by Sarah Swan
“What! You’re not up for it?” he dared me.
“I am, but—”
“You’ll love it, I promise.”
I sighed. I had to admit, my curiosity was getting the better of my, and I did remember wanting to explore these cliffs when I first came here. I just didn’t think I’d be going down so steep a trail. Chris seemed sure of himself. What was the worst that could happen? A two-hundred foot drop to your death, a small voice said in the back of my head. I pushed it aside.
“You’ve been down there before?” I asked.
“Definitely. A few times. Don’t worry. The path is better than it looks. As long as you use the handholds, you’re good to go.”
I shrugged my shoulders to make the voice go away. “What’s down there that’s so important to see, anyway?”
“Well, follow me and find out,” Chris said with a wink. He immediately started down the path. I sighed, shook my head to get rid of the voice once more, and followed after him.
The ledge was wide enough for me to walk straight on. But, there were a few points where I had to press myself against the rock face just to be safe. More than once, the handholds proved absolutely essential in navigating across a particularly tricky section. I avoided looking down at the start. When I finally did, I found that I had made it more than three-quarters of the way to the bottom.
That was where the wind started to pick up. This close to the sea, gusts of air swept across the rock, carrying thin mists of salty water with them every time. Most of it sprayed harmlessly against my back, but every now and then, a particularly strong gale howled across the rock, and I had to stop moving for fear of missing a step.
“Almost there,” Chris called from ahead just after one of the bigger gales subsided.
“Whatever you want to show me better be worth this,” I muttered under my breath. The last gust had blown salty water all over my face. Not only did my eyes sting, but it was also cold.
“What was that?”
“Nothing,” I replied.
Finally we reached the bottom. I was close enough to those spiraling sentry rocks that I could reach out and touch them. Instead, I followed Chris around the bend.
I didn’t know what to expect originally, but what I saw then definitely wasn’t on my list of possibilities. The path we were on led into the opening of a large cave, hollowed out into the rock. It would have been impossible to see from up above. The wind did not reach this area, and the water was relatively calm. I followed Chris to the mouth of the cave. It was hard to see very deep inside, because the light of the sun didn’t penetrate that far.
“This is… kinda creepy,” I told him, stepping gingerly. The opening of the cave loomed ominously in front of us. It looked ready to swallow both of us up. “This is what you wanted to show me?” I asked.
“Farther in,” he replied.
“What’s down there?”
“You’ve come this far. You’ll see soon enough,” he answered mysteriously, setting off into the cave.
I watched from the edge until his shape faded into the darkness, and then stirred and went after him at a run. It was absolutely impossible to see anything farther down the tunnel, and I didn’t want to be by myself when I reached that part. Not even a dozen paces from the entrance, I began to feel the walls pressing down on me. The cave was dark and dank. The spray of the ocean water behind me made the air salty. There was a slight smell of decaying vegetation, washed up on the rocks by the currents.
“Chris?” I called out. I wasn’t sure how much farther he had gone. I didn’t want to venture deeper by myself.
“I’m right here,” he said from close by. I blinked a few times to help my eyes adjust to the dark, and found him standing not far from me.
“Listen, Chris,” I began, “I trust you and all, but this is a little bit sketchy, don’t you think…?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, “it’s not far now.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out some small, indiscriminate shape. After he had played around with it a few times, I saw a flame go up. The light from the Zippo illuminated a surprisingly large portion of the cave. It made shadows dance gloomily on Chris’s face.
Abruptly he smiled at me, and reached over to take my hand. “Come on,” he said, “it’s not much farther. You’re safe with me, you know?” Again, I found myself taking solace in that easy smile. Chris’s hand holding mine gave a warm type of comfort, so I didn’t pull away.
He led me farther into the cave, walking with the surefootedness of someone who’d been here many times before. I guessed he kept the light on only for my own comfort. After walking for what seemed like a century (although it was probably closer to five minutes), the dark of the cave started to fade away. I started to make out pale white, glowing light far in the distance, coming from behind a sharp bend.
“What is that?” I asked. Chris chuckled knowingly in reply.
As we got closer, the light from the Zippo blended in with that strange light from around the corner, until the flame was no longer necessary. Chris flicked it off and put it back in his pocket.
“Come, look,” he told me as he stepped around the edge and into the light. He smiled. “We’re finally there.”
I walked toward him, now extremely curious. When I turned the corner, I gasped in awe.
The cave turned into a wide, circular space – a cavern maybe three or four times larger than my room. Light shone down from a small opening in the roof, in a ray that looked solid enough to touch. But that was not what was so impressive. On the floor of the cavern, located perfectly in the center of the space and right below the source of light, was an enormous bundle of naturally-formed crystals. They emerged extravagantly from a single cleaved rock, and were arranged much like a bouquet of roses. They were both astoundingly huge and intensely beautiful. Somehow, they scattered the light from the hole up above all around the circular cavern, splitting the ray like dozens of tiny mirrors. The crystals glistened in the light. Every time I took a breath, the tiny movement of my body seemed to make the crystals glitter in a new way. It was amazing.
“What is this?” I asked Chris softly. This seemed almost a holy place. The crystals demanded a type of reverence. I acknowledged it by keeping my voice low.
“I’m not entirely sure,” Chris said in a voice matching my own, “but I came across it a long time ago.”
“It’s absolutely surreal,” I said. “And so beautiful.”
He looked across at me, and his eyes seemed to shine. It took me a moment to realize that it was the crystals reflecting off his pupils that created the effect. It felt like there was this spectacular aura radiating from the center of the room, bathing everything in a supernatural light, and we had just stepped into it. “I thought you’d like it.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Not many people have. You want to come take a closer look?”
I nodded. Chris smiled, and extended his hand. “Down this way.”
There was a circling ledge that led down from the entrance. It looked more like rubble, really. I had to pick my way down carefully, relying on Chris’s steady hand to keep my balance. At the bottom, a completely foreign feeling washed over me.
It was ridiculous, of course, and probably just the better part of my imagination, but once I took that first step onto the rocky floor, I felt an inexplicable pull toward the crystals. It was like I had crossed some sort of threshold, upon which the effect came into full force. My insides grew warm. My hands and face started to tingle slightly. I felt like I was in a dream. I walked toward the crystals, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open. The light they reflected danced in scattered rays. When I came close enough to touch the crystals, the very air seemed to shimmer. I reached out with my hand, about to put my fingers on the glowing quartz for the first time…
Chris stepped deftly in front of me and took my hand. “It might not be such a good idea to touch them,” he said gently. “They grow hot, sometimes.”
/>
I shook my head, not understanding. “What?” I replied dreamily. I felt a longing for the crystals, which was even more ridiculous, and Chris was standing in the way. I felt irritated with him for that.
“Come on,” he suggested. “Let’s go back.” He gently took my shoulders to turn me around. I complied, though not really sure why. My mind seemed hazy, and movement… well, movement felt a bit like moving underwater.
“Why?”
“It’s getting dark.”
I looked around. To my surprise, the light had started to fade. But it had been so intense only a moment ago!
“Is the sun going down already?” I asked, still irritated with him for blocking my way.
“It started going down fifteen minutes ago. We’ve been here for the better part of an hour.”
“What?” I said in surprise. We had only just gotten here!
“Yeah. You were pretty fascinated with the crystals back there.”
I blinked, and everything changed at once. The fuzziness I felt was gone, and I became acutely aware of new memories rushing into my head. Memories of how I had stared at the crystal since arriving here, trance-like. It was like my brain was playing catch-up with reality.
I realized now, also, that we were already back in the darker tunnel of the cave. Chris had the Zippo out, and was leading me toward the entrance. I frowned. What had happened back there? It was like… insomnia, or maybe sleepwalking. I racked my brain trying to think of a possible explanation. Could it be the effects of my concussion exhibiting themselves for the first time? I had to get it checked out.
Then I remembered something Chris had said to me. “You said they grow hot. Why?”
Chris looked over his shoulder at me, as if surprised to hear me speak. “There are geysers in some places on the island. Some of the caves sit atop the hot pools of water. The crystals are connected to the heat of the earth, and every once in a while an errant blast of heat might come up, and make their surface scalding to the touch.” He shrugged. “I don’t know much about the geology of it. You’ll have to ask my father about that.”
“Does he know about the crystals, too?”
“Actually, he’s the one who showed them to me,” Chris said. Then, frowning as if he had made a blunder, quickly changed the topic. “Anyway, who did you say your friend was that you had a sleepover with?”
“Oh. Uh, Megan,” I said, quickly making up a name. I didn’t like to lie, but I didn’t want to see his reaction if he found out I had been with Liz.
He frowned again. “I don’t know any Megan.”
Damn. Caught in the lie. “Maybe you haven’t met her yet?”
“I’ve been going to class with these kids for three years,” he laughed, “I think I know mostly everyone.”
“Well, apparently not,” I said.
“Are you sure that’s who you were with?”
“Yes! Why are you so adamant about finding out where I was last night? You didn’t seem to care much, earlier.”
“Alright, alright, I believe you,” he backed off. “You’ll have to introduce me one day. Since we’re friends and all.”
“Um, sure, I guess that’ll be fine.”
“I’ll hold you to it.” He looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to admit the lie. Somehow, I felt like he saw right through my attempts to hide the truth.
“Why do you care so much, anyway?” I asked, quickening my stride. I didn’t have any responsibility to tell him everything about me. It’s not like he was my boyfriend or anything. Plus, I was still annoyed that he hadn’t let me touch the crystal.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” he said somewhat apologetically, catching up to me. “If you don’t want to say, that’s fine.”
“I did tell you,” I repeated.
“But not the whole truth…?”
I started feeling fed up with him. “You want to know the whole truth?” I demanded. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but only because you insisted on it. Before, I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to hurt your feelings. I know you saw me at breakfast yesterday, and I saw your reaction when you noticed who I was with. I don’t know your history with those girls, but whatever it is, rest assured they feel the same way about you. So, you want to know what I was doing last night? I went to a party with them. I didn’t want to tell you that, only because I remembered what you said about not having many friends here. I didn’t want to upset you about it.
“But you keep insisting, so here’s the truth: Liz told me that I should never be seen talking to you. She nearly made me promise, in fact. But you know what? I like to make my own decisions about who I’m friends with. So, she’s just going to have to understand that I’m friends with you. And same goes for you, too. Now you know that I’m friends with those girls, and you can’t go storming off in anger like you did yesterday morning whenever you see me with them. It’s possessive, and creepy, and damaging, and it’s not what friends do!”
He looked absolutely shocked at my outburst. I turned away and kept walking. For a few minutes, he walked silently just behind me without saying anything. Finally, he spoke up.
“And what about Rob?” he asked gently.
How did he know about Rob? “What about him?” I asked suspiciously.
“I heard he’s taken quite an interest in you.”
Rob had taken an interest in me? I was flattered, maybe even a little bit giddy, at the thought. But it was ridiculous. “Who told you that?” I asked, followed up by, “That’s stupid.”
“That’s not what I heard,” he replied. “Last night at the party—”
“Wait, you were there?”
“No, no,” he shook his head. “But some people I know, who know him in turn, said he wouldn’t stop gushing about you yesterday.”
I looked back at Chris in shock. Surely he was mistaken? “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. And then last night, at the party, I heard you guys had a pretty intimate moment.”
“That’s not true!” I blushed. If the short hug was deemed intimate… my thoughts shifted. Who could have told him that, anyway? Who would have noticed me at the party, and taken enough of an interest to see what happened between me, a completely anonymous girl who was little more than a stranger, and one guy out of a hundred?
“That’s what I figured. I didn’t think he was really your type, anyway.”
“My type?” I asked quizzically. What did he mean by that? I asked him as much.
“Oh, you know, handsome – but moronic. Single-minded. Vain, and not particularly interesting to talk to.” Was that a hint of jealousy I detected in his voice? “I just would have thought you’d be interested in guys with more, I don’t know, substance, maybe.”
“How do you know all that about him?”
“I hear things, and I see a lot,” he answered coyly. “From the little time I’ve spent with you, you seem pretty smart. I just thought you’d need someone else like that, to match you intellectually, at least.”
Someone like you? Was that what he was getting at? I had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to Chris than he let on. I realized that it would be nearly impossible for someone not to have any friends and survive this long at a school, and then mysteriously hear about everything that went on at an apparently exclusive party. No, there were definitely more layers to him than met the eye. I didn’t think he was being completely honest with me that day we first met. The question I wanted answered was why?
“Well, you’ll be glad to know that there’s nothing going on between me and Rob,” I told Chris sourly. I sighed. “You’re probably right, anyway. Maybe he’s not my type. To be honest, I barely even know him.”
We continued down the cave in silence, the single flame casting long, flickering shadows of our bodies against the floor. As we were just about to exit, Chris spoke up.
“…I’m… sorry if I pressed you,” he said somewhat hesitantly.
“What?” I had been lost in my thoughts and wa
sn’t paying attention.
“You clearly were looking out for me, like a good friend should, and I’m sorry that I didn’t trust you.” He said it with such candor that it made me instantly regret my brief outburst.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I think I should apologize, too. I shouldn’t have gotten mad, especially after what you showed me just now. In fact, I should probably thank you for sharing the crystals with me.”
“So we’re good again?” Chris asked behind a sly smile.
“We’re good. It wouldn’t be much of a friendship if a little argument got in the way. Right?”
“Right.” He beamed at me. “Come on, we’ve got to get out of here before night falls.”
He was right. The sun was already setting, and I did not want to climb up the cliff in the dark. As we made our way back up, the last remaining bits of sunlight providing just enough light to see, I felt an odd type of relief for having made full amends with Chris after the argument. It was weird – hanging out with him today. I felt like I had been on an emotional rollercoaster ride. First there was the mystery of our destination. Then there was the wonder of the crystal. Finally, there was the irritation at being barred from touching the surface of the glassy rock. Afterwards, when he insisted on my telling him what I did last night, the irritation grew to outright anger. Now, it was superseded by a peculiar feeling of contentment. In fact, I felt closer to him now than I had even when he showed me the crystal. Which was strange, because we did have that short fight. Maybe it was because I realized that there were things to him that he hadn’t yet shared. This mystery made him seem more… interesting.
“If you’re any slower down there the high tide will get you in the morning!” he yelled teasingly from above. I realized he was nearly three-quarters of the way up, while I was still languishing just a few yards above the water.
“We’ll see about that,” I said determinedly, and started climbing faster. Before long, I had nearly caught up with him. I knew he had slowed down to wait for me. A few minutes later, he was at the top, leaning against that big boulder and looking out over the horizon as he waited for me.
