Tamar rocked on the heels of her feet, hands clasped behind her. They were all in the cabin getting ready for the field trip. “Mom, Ariel says all the youth are riding in a van with Mr. Cowell. Can I go along?”
Mrs. Geil packed snacks into a backpack for one of the boys to share. She looked up to Tamar and sighed. Was it too much to hope that her mother’s streak of niceness would last just a bit longer?
Mrs. Geil said, “I think it’d be best if you rode with your family. It’s a family outing anyways, and I haven’t seen much of you lately.”
Yeah, too much to hope for. But it didn't mean she was going to give up. “But we see each other all the time. I only have a week with these people. And already half of it is cut away because I can’t sleep with the girls.”
“Night is for sleeping, so you’re not missing much there.”
Except Tamar knew she was, because of the funny stories Ariel shared this morning of the mishaps in the girls’ cabins. Stories she should have been a part of if only her mother wasn’t so strict.
Tamar opened her mouth to argue more, but Mrs. Geil beat her to it. “That’s enough, Tamar. You are going with us. Now, help me get the boys ready.”
Tamar put on a pout, but did as she was told.
She helped pack the remaining backpacks for her brothers, made sure their shoes were on the right feet, and kept them from running out of the cabin. Then she packed her own backpack.
Grandpa wasn’t much help. He riled up the boys, playing with them when they should have been buttoning their shirts and tousling their hair after Mom brushed it. Even after they had all their backpacks on, they were slow to leave.
“We gotta hurry or we’ll miss the outing,” Tamar said.
“I’m sure there’s plenty of others running just as late as us,” Grandpa said.
Mom was just finishing changing the littlest baby’s diaper. “I’m almost ready.”
They made it up with the final trickle of campers outside the cafeteria. Ariel’s dad shouted over the crowd. “Everyone can follow me. Mr. Cowell will back up the line to make sure there’s no straggles. The cave entrance is just on the other side of the lake, but it is a little tricky finding your way there. So don’t get lost.”
Ariel sidled up to Tamar’s side. “There you are! Are you riding with us?”
Tamar pursed her lips together, trying to staunch the anger boiling inside. The gesture only cemented her feelings on her face. “My mom wants me to ride with them. And once we’re inside she wants me to help keep all the boys together.”
“You mean you can’t even join us once we’re inside?” Ariel asked, shocked, staring at Tamar’s mom out of the side of her eyes.
“Yeah.”
“Bummer,” Ariel said.
Tamar bit her lip, trying not to cry. Just when this week was going so well her mom had to go and ruin it like this.
Grandpa motioned to his small flock. “All aboard!”
Ariel shrugged defeat. “Well, I’ll see you in a bit.
Tamar stared at the ground trying to hide a tear.
A small cloud of tapioca floated by, almost bombarding into Tamar. She scowled at it, barely dodging impact. Why did that stupid stuff keep trying to bother her?
Inside the van, the tapioca clouds swarmed all around the car window, suffocating Tamar and blocking off the view of the woods.
“Look!” one of her brothers said. “The rainbow clouds like Tamar’s window.
The boys piled on top of each other and Tamar to stare at the tapioca closely, legs dangling in all directions as they perched over the edges of seats.
Grandpa started forward in the line of cars.
“Mom, the boys don’t have their seatbelts on,” Tamar said.
Mrs. Geil turned to look, and smiled when she saw all the boys’ faces staring out the window. “Oh, there’s a bunch of tapioca. How pretty.”
“Mom,” Tamar insisted. “They are on me.”
“Boys,” Mrs. Geil said. “Go ahead and get in your seats. You can see the tapioca clouds from there.”
The boys slowly returned to their seats, yanking out some of Tamar’s hair on the way.
The tapioca remained next to her window for quite a ways past the camp. Hesitantly, as they left the camp bounds, the tapioca pulled back and seemed to wave sadly at Tamar.
Grandpa found a place to park amidst all the cars outside the cave, and the boys jumped out as soon as the engine hiccuped off. Mom followed, Tamar stayed at the rear. She kicked at the brown dirt, just wanting this expedition to be over already.
Normally, she might enjoy such a trip with her family. But… it was the principle of the matter. She was being denied, forced to spend time with her family when she’d just made a group of friends. It wasn’t fair.
When the last car—Mr. Cowell and the youth group—pulled up, Ariel’s dad once more instructed the group on staying between him and the youth pastor. “You can get lost in the cave,” he said. “So don’t. I don’t want to have to report any missing people to the bats.”
A mix of delighted and nervous laughter erupted.
Ariel joined Tamar. “Hey.”
Tamar tried to smile.
“I’m gonna hang with you, if that’s all right.”
“You don’t have to,” Tamar said.
“Yeah? Well, I want to. You’re so much more fun than those other kids.”
Tamar wasn’t ready to be done being angry with her mom, but she already felt tons happier with Ariel now at her side. Tamar smiled for thanks.
Her brothers swarmed around Ariel, and one of them took her hand. And threw a multitude of questions at her.
“Are there actually bats in there?”
“Your hair looks like a bat’s nest.”
“Do bats have hair?”
“Can you give me a piggy-back ride?”
“Why are you here?”
Tamar shooed her brothers away. “Go bother Grandpa.”
Of course, the boys didn’t listen to her. Ariel only laughed, and then took time to answer the brothers, even hefting the little one onto her back.
Mrs. Geil noticed Ariel’s presence. “Are you coming with us?”
Ariel nodded.
Mrs. Geil’s smile traveled over to Tamar and seemed to say, “See? Not so bad.”
Except it was still so bad.
Whatever. Tamar breathed away as much of her frustration as she could muster to let go, and as a crowd, they moved into the cave.
“I love this cave, so much,” Ariel said. “It’s actually pretty big. There are some tight tunnels that take you to bigger rooms, but I doubt Dad will be taking us that way, as some people are claustrophobic.”
Several people held large flashlights, so Tamar could see inside, but even so, the darkness weighed heavy and cold all around. She shivered, but not from fear. This place was amazing. “Did anyone ever live here?”
Ariel shrugged. “Native Americans might have, long ago. Dunno though.”
The lights only traveled so far up before shadows over again. Beyond Tamar saw vast darkness. There could be bats, or tunnels, or drop offs, or anything hiding inside the crevices of this cave.
The boys soon forgot Ariel, and left them alone to explore. Mrs. Geil called to the boys and Tamar to not wander. “Stay close to Grandpa and me.”
Tamar pressed her hands against the cave wall. It looked like it should've been soft. It was hard and damp and smooth.
“I wonder if maybe I can take you down one of the other tunnels? I know the way, and my dad would probably let me.”
“My mom wouldn’t,” Tamar said decidedly.
“Oh. Well, you’ll still see a lot of neat things.”
As they went further in, dripping water echoed a greeting. Puddles formed on the cave floor and Tamar’s shoes slushed through. The cave path split away from the left side of the cave and a small trickle began before widening into a larger stream.
“There’s a waterfall ahead, from an underground spring,” Ariel said. “The best part!”
Tamar’s brothers skipped close to the edge of the water. Though it licked right to the top of the path, and the water was clear enough to see that the bottom was only three to ten inches away, Tamar’s mother continuously shooed the boys closer to the right side of the cave. Grandpa would wink mischievously and dip the edge of his canvas shoes in the water and the boys would laugh, spread out, and follow his example.
As they continued deeper inside, though, the water line fell away and the depth deepened until they were soon walking on the edge of a cliff. As soon as the height reached twenty feet Grandpa sobered from leading his antics and told the boys to “Mind your mother, now.”
They did.
“Your brothers are so cute!” Ariel said.
“They are annoying,” Tamar said.
The path opened into a large room. At the very edge was a waterfall that spilled out of a ravenously dark tunnel.
“The spring is further up in that tiny cave,” Ariel explained. “There’s a path that winds up around it. Wanna see?”
Tamar looked to her mother. She didn’t feel like getting another no right now.
“Nevermind. I’ll ask her myself,” Ariel said. And before Tamar could protest, Ariel stood in front of Mrs Geil. “Is it alright if I take Tamar up there to the waterfall? I know the path well.”
“Can we go, too!” The boys asked.
Mrs. Geil turned to the boys. “No, you are going to stay right beside me.” Then back to Ariel. “Yes, that’s fine.”
Ariel beamed, then skipped back to Tamar, whispering, “Just gotta use some charm. Always works on parents.”
“Very funny.” But Tamar smiled as she followed Ariel away from her family.
They jumped on a ledge, the beginning of a wide path that wound up toward the waterfall at a steep grade. Tamar bent her knees as she crawled, keeping her hands pressed against the cave wall for balance and support. It didn’t take long for them to be way over everyone’s heads. If the path wasn’t so spacious, she may have been nauseated at the height.
Ariel on the other hand, skipped up like a mountain goat, loose gravel falling down freely behind her.
They reached the waterfall. The path dipped in around it, creating a larger platform that felt safe and cozy. Tamar could stand in the middle of it and not see over any cliff edge, although she knew they lay beyond the basin.
“Here, let me show you where the water comes from.” Ariel pulled Tamar into the darkness. “There’s this huge pit somewhere around here, so watch out for it.”
Tamar stepped even more carefully. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea for her mother to let her up here after all.
The cave shook.
“What was that?” Tamar asked.
“Dunno,” Ariel said.
The ground groaned under their feet, then cracked.
“Uh oh. Don’t think that’s supposed to happen.” Ariel sounded more curious than frightened. She bent down and stared at the crack. “Huh. It actually broke open.”
“Do you think we should get out of here?”
Tamar hadn’t been able to hear anyone over the sound of the waterfall right next to her, but she almost thought she heard a scream from down below.
“Probably,” Ariel answered.
Ariel stood up, but fell back down as the cave shook more fiercely this time. Dust and small rocks fell in around them, and coated the top of their heads.
“Yeah, let’s go.” Ariel hurriedly stood and grabbed Tamar’s hand.
Many screams pierced the waterfall, and echoed repeatedly all around. She tried to run but the ground was moving too fast now. Tamar slipped. Ariel tightened her grip and Tamar’s arm yanked out of socket, pain ripping through her shoulder. She whimpered, still using all of her strength to hold on. Somehow the cave had tipped sideways and the floor was slippery, like a steep water slide.
“Give me your other hand. Quick!”
Tamar tried. Her heart thumped as she realized she was about to die in an earthquake… after being angry with her family. Tamar’s and Ariel’s fingers were slipping apart. Rocks fell around them in all sizes. Soon one would hit one or both of them on the head, or they’d be sucked into the opening and swallowed by the earth.
She’d die and her mother would think she hated her. And her brothers too… and her dad was so far away.
Tamar closed her eyes and prayed, inside or aloud she didn’t know. But she prayed. She lost Ariel’s hand, and fell into the bowels of the cave.
The next installment is published on the first Monday of next month.
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