Finding Rachel

Sam stumbles, rights herself. A few more steps, and then doubts again. Where is this man leading her? To her doom? He skirts a giant red boulder, Sam behind him. A large opening to a cave looms in front of them. She hesitates. He looks back at her. “He’s in here.” Her legs refuse to move. Her bravado disappears. “Lady, I ain’t gonna hurt you. You’ll find him safe and sound.” The old man takes another step. “Suit yerself. But sometimes you just gotta trust what you’re doing is right, if you wanta find what you’re looking for.” With that the old man limps farther into the cave and Sam follows. Mysteriously a passage suddenly opens up before them. Junior strides directly into it. She follows, fascinated by the sheer wonder of this tunnel carved by centuries of erosion. Never before has she smelled the scent of earth so strongly. It permeates the air; a clean, rich aroma that she breathes in deeply. Trickles of water drop on her hair as they make their way. The passage narrows, grows ever darker until she can see only the outline of the walls and the dark shape of Junior ahead of her. She follows into an area that ends. She thinks the old man will turn and retrace his steps – or has he led her here deliberately? As her eyes adjust to the lack of light she can see that the wall in front of her is marked in such a way that it appears to be a giant flower. Are her worst fears being realized? She spins around preparing to run when Junior says, “Not much farther.” He turns to the left. A curtain of rock, in varying shades of red, earth brown, ochre and sienna, looms above them. In awe Sam tilts her head and stares at the configuration folding upon itself like a solid drapery of stone. Junior follows the wall until it juxtaposes with another; at that point he disappears. She follows and sees that he has entered a slender break in the wall. Squeezing through the opening she finds herself in a chamber well lit by an angled opening in the ceiling. So overcome by the sheer complexity of the experience, her gaze tries to comprehend everything at once. Across one wall is a bar. Sitting high atop it is a little boy, looking happy, enjoying the half-eaten cookie he holds in his hand. She breathes a sigh of relief. “Davie! You are Davie?” “Are you the lady looking for me?” he says. Chocolate crumbs cover his lips and chin. Samantha, taken aback by his question, glances at Junior. “How did he know I was looking for him?” “It’s no mystery, just hard to explain,” Junior says. “I can tell you this much, I were sent to find you. Person said you might hurt yerself and sure enough you did. Now don’t ask me no more questions.” He pulls a chair over to where Sam is standing. “Have yerself a seat. I’m gonna put a poultice on that wound.” Sam sits with a thud. She feels flushed and light-headed. The boy seems unconcerned about any of this. “Look,” she directs her remarks to Davie. “Why don’t you and I leave here and go back together? Your Aunt Winnie is worried about you and your dad will be too when he hears that you’ve run off.” Davie, jumping off the bar, trots to stand directly in front of her. A hank of blond hair falls across his forehead; cookie crumbs are stuck to his chin. His eyes, the same blue as Wesley’s, spark with defiance. “I didn’t run off! I came looking for my dad who shouldn’t be climbing this mountain after he fell off it before. Besides, Rachel already found me. She says my father will be showing up soon. So you can go tell Aunt Winnie not to worry. Dad and I are okay.” Sam sits on the edge of the chair feeling impotent and exhausted. Here she’s practically risked her life to rescue this little boy and he isn’t in need of being saved. “If you’re thinking of going, don’t!” Junior scoops water into a pot and sets it on the pot-bellied stove. “I’m gonna make a poultice for that wound you got there, before you head down that mountain.” He glances Davie’s way, “Where’d Rachel go?” “No place. She got tired so she’s resting.” Samantha glances around the chamber expecting to see an opening to another room. Seeing none she wonders where is Rachel resting? A hermit by definition, she thinks, is someone who avoids contact with other people. None of this makes sense! How did the old man know I was on the mountain? Who is Rachel? This might be a strange cult or something worse. “What can be worse?” Sam says aloud, standing up to look directly at Junior. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I feel responsible for this little boy. I promised his aunt I’d find him and bring him home. I have to do that.” She bends her knees now to meet eye to eye with Davie. “Please, Davie, come back with me. We don’t know who these people are.” Davie scoots past Samantha. “But . . . but what about Dad?” he says to no one that Sam can see. Tears well in his eyes. “But what about you? Are you going to come?”