she gave one to the kids.
So the kids searched out the misanthrope yet again and
offered it the scone. Just as it was about to run
away, the creature stopped in its tracks and immediately began
to devour the treat. As it ate, the kids asked for

(05:46):
the clue, and the misanthrope began to speak through mouthfuls
of scone. The oldest on this island.
Home. That's the place for you to
roam. There you'll find the gift
that's best for you to continue on your quest.
Marie gasped in shock. She immediately flipped to the

(06:09):
inside of the book's dust cover and reread the handwritten clue.
The second-half matched the cluein the text word for word.
She wanted to get in touch with JJ and Christian immediately,
but she couldn't. She wasn't allowed to use any of
her tech except for school. Telling them would have to wait

(06:32):
until Monday. So Marie kept reading, hoping
that the kids in the book would find the answer to the Riddle.
Further along in the story. She got the answer.
The oldest things on that islandwere the trees.
The trees. Marie never would have guessed
that, but it made sense. Some trees can live for

(06:56):
hundreds, if not thousands of years.
And in the story, the oldest tree on the island was where the
secret spot was, the place that held the buried treasure.
Marie could hardly contain herself.
The oldest things on Ahwe Islandhad to be the trees, but how
could she figure out which one was the oldest of all of them?

(07:20):
Surely that was where they too would find the gift that's best
to continue on their quest. As the Riddle stated, she raced
to find her dad. Being a botanist, he would have
to know where the oldest tree was.
She found him out in their garden.
Wedding Dad, where's the oldest tree on AWE Island?

(07:43):
Marie asked breathlessly, anticipation bubbling over her.
Dad paused his work and thought for a moment.
Well, I don't know for certain, but it has long been thought
that the oldest tree is at the island's center, which is at the
heart of the AWE Island forest. Some of the stories even say

(08:03):
that's where Dragon lives. You may have seen it when you
visited Dragon. Marie swallowed hard.
Of course they had seen it. It must have been that huge oak
tree that was just next to Dragon's Cave, right across from
where Dragon showed them the symbol carved into the rock of
The Cave. It just made sense.

(08:26):
The irony of this was not lost on Marie.
If she had just asked her dad for help at the beginning, he
might have taken them three weeks ago.
No sneaking, no lying, no getting in trouble.
Can we go visit the tree? She asked quickly.
Sure, her dad said. How about next Sunday?
He suggested. I want to go now, Marie said,

(08:50):
feeling a surge of impatience. She had waited so long for this
break in their adventure, she didn't want to wait another
eight whole days. I'm sorry we can't go now, her
dad said. Marie kicked the dirt on the
ground. Her dad gave her a quizzical
look, then smiled at her reassuringly.

(09:12):
What's gotten into you? He asked with an amused chuckle.
The tree has been here for hundreds of years.
It'll be there next Sunday, I promise.
Marie sighed dramatically and mumbled OK and headed back into
the house. She had learned something big
and she couldn't even tell JJ and Christian about it.

(09:34):
It was very frustrating to have to wait to follow up on the
clues. She went back into her bedroom,
took out her journal, and added the information she'd learned to
her notes. By now it was almost time for
dinner and her mom called to herto come set the table.
She closed her journal, put it on her desk, and then headed

(09:56):
into the kitchen. Her mom was putting the
finishing touches on homemade soup and a colorful garden
salad, and Marie could smell freshly baked bread cooling on
the counter. The family ate together.
Marie scarfed hers down, counting the minutes to when she
could get back to the secret spot.

(10:18):
She continued to read after dinner, still determined to get
through the entire story before the book was due on Monday.
She still had quite a few chapters to finish.
The following day, the family had plans to go visit the local
Botanic Garden for a special program about native plants.
Afterward, they all returned home to tackle some house chores

(10:40):
together. It was Marie's job to put away
clutter and then dust. She rushed through the tasks as
fast as she could and settled herself on her beanbag chair to
continue reading. The kids in the story now knew
the oldest thing on the island was a tree, and they had to
figure out which tree it was. But to find the treasure, they

(11:05):
needed directions on what to do once they were at the tree.
The instructions they discoveredwere hidden in a library book.
Marie giggled. Of course that's where they
were. She felt quite certain that this
library book she was reading would give her the instructions

(11:26):
as well. Indeed, they were described at
the end of the story. Once at the oldest tree, the
kids had to walk 15 feet due West and dig.
And there they found the gift, the buried treasure they had
been looking for. It turned out to be another

(11:47):
Riddle that hinted at a bigger quest and encouraged the reader
to purchase the next book in theseries.
Marie groaned. She wanted all the answers now,
not more riddles. At least she had one important
answer. She grabbed her journal and

(12:08):
added the buried treasures location instructions to her
detective's notes for future reference.
Then she closed the journal withthe satisfying thunk and turned
to her school books to make sureshe had all her homework done
for school the following day. Before bed, she checked in with

(12:28):
her parents and explained she had to return a book to the
library after school the next day.
Her dad said he wanted her to come straight home after school
and they would go to the librarytogether after dinner the
following day. When she met up with JJ and
Christian at lunch, Marie was surprised to see the two look

(12:49):
just as excited as she was. I have news.
They all sat on top of each other, then burst into giggles.
You first. Marie said to JJ, who flipped
open her notebook. I was going over my notes and
something hit me. JJ began in the park.
Grandma Oak was part of the map that helped us locate the buried

(13:13):
treasure there, so that made me wonder if another tree was going
to help us find this buried treasure too.
Especially since Dragon's Cave is in the forest with lots of
trees. Lots of old trees.
Like maybe the oldest thing is atree?

(13:33):
Christian chimed in. You're right.
I was rereading Outweigh island.com/history and someone
added an entirely new section called Island Lore.
I took a screenshot and printed it out.
He produced the print out and began to read.
While many admire AWE Island's historic buildings, the island's

(13:57):
most fascinating history may liein its trees.
Some of the oak trees on AWE Island were present long before
humans inhabited the island. The oldest of these is thought
to be the Great Grandmother Oak that is in the center of the AWE
Island forest. From her acorns came our grandma

(14:21):
oak in the park and countless other generations of oak trees
scattered throughout the island.You 2 are amazing.
Marie said admiringly of her friends.
Leave it to JJ to use logic to figure things out and to
Christian to double check placesthey'd already looked.
My news is the same thing. She noted with a grin.

(14:44):
I finished reading The Secret Spot.
The second part of the Riddle that is written inside the dust
cover is also in the story and the main characters learn that
their oldest thing is a tree. So I asked my dad where our
oldest tree was and he said it'ssupposedly in the center of the
AW Island forest where Dragon lives.

(15:07):
Wow. JJ said.
Now we just have to get to the tree.
My dad says he'll take me on Sunday.
You can come too. Marie suggested.
I can't go. I'll still be grounded.
Then two weeks is like forever. Christian groaned.

(15:27):
Maybe they'd let you go if they knew you were going with Marie's
dad. Tell them it's for a school
project. JJ offered.
I could, Christian said hesitantly.
But what if they asked to see the project?
I don't want to get caught lyingagain.
True. JJ agreed, and Marie felt the

(15:48):
same way. It was a huge dilemma.
They were all very eager to solve the riddles, but they
didn't want to risk getting in trouble again.
It seemed like the only thing todo right now was wait.
In the meantime, JJ and I can talk to Madam Amato while we're
making our custom ice cream flavor with her.

(16:10):
Marie suggested. Maybe she'll give us more
information, too. As she said this, the bell rang.
The three friends stood up, pressed their thumbs together in
their secret handshake, and gathered their things.
And with that, they headed off to their afternoon classes,

(16:30):
determined to wait and wonder what they were going to discover
next. After winning the silent auction
bid at the animal shelter fundraiser, will Marie and JJ
have their custom ice cream making session with Madame Amato

(16:51):
before she disappears again? Find out when the adventure
continues in our next episode ofAdventures on Away Island.
Thanks for listening to Adventures on Away Island.
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(17:12):
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