Behind The Waterfall
It was a glorious afternoon in a small suburban town where everyone had a cheerful disposition; except for one person. A small boy sat sulkily on the curb of a less than busy suburban lane. His knees were bent inward forming a platform on which he could rest his elbows, and his head rested upon his hands further increasing his unbefitting image of sadness in this bright and happy place. His large, gloomy eyes took up most of his face leaving just enough room for a tiny, pointed nose and a large, pouting lower lip. �What�s wrong?� asked the girl that just came around the corner. �Whiskers ran away, Emily.� �Oh, I�m sorry Ben.� In an effort to cheer Ben up, she inquired, �Why did you name your dog Whiskers, anyway? �Whiskers' sounds more like a cat�s name than a dog�s.� �I know,� replied Ben sulkily. �I wanted a cat, but I got a dog instead, so I named him Whiskers. But now I love him and want him to come back right now!� �Well, have you looked for him?� Emily asked. �I�ve looked everywhere! Even the butcher�s. You know how Whiskers likes to go through the scraps. He isn�t anywhere. The only place I haven�t looked is in the forest. Imagine what could happen to Whiskers if he went into the forest. I have to go look.� �No you cant!� cried Emily. �Imagine what could happen to you if you go down there!� �I have to go. You can�t stop me!� �Then I�m coming with you,� said Emily with determination. After a long pause, Ben remembered that there was no winning when it came to arguing with Emily. �Fine,� he said. �Fine.� There was a waterfall in the forest. It was only a mile from where they were but they would have to go straight down Main Street to get there. The waterfall is the most likely place for Whiskers to be since it�s the only large water source. They walked down the main street casually, smiling at the people walking by, acting as natural as they could. �I can�t believe we�re doing this,� said Emily. �Hush! You�ll get us in trouble!� he said harshly. �Ben! Emily!� exclaimed a booming voice coming from the behind. Ben and Emily stood frozen. Ben turned around slowly, relieved to see who it was. �Hello Mr. Lehrer. How�s Father?� asked Ben. Ben�s father worked at the local university with Mr., Lehrer. He was never sure what they did. �He�s all right. Working late as usual. Where are you two headed?� asked Mr. Lehrer. Not sure what to say, Ben tried to fabricate a story quickly. �We�re running some errands for mum. She asked us to go get some...� Ben thought hard of what to say. �Spices,� Emily piped in. �Yes. Spices,� said Ben with a thankful glance towards Emily. �Well, I won�t keep ya.� Mr. Lehrer said skeptically. �I have to head back to work soon. I�ll tell your father you both said �hi�.� �Okay, see you later Mr. Lehrer,� said Ben and Emily together. �That was close,� said Ben, exasperated, once Mr. Lehrer couldn�t hear them. �Thanks for helping.� �Aren�t you glad I came with?� questioned Emily, flashing Ben a triumphant smirk that Ben knew all too well. �Hey, I didn�t even argue this time. But yeah, I guess it was a good idea.� Once they got near the waterfall, they both began calling for Whiskers. After an hour of looking and calling, Ben started to give up. �Don�t worry, Ben. Whiskers must be around somewhere. He�s probably at home.� �I doubt it,� Ben mumbled. He looked over towards the waterfall. To his surprise, Whiskers� head was sticking out from behind the waterfall. �Whiskers!� he exclaimed. As he ran, Whiskers ducked behind the waterfall. �Whiskers? Where?� questioned Emily. �Behind the waterfall!� yelled Ben as he ran. But that�s impossible! There�s nothing back there but a solid rock wall!� And sure enough, she was right. �I swear, Whiskers was standing right here!� Ben sat down and started sobbing. �It�ll be okay,� Emily assured, �You�re worried. I bet Whiskers is at home waiting for us to get back.� �But I know I saw him. He�s got to be here somewhere. Maybe there�s a cave or something. We have to find him Emily. Emily?� while Ben was ranting, Emily�s mouth had dropped open and she stared in disbelief. �Where did that come from,� she said. Ben turned around to see what Emily was staring at and he gasped. There was now a gaping hole in the cliff behind the waterfall. Emily couldn�t get rid of the thought that the cave entrance was the mouth of a giant snake. She could see it clearly. Around the mouth, stalactites and stalagmites formed the fangs of this beast. The black abyss in the mouth of this snake swallowed everything around it, with the exception of the eerie mist that seemed to come from the bowls of the serpent. �Ben, doesn�t it look like a snake? Ben? Ben!� Emily shouted. Ben had taken off into the cave. The mouth snapped shut. Emily could have sworn that two serpent eyes had been staring at her when the mouth closed. She screamed so loud that total silence fell upon the whole forest. She ran back as fast as she could to the town, looking for anyone to help. The street was empty. Then she saw Mr. Lehrer getting into his car. He closed his door as she shouted his name. She ran even faster now, trying to catch up before he left. As she approached the car, it pulled away. In the cave, Ben had been running until the light at the mouth of the cave disappeared. �I wish there was light so I could see,� Ben said aloud. Not even a second after speaking, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. A tiny dot of light had appeared and was growing larger and brighter. Tiny orbs of light had started to dance through the air around Ben, allowing him to see the cavern around him. Instead of being scared as he normally would have felt, he was reassured by the warm, glowing balls. Then, at the far side of the cavern, Ben saw Whiskers. �Whiskers!� Ben called. He didn�t realize that the floor was damp when we started running. He fell on the cold rocks. Any warmth the light had given him was gone. He had hit his head hard and was fading in and out of consciousness. Emily had stopped running after her feeble attempt to chase the car. She was tired from running and sat on the curb, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. Just then, Mr. Lehrer�s car had turned the corner and was coming back towards her. She hadn�t noticed until he pulled up in front of her. �Emily, what�s wrong. And where�s Ben?� he asked. �Ben� got� eaten! By a snake!� she forced out between sobs. �What did you say? A snake? Are you sure?� Emily sniffled, �Yes. We were down by the waterfall and...� �The waterfall!� he exclaimed with surprise. �What were you doing down there? You should know better. Get in the car.� Emily had stopped crying by now and climbed into his car. Mr. Lehrer pulled out his cell phone and called somebody. �Mike, something�s happened to Ben by the waterfall. Yes the waterfall. I think he was bitten by a snake or something. Alright, bye� Mr. Lehrer hung up the phone as he stopped the car at the edge of the forest. �It�ll be faster on foot. Let�s be quick. Ben woke up to Whiskers licking his face. Ben pushed Whiskers away and got up. �Finally, you�re awake. You had me worried for a bit. I thought I�d have to carry you out of here,� said an unfamiliar voice. �Who�s there?� he asked with panic in his voice. �It�s me, Whiskers.� �You� can talk?� Ben was overwhelmed and seemed to be fading out again. �Wait just a minute. I just got you to wake up. Don�t pass out again, please.� �How are you talking?� �It�s this place. This place is magical. Anything can happen here. It�s absolutely amazing. I just discovered it. I was chasing a butterfly and it led me to the waterfall. It flew right over near the water. As I jumped at it, it barked at me. Can you believe it? A butterfly barked at me!� Ben was still a bit dumbfounded by his dog talking to him, therefore, he didn�t respond. �Well anyway, I fell into the water and got all wet. When I got out, there was a breeze and I had begun to shiver. It was frightfully cold and I thought, �I wish I could dry off somewhere.� It was then that I noticed the cave. I walked in cautiously. Once I got inside, there where a bunch of blow dryers that blew me dry. It was insane!� Whiskers exclaimed. �That�s when I realized the magic of this place. The only thing that has bothered me is the entrance closing.� Believing that it was a dream, Ben accepted that Whiskers was talking and decided to join in the conversation. �I think Emily said something about a snake. The cave was like a snake mouth or something.� �Ah, I see. Then we must have been eaten,� said Whiskers calmly. �Eaten?!� �Well yes, if she thought the cave was a snake, then it became a snake.� Whiskers hurriedly add, �But no worries, all we have to do is think of the exit. You see? Ah, there it is. To Ben�s surprise, the mouth of the cave was directly behind him, only a couple yards away. Ben and Whiskers walked out of the cave and past the waterfall. As they came out, he saw Emily and Mr. Lehrer running towards them. �Ben!� yelled Mr. Lehrer. �Are you okay?� �I�m fine. You wouldn�t believe what just happened!� Whiskers made a noise behind Ben, and Ben turned around to see Whiskers shaking his head. Ben understood that he shouldn�t tell anyone. �Not even Emily?� Ben whispered. Ben assumed that Whiskers� silence was him giving his approval. �What was that, Ben? Did you say something?� Mr. Lehrer asked. �Oh, nothing,� Ben said quickly. �Emily had me scared for you, Ben. She said you were bitten by a snake.� �No! I said he was�� �It�s ok Emily. I�m fine. There wasn�t a snake. I slipped on some rocks. That�s all,� Ben interrupted. He gave Emily a quick wink. She had a puzzled look on her face. Ben�s father came running. �Ben, are you okay?� he asked, puzzled to see everyone standing around calmly. �Yeah, I�m fine. Emily just got a bit worried. And sorry about coming down here, but I needed to find Whiskers. He ran away.� �I see,� said Ben�s father. �Mr. Lehrer, if you would take Emily home, it would be appreciated. No doubt, her parents are getting worried. I�d just like to have a word with Ben, alone.� Mr. Lehrer nodded and told Emily to follow him. She glanced back and gave Ben a small wave as she moved out of sight. �Ben, do you know what I do for a living?� Ben shook his head �no�. �I�m a quantum physicist. I doubt you know what that is. I basically work with the unexplainable things in science. I do that because of the cave.� �You know about the cave?� Ben was excited by this. �I know I�m not around much, and I�m sorry. I hope you understand. But this,� he pointed towards the waterfall, �This is something I think we can share. That place is amazing. There are infinite possibilities inside of there. But for all the things that happen, there isn�t an explanation. After finding it when I was your age, I devoted my life to finding out how it works. I was so caught up in paperwork that I forgot why I started it. Now I remember why I do what I do. I hope that you can utilize the cave as well as I have.� �I think I can,� Ben said meekly, overwhelmed again today. �Good son. Just remember not to lose yourself in the cave.� �I won�t get lost.� �What I mean is, don�t forget who you are and what you can do. The cave has amazing powers, but you do too. Don�t rely on the cave. You can have fun with the cave. Just be careful what you think about. You can get yourself in heaps of trouble,� Ben�s father chuckled. �Okay Dad,� Ben said warmly, finally soaking in the information and feeling closer to his father than he ever has. �Now, let�s go home.� �Okay. Hey dad! Whiskers can talk! Show him Whiskers!� �The power of the cave only works near the cave. Once Whiskers left, he couldn�t speak.� �Oh,� said Ben. �I�m sure you�ll bring him back someday, though.� �Yeah, I think I will.� At that moment, Ben was the happiest he has ever been. ������
Copyright © 2006 Larson |