Shadow Cave (34 page)

Mark stared at the table and his shoulders shook with laughter, damn him.

“
Ah
...
well then, I
’
m off
,
children.
See you both in a few days.
”

I waved and M
ar
k continued to find humor at my expense.

“
You know,
”
I informed him when the door shut behind Bob,
“
It
’
s very rude to laugh at someone else
’
s misfortune.
”

“
Of course, I am sorry.
Where are my manners?
Are you ready to go?
”

“
Yes.
”
I all but ran out the door.

The drive to the beach was considerably more pleasant than breakfast had been.
Mark told me about his years of schooling, and the plans that he had been making to start his own design company.
It was actually very interesting conversation.
I admired his ambition and drive
,
not only because I recognized those same qualities in myself, but also because I had lost sight of them as of late.
Drive
,
ambition
,
and planning had become an afterthought for me.
I gazed out the window and vowed to jot down a wish list
—
no, a
‘
will do
’
list
—
for when I got back home
,
assuming
that I
make
it back home alive
, I silently added.

“
What do you want to do?
”
Mark was asking me.

I pulled my attention back to him and thought about his question.

“
We
’
re going to the beach, aren
’
t we?
”

“
Not right this minute.
I meant
,
what do you want to do with your life?
”

I wished that I could tell him about my own life and work
,
and was more disappointed than I cared to admit that I could not.

“
You know I have just been trave
l
ling for a long time.
”

“
I know, but what do you want to do now?
”

I shrugged and tried to be as honest with him as I could safely manage.
“
To tell you the truth, I
’
m not sure.
I love science…
.
”

“
But?
”

“
But a lot of things, I guess.
It
’
s become
...
more of a routine than a passion now.
”

“
A routine?
”

“
I can
’
t explain it.
And lately, well, let
’
s just say that sometimes you…go through things
—
experience things
—
that make you question every belief you have ever had.
Everything that
you
know to be reality shifts somehow
,
and logic flies out the window.
”

“
Maybe it
’
s not the absence of logic, but a different brand of it.
”

“
Maybe.
”

“
Have you ever thought about going to school?
”

I smiled ruefully.
“
Sometimes.
You know, I meant what I said yesterday about history.
I love history.
”

“
What else?
”

“
Flowers.
”
I laughed.
“
I love flowers.
And beyond that, I don
’
t know.
I feel like I am just now starting to get to know myself.
”

“
Hmm.
”

“
That sounds idiotic, doesn
’
t it?
”

“
Not at all.
”

“
I want to help people, whatever I do next.
That much I know for certain.
”

“
That doesn
’
t surprise me one bit.
”

I turned my head to look at him.
“
Why
’
s that?
”

“
You seem like the type.
”

I nodded, satisfied with the answer.
“
Thank you.
”

“
You know, you don
’
t have to keep thanking me, Annabelle
,
”
he
said quietly.

“
Of course not; after all, you only saved my life yesterday.
”

He smiled but didn
’
t press the matter further.

“
Are you nervous?
”
he
asked a second later.

“
About the beach?
”

“
Yes.
”

“
Some
,
”
I admitted.
“
Yesterday was horrifying.
I have the feeling it
’
s going to be difficult to forget.
”

“
You might be surprised.
”

“
I doubt it.
”
I snickered.
“
I couldn
’
t even take a bath last night.
”

He reached out and gave my shoulder a quick squeeze.
“
It
’
s going to be ok
ay
.
Look, we
’
re here.
”

I peered through the windshield of the car but all that I could see was a thick cluster of trees.

“
Mark?
That
’
s not a beach.
”

“
I
’
m well aware of that
,
”
he
said dryly.
“
We have to park here and walk the rest of the way.
It
’
s about a mile up ahead, through that path there
,
”
he
pointed.
“
Can you make it that far?
”

“
Can I walk a mile?
You
’
re joking
,
right?
”

“
You
’
ve taken a lot
of
hard hits lately.
”

“
True enough.
But a mile will be ok
ay
.
”
I smiled.

The path and the forest surrounding it were so ordinary looking that my mouth literally hung open in shock when we reached the actual beach.
It was like nothing I had ever seen before.
It was
a
pure fairytale come to life before my eyes.

“
What is this place?
”
I whispered reverently to Mark.

He stood beside me, looking not at the nature that surrounded us
,
but instead at me and my reaction.

“
It
’
s the beach.
I always thought of this as my beach.
”

I took a step forward and tried to look everywhere at once.
I had never seen a
‘
beach
’
that looked so ethereal.
There was nothing of the forest in the space at all.
I dropped to my knees in sand so light it shone in the sunlight.
I ran my hands through it and was delighted to find that it was as soft and fine as I imagined it to be.
The sand stretched for what felt like miles on either side
of
us.

The water was beautiful too.
It was a gentle aqua in color and so clear that I could see to the white sand floor below the surface.
The late morning sun sparkled off the surface like millions of tiny diamonds.

“
Why aren
’
t there more people here?
This is amazing.
”

Mark only shrugged.
“
It
’
s a little out of the way
,
for one thing.
Most towns have public swimming pools anyways.
”

I spun around and back to the water again.
“
They are seriously missing out.
”

“
Yes, they are.
”

“
How did you find out about this place?
”

“
I like to travel.
I love to explore. I just got lucky, I guess.
”

“
I guess.
”
I laughed and gaped at the scenery some more.
Nothing that I had ever seen back home could compare.
There
is
magic here
, I thought with a sense of wonder.
You could see it.
You could feel it.
I kicked off my shoes and approached the water as if it were a bomb.
A very beautiful bomb, but a bomb just the same.

“
Do you want to give swimming a try?
”

The thought of being
submerged
in any sort of water brought a chill to my spine.

“
I don
’
t know yet.
”
I sat down next to him in the warm sand.
“
Where does this lead?
”

“
Excuse me?
”

I stared at him in confusion before I turned pink and averted my eyes.
“
The water.
Where does the water lead?
”

“
Ah.
This is technically a lagoon, and it leads to the Cerlien Ocean.
”

“
Ocean? You mean sharks and beasts of all shapes and sizes?
No, I think that I
’
ll just worship from afar today
,
if it
’
s all the same to you.
”

“
Sharks?
”

“
You don
’
t know what a shark is?
”

“
No.
”

“
You
’
re kidding.
”

“
No, I am not.
What
’
s a shark?
”

“
Ah
,
I
’
ll tell you later
,
ok
ay
.
”

“
Ok
ay,
”
he
said slowly, dragging the word out and eyeing me with skepticism.

“
What about beasts like the…the…the one from yesterday
?
”

“
The Naule
,
”
he
supplied.

“
Yes, like the Naule.
”

“
Those are lake beasts.
”