The black cloud that preceded Isobel caused Ruth to smile. As Isobel stomped through the kitchen door Ruth asked, “Been talking to Aiden?” but it was more of a statement than a question.
“Oh, Mom, he’s such a jerk. Tells crazy lies and expects me to believe him!”
Ruth suppressed a smile and said nothing. Fourteen was such an awkward age. Isobel continued her rant, “He says he was transported by that stone circle on Yew Tree Ridge to another world!” Then she held up a tiny snail shell and said, “He gave me this. Claims it was in his shoe. I started to throw it back at him but I kept it to prove he’s a liar.”
Ruth examined the tiny shell. It was a real shell, not plastic. “Isobel,” Ruth took her daughter’s hand and put the shell in it. “Bella, honey, keep it. Put it in your jewelry box.” She looked directly into her daughter’s eyes, smiled and said, “He must really like you to tell such a tale and then give you his evidence. It’s not that he’s a liar, but that he’s willing to tell you a strange story to impress you. It means he thinks you are attractive. It’s a compliment.”
Isobel nodded, hugged her Mom and turned to go to her room. “And, Bella, what if it’s really true?” Isobel turned back expecting to see her Mom grinning at the joke, but she wasn’t. She looked very serious. A shiver ran down her back as Isobel considered that thought.
Sometimes her Mom said odd things, hinted that what some called ‘the old ways’ were, in fact, real things. Stuff like herbs and watching the stars and stuff. But her teachers had indicated that all these superstitions were just tales, explanations of reality by people who didn’t know better. Once her Mom had said something about how no one today understands how the ancient people made the stone circles. Her words were eerie, “They knew things, understood things that we have no clue about.”
Her eyes caught her reflection in the dresser mirror. She stared at it a minute or so, thinking about the other thing her Mom had said. She wondered if Aiken really did think she was pretty. He was always nice to her; even behind her back. Last Saturday they went out for a take-away lunch. She had gone into the chip shop alone to buy lunch for herself, her Mom and her little sister. Some of her classmates, including Aiden, were in the shop. One of the girls said something she didn’t quite hear that produced a laugh and furtive glances in her direction. But she did hear Aiden say something about jealously. The other kids had stifled their laughter. Aiden, looking in her direction, smiled and then exited. She placed her order as the others left.
When she got into the car she asked when her Dad was coming home. Her sister, Mary, confirmed what she already knew: it would be another week. Then he’d have to go back to the oil rig six days later. Her Grandma had said that it was so much better than the coal mines. She wondered. At least in the coal mines her Dad would be home every night. Grandma had said something about black lung but she didn’t understand it.
Two days later, as her Mom parked the car, Isobel looked up to see Aiden walking toward the grocery store entrance. He was rather nice to watch, almost bouncing as he walked. His jeans fit him just right and his t-shirt revealed his athletic torso. Maybe her Mom was right: he was trying to impress her with his story.
As they shopped her Mom was showing her how to plan meals and keep within the food budget. So she wasn’t actively looking for Aiden. When they turned onto the freezer aisle she saw him in front of the frozen pizzas. He put a couple of boxes in his shopping basket. Then he walked straight towards them.
“Hi.” He grinned, “Dad’s taking Mom out tonight and he told me to buy my own dinner. So…” He waved his hand over the basket. Two pepperoni pizzas, a tub of potato salad, a bottle of soda and a small chocolate cake.
“Looks good. We’re having chicken and broccoli. Mom said I could make it ” she said, bragging.
“Uh, sounds nice.” He attempted a smile, but she noticed his expression when she said broccoli. It made her laugh.
“Maybe one day I could make you some?” She couldn’t help teasing.
He flashed a slightly wicked grin, “Okay. Come to the stone circle with me. We can have chicken and broccoli when we get back.”
The shock on Isobel’s face produced a victory smile on Aiden’s face. Ruth stifled a laugh. Isobel said, “Okay.” It was the only thing she could say and be polite. Her Mom was right. He was interested in her. And she was…well, he did have a nice way of walking.
Later Aiden called and made a date to meet her Sunday afternoon. He would take her to Yew Tree Ridge and show her the stone circle. As he rang off he said, “Oh, yeah, don’t wear anything you wouldn’t want to get wet.” Then she thought she heard a little laugh as he said, “It might rain.”
Sunday afternoon proved hot and humid. The hike to Yew Tree Ridge was warm enough, but once they climbed up to the stone circle the hot humid air seemed almost suffocating. They sat next to the stone that Aiden had rested on before and watched the clouds. Isobel was amazed at the things Aiden saw in the clouds. He pointed out whole landscapes with castles and armies; islands with palm trees or herds of elk or cows, sometimes with lions or wolves stalking them. Most of the time she could make out the image he had seen, but on her own she saw kittens, puppies, elephants and the occasional bunny.
After nearly an hour she commented that the clouds had surrounded them and looked like they were waiting for something. Aiden said he wanted to walk around; he had a compass and wanted to see if any stones lined up with the compass points. They walked around the circle several times, noting the compass bearings. Then they sat down with their backs leaning against the same tall stone. After refreshing themselves with the water and snacks they had brought both of them began to feel sleepy.
As they sat nodding off the clouds began to pile up on each other so as to get dark and threaten rain. Suddenly Isobel said in a quiet but terrified voice, “Aiden! I can’t move my legs!” But, before he could answer a terrific boom of thunder shook them. Rain poured down as if from a giant fire hose. They were soaked in seconds. Suddenly they were floating in the sea while the rain slowly eased up. A minute later the Sun popped out and they discovered they were not far from the shore. A short swim and they were wading through the surf. Isobel was too dumbfounded to speak.
Aiden said, “It looks different but I think it’s the same place.” Meaning the place he had visited before. He searched the sea but did not see any water-horses—if that’s what the creatures were. He looked closely at his surroundings and finally said, “It must be the same loch as before but I was on the other shore. And there’s no water-horses. The beach and the cliffs look the same. And there’s all these snail shells.”
Isobel stared at the beach. It was covered by millions of tiny snail shells just like the one he had given to her. Terror seized her. She wanted to scream. But there was no one to rescue her except Aiden. She looked at him. He seemed rock-steady, seriously studying the loch and the shore.
“I think that is a stair going to the top of the cliff.” Aiden was pointing at a slanted line on the side of the cliff. “We can climb up there or we can try to swim across the loch. There’s a maze over there that I used to get back last time. But there’s no water-horses. They didn’t like me in the water last time. But if they are gone what’s in the water instead? Maybe nothing.”
His tone was ‘matter-of-fact’, placid. He looked at the loch and then at the cliff. Then, holding her hand, he headed toward the cliff. “Let’s climb up those stairs, at least partway. We need to look around and scope out this valley carefully. There might be a reason the water-horses aren’t out there.” He frowned. “They seemed to be capable of doing much damage to enemies, but still, they’re not lions or sharks.” Suddenly she understood that Aiden had assumed leadership. Not only had he been here before, but he was acting like a man, or trying to sound like it. He had not sounded like he was scared. But he did seem a bit worried. She took his hand as a gesture of support.
Halfway up the stair they stopped to rest. The view was wonderful, they could see most of the loch. Towards their right the loch was much wider and seemed to merge with a large sea. To their left the loch narrowed and the cliff curved around it.
“Ah, so, we could walk around to the other side; find that platform with the maze and walk around it to get home.” Aiden looked directly into her eyes and added, “Or we can climb to the top and see what’s there?”
Isobel studied his face. Suddenly he looked scared. She turned to look at the loch. Rushing toward them was a huge wave or wall of water. They watched in terrified amazement as the tide rolled in, covering the beach all the way to the bottom of the stairs. Without saying anything they continued to climb to the top of the cliff.
The view from the top was breathtaking. So was their climb. Aiden guessed that the cliff was at least 100 meters high. There were way more than a thousand steps; however, due to the quickly rising tide, they had not thought about counting them.
Looking around they were surrounded by a dense jungle of a forest. Turning around to look at the loch they saw an old path that ran along the edge of the cliff, to their left, away from the sea. Isobel asked Aiden about his compass. He shook his head, “It’s in my backpack next to the stone where we were resting, as are my binoculars and phone. Wish we could at least take pictures to show people when we get back.”
Isobel shuddered. She had tried to force the idea that they were stuck here far from her thoughts. Now that Aiden had brought it up she felt an icy chill. Fear gripped her. She grabbed Aiden’s hand and held it tight. “Do you really think we can get back?”
He gave her a reassuring smile, “There’s a platform with a maze on it over on the other side. That’s how I got back. We just have to find it.” She nodded, but said nothing. He said, “Let’s go and find it. I think we can walk around the end there,” He pointed to a spot where the cliff curved around. “That looks like where we need to go.”
They walked several kilometers before reaching a rift in the cliff. It was about two meters wide. The ancient path turned away from the loch and followed along the edge of the fissure. Aiden looked around and muttered, “Oh! Damn! The Sun is setting.”
Isobel said, “Well, we’ll have to make the best of it. Let’s see where the path takes us.” Knowing that Aiden had a plan and that they really could get back had boosted her courage. About fifty meters later the path made a sharp left, following the fissure. Then the fissure and their path curved back to the right. It was getting dark. They had to be extremely careful to stay on the path. A few meters later and the path brought them to a circle about ten meters wide. In the middle was a single standing stone.
“Maybe we should rest here until morning?” Isobel asked. Aiden shook his head, “Probably not the best idea, but I can’t think of a better one.” Just to be safe they walked around the stone a few times looking for a clue as to staying or moving on. Aiden said, “Let’s sit with our backs leaning against the stone, just like we did in the stone circle.”
So they sat quietly, holding hands. It wasn’t long before they fell asleep.
After a refreshing nap they woke to the Sun shining in their eyes. Looking around they were shocked to see they were back in their stone circle. The Sun was setting in the west. They grabbed their backpacks and rushed down the hill towards home. Suddenly he laughed and said, “I bet you didn’t make that chicken casserole, did you?”
