{"id":6553,"date":"2026-05-07T13:10:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T02:40:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/?p=6553"},"modified":"2026-05-07T13:10:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T02:40:56","slug":"announcement-bon-henry-edwards-wins-the-march-wwwc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/2026\/05\/announcement-bon-henry-edwards-wins-the-march-wwwc\/","title":{"rendered":"ANNOUNCEMENT: Bon Henry-Edwards wins the March WWWC!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We’re pleased to announce the winner of the March WWWC: Bon Henry-Edwards! Responding to the prompt ‘mystery wrapped in enigma’, Bon’s lighthearted piece, ‘A Mystery, Wrapped in an Enigma, Wrapped in a Delicious Quesadilla’, takes us on a delightful treasure-hunt with heart.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Read her winning piece below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A Mystery, Wrapped in an Enigma, Wrapped in a Delicious Quesadilla<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the cul-de-sac, opposite the train station, stood a large sign atop a small food truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE MYSTERY QUESADILLA \u2013 Best Lunch in Town. Probably.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truck was a riot of colour. Dancing chilis decorated one side, and the other showed a map of Mexico. The owner, Mr Alejandro Hechicero, wore two waistcoats at all times: one under his apron, one on top. If you wanted to order, there was no bell, just an old-fashioned bicycle horn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people ignored it. Adults pretended it was invisible. Kids avoided it. Only the uni students stopped, their colourful hair and clothes matching the truck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To twelve-year-old Marco Jones, it was fascinating. His world was grey and boring, but The Mystery Quesadilla wasn\u2019t. It was a puzzle begging to be solved, and Marco loved mysteries. He loved following footprints, noises in the shed, socks stolen in the wash. He loved<\/em> mysterious food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His mum used to call him \u2018nosy-spy’ when he listened to her phone calls. But she\u2019d smiled, so Marco knew she didn\u2019t mind. Dad didn\u2019t talk on the phone, or at all. And he didn\u2019t cook. The thought of quesadillas made Marco\u2019s mouth water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco passed the truck on his way home. He was new to the neighbourhood, and only really knew the routes from his dad\u2019s house to the station and the library. He wanted<\/em> to explore. He\u2019d just been too sad, too tired. The Mystery Quesadilla <\/em>was the first thing to spark his interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The horn HONKED!<\/em> when he squeezed it. Hechicero slid into view, dark eyes sparkling and moustache wriggling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Welcome,’ he cried. ‘Would you like a quesadilla?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Yes, please.’ Marco\u2019d barely eaten and he was starving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hechicero rested his elbows on the counter. ‘Would you like the mystery<\/em> quesadilla?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Um \u2026 what\u2019s in<\/em> it?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hechicero leaned in closer. Marco did too. He felt like a spy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘It is a mystery, wrapped in an enigma.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco didn\u2019t care that it didn’t answer his question. ‘That sounds amazing.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hechicero nodded. He pulled a curtain across the window with a swish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the quesadilla arrived, it looked ordinary. Golden tortilla. Melted cheese. Marco took a bite. Flavour exploded in his mouth, and he groaned in culinary delight. Meat, cumin, paprika, garlic, onion. Marco swallowed and took another massive bite. On his third, something strange happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crunch<\/em>! Within the tortilla was a piece of \u2026 paper? What was this? Why was it in his food? Marco unfolded the note, which read, CLUE 1: THE CAT KNOWS.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco frowned. ‘The cat knows what?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘What?’ echoed a voice behind him. Marco turned to see his best friend, Ava Chen. Marco showed her the note and passed her the quesadilla. Ava took a bite and groaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Your lunch tastes like heaven and<\/em> it gives clues?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Yep,’ said Marco, taking his quesadilla back. Normally he\u2019d share but it was just too good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘That\u2019s either very exciting, or very unsanitary.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco rolled his eyes. He didn\u2019t care. The mystery was more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘D\u2019you see a cat anywhere?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava pointed. On top of a powerbox sat a round orange cat. Marco swore it hadn\u2019t been there before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Hello,’ Marco said. The cat stared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I don\u2019t think it speaks English,’ Ava said. ‘You speak cat?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco gave her a look. He didn\u2019t say<\/em> she was silly. The look did that. He turned his attention back to the cat. There was something around its neck. A collar with a brass tag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘The collar!’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They spent several minutes approaching, pretending they were just chilling, enjoying the scenery. When they got close enough, Marco held out some delicious quesadilla meat. The cat pounced, eating straight from his hand. Marco understood the feeling. He had two bites left and he wanted to savour them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava read the tag. CLUE 2: FIND WHAT WOBBLES.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘That\u2019s not very useful.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cat blinked. Marco and Ava blinked back. It settled down to nap and they began searching the cul-de-sac. Marco chewed his quesadilla. One bite left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘What wobbles?’ he muttered. ‘Jelly?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava gave him<\/em> a look. ‘See any jelly?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They tested things for wobbliness. The fence. A nearby gum tree. Nothing, until Marco leaned against a street sign, sighing. It wobbled, sending him tumbling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava ran over and knelt at its base. ‘Hey, there\u2019s tape here.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was hidden by fallen leaves but still legible. Another note. CLUE 3: THE ANSWER HIDES WHERE STORIES SLEEP.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘The library!’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The library was one of the only good things about moving in with his dad. He\u2019d thought about sleeping there a few times. It was definitely where stories slept. Marco and Ava hurried over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘This is convenient,’ said Ava as Marco swallowed the last bite of quesadilla. ‘I\u2019m supposed to be here for Mandarin lessons.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She signed herself in, but didn\u2019t go to the tutorial room. She made a face at it instead: tongue out, eyes crossed. Marco covered his smile with his hand. He\u2019d missed Ava. Seeing her had made today the best time he\u2019d had in weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Where exactly<\/em> do stories sleep?’ Marco whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘In the books?’ Ava guessed. ‘Come on, let\u2019s check.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mystery books. Adventure books. Romance books Ava declared were ‘Yuck!’ Finally, Marco noticed an envelope peeking from a book titled: 1001 Lullabies for Sleepless Souls<\/em>. Inside the envelope \u2026 a note. CLUE 4: CHECK OUT THE BOOK. SHOW THE CHEF.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava crossed her arms. ‘This whole treasure hunt leads back to lunch?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I think so.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I\u2019m not mad,’ Ava shrugged. ‘I want my own quesadilla.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco laughed. ‘Shouldn\u2019t you go to your Mandarin class?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘I signed in. As long as I\u2019m here for grandma to pick me up, it\u2019ll be fine.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Book in hand, they hurried back to the food truck. Ava squeezed the horn. HONK!<\/em> Hechicero appeared from behind the curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Aha! You have discovered the clues?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Yes, I think so,’ Marco nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hechicero studied the children and tapped his chin, smiling. ‘I suspected you\u2019d be up to the challenge.’ Pride inflated Marco\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Why hide clues in quesadillas?’ Ava asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hechicero rested his elbows on the counter. His dark eyes sparkled. ‘Because every mystery deserves a delicious delivery.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava crossed her arms. ‘Can I have a quesadilla without clues, please? Marco\u2019s was yummy and all, but this mystery hunting\u2019s made me hungry.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hechicero chuckled. ‘Of course.’ But before returning to his stove, he slid a foil-wrapped package across the counter toward Marco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside was another quesadilla. Ava stared. ‘You\u2019re kidding.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hechicero shook his head. ‘This one contains the ultimate answer.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco took a bite. He sighed. How was it so good? Simple ingredients, yet they made something magical. They reminded him of coming home to his mum singing in the kitchen, He took another bite, sniffing back tears, then \u2026 Crunch<\/em>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another folded note. Ava nodded, her cheeks bulging with her own quesadilla. Marco unfolded the note. THE AUTHOR HAS THE ANSWER.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco blinked. ‘The author? Of the library book?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ava swallowed loudly. ‘I thought the mystery was over. The clues led back here. Shouldn\u2019t this note say, “Food tastes better on an adventure with friends”, or something like that?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Ooh, that\u2019s a good one.’ Hechicero scribbled on a tiny notepad. ‘A mystery, wrapped in an enigma, wrapped inside a delicious quesadilla is<\/em> better with a friend.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco thought about the clues. The excitement. The quesadilla. It really was the best he\u2019d ever eaten, but having Ava with him had<\/em> made it better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco finished his quesadilla, wishing it had lasted longer. He held up the book, examining the swirly colours and pictures. A line of dancing chillis caught his attention. He turned it over and saw a map of Mexico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDid you write this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hechicero\u2019s moustache twitched. He shook his head. Marco opened the book and read aloud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘1001 Lullabies for Sleepless Souls<\/em> by \u2026 Maria Consuela Garcia-Jones. Songs for my son, Marco.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marco blinked at the black words on dogeared cream paper. The book had been read a lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His breath hitched. Hechicero passed him a napkin. ‘My mum wrote a book?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Books<\/em>. I thought you should know.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pensive bubble settled over them. Marco stared at the book. Life without his mum had been sad. Flavourless. Now, he had her words. A train rushed past, breaking the silence. Ava gasped, looking at her phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Marco, I have to go!’ She hugged him. ‘I\u2019m so glad I got to see you. I\u2019ll message you, okay?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Yeah,’ Marco nodded, hugging her back. ‘We\u2019ll find more of mum\u2019s books. I wonder how many she wrote. Why didn\u2019t she tell me?’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They turned to Hechicero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘That,’\u00a0he waggled his eyebrows, ‘is a mystery for another day.’<\/p>\n\n\n

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Original artwork by Bon Henry-Edwards<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We’re pleased to announce the winner of the March WWWC: Bon Henry-Edwards! Responding to the prompt ‘mystery wrapped in enigma’, Bon’s lighthearted piece, ‘A Mystery, Wrapped in an Enigma, Wrapped in a Delicious Quesadilla’, takes us on a delightful treasure-hunt … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"We're pleased to announce that Bon Henry-Edwards is the winner of the March 2026 WWWC!","jetpack_seo_html_title":"WWWC March 2026 winner: Bon Henry-Edwards","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[942],"tags":[399,964,946],"class_list":["post-6553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wwwc","tag-short-story","tag-writing-competition","tag-wwwc"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4v1Of-1HH","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6553"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6556,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6553\/revisions\/6556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wakefieldpress.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}