The Mountain's best kept Secret

4. There it was!

(Isabella’s POV—TWO DAYS AGO)

Isabella stared at the blue cloudless sky, while she rested on her beach towel. They found a pleasant spot to lounge on top of the cliff. Today she swapped her to-do lists with jokes and laughter. She tilted her head towards the sky and absorbed the brilliant rays coming down. Only dressed in her swimsuit, she felt vulnerable with so little cloths on—in contrary to Grace flaunting her exposed skin. “What are you day-dreaming about?” She heard Travis asking from behind. “Isn’t this place lovely?” she answered him without looking back. “Yes…” He replied. “I’m so pleased I came with. Somehow, It seems as if I belong here. Strange, isn’t it?” She said. Not able to see his expression, she knew her words make him smile.

‘I should go out with my friends more. When last did I waist time doing nothing? ’ Isabella wondered. “I am glad the mystical creature escaped from her den. The rumour going around is, that she died a lonesome death with only books by her side…”. Travis teased before he went on, “Your translucent skin isn’t fooling us—clearly you’re turning into a ghost.” Turning her head to glare at him, she wasn’t able to hold back her laughter. “I was thinking the same thing! My absent social life isn’t helping ether.” She joked. Returning to her day-dreaming, she recalled how nice it was to be carefree. ‘When did I change into such a bore?’ she questioned herself.

Isabella could see herself living in the mountains. With her eyes closed, she became absorbed in her own world. She imagined the perfect home - a small cabin on the top of the cliff overlooking the waterfall. Faint echoes in the distance could sing her to sleep, while the sounds of nature keep her company during the day. To cook food and keep warm, she needs to gather wood for the fireplace every day. In an ideal world, she can stargaze and sip wine on the porch to pass the time. As these images developed in her mind—it made her happy. Her own perfect world she can hold on to.

“What about a dare?” Grace challenged her friends. Her words shook Isabella back to reality. “Huh? Don’t you realize you’ve gotten us in enough trouble already?” Penny replied with one eyebrow shot up. “Come on! Be spontaneous. Since when do you not like a bit of fun?” Grace challenged her. “Since we can’t trust you!” She snapped. Taken aback by Penny’s sudden outburst, she stared at her without reply. “No, Penny didn’t mean that, wright?” Isabella stepped in and gave her friend a stern look. “I did! How could you lie to us? I assumed you to be our friend?” Penny unleased her suppressed anger. “You wouldn’t have come, and I needed you to!” Grace exclaimed. “Why?” Isabella asked, baffled. “Because… I… I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I wasn’t able to come by myself.” Grace said with her head held low. “Please forgive me…” she asked with tear-filled eyes. Her tears was enough for the friends to forgive her untruthfulness. They rushed over and took her into their embrace.

“Then, I’m in!” Penny exclaimed out of guilt about her sudden outburst. “Yeah!” Grace shrieked. “I will agree as soon as you tell us more about your dare.” Isabella sighed. “Lets all jump of the cliff and swim to the opposite side of the river. There, we can explore more of the area. What do you think?” Grace asked. Isabella walked to the edge of the cliff; ‘Ok, not to dangerous’ she struggled to persuade herself by staring at the water far down. “I’ll jump first and wait for you below” Travis suddenly appeared next to her. She smiled at him and returned her gaze to the water. “Generally, I will be too scared to do something like this, but today…” she trailed off. “Are you ok? You don’t have to do this, you know.” Travis softly replied. “But that’s the point, I want to… I need to…”. Without warning, Grace interrupted them by jumping on Travis’s back. “Grace, what are you doing? I’m standing on the cliff’s edge! Do you wish for me to fall?” he exclaimed. “What are you two chatting about?.” She ignored his anger. “Nothing really.” Isabella replied with a grin. “Take of your shirt, and let’s get in.” She winked at him before returning to where Penny sat. 

“She likes you.” Isabella said as he shook his head at Grace’s irresponsible actions. “What? Don’t be silly.” He replied without expression. Isabella spoke in a low tone, “She really does. Everybody sees it except you. To be honest, you can’t see what’s right in front of you. You’re still hung up with what ‘could have been’.” “I need to cling onto the little hope I have left.” He replied. “There’s no hope, Travis. You have to let me go.” She said after a brief silence. Although the words shattered his last hope of getting her back, she spoke the truth. He turned around and left, saying nothing.

With a heavy sigh, she turned around and forced a smile. Grace wouldn’t stop nagging until they all play along. Travis swiftly removed his shirt and smirked at the three of them. He walked back to where Isabella stood. “Here’s to letting the past go.” He saluted and leaped off the cliff. His actions made her give a slight shriek and cover her eyes. As she peeped out of her fingers, still covering her face, she saw Grace taking off her shorts. It exposed her perfectly shaped frame. “Whoa! The water is awesome! Grace, aren’t you joining me?” Travis yelled from below. A faint blush crept over her face by hearing his direct invitation. Hopefully, he took Isabella’s advice to heart. Or was he trying to make her jealous? Now that would be something!

Penny joined them at the edge of the cliff. There he was floating with his eyes closed; against the bright light. “He survived the jump!” Penny exclaimed. “Now it’s our turn.” Grace winks at Penny before giving a giant leap off the cliff. Next, Penny removes her shots and said; “See you down there.” She kept calm all the way down - not as Isabella thought. She’s now the only one left on the cliff. Nervously, she stared down to see if Penny had reappeared from the water. She resurfaces after what seems like an eternity and made a jubilant cheer. “What a thrill! What are you waiting for, Bella?”. As she pondered, the water drew her closer, clouding her fear.

Today she got lost in the beauty of it all; the breeze blowing through her hair, the beetle’s calming tune filling the air, and her happy heart. In the dark depths, she saw herself, not as she was now, but different. Her gaze fixated on the image in the water. Distracted, she unwillingly took off her shorts and slipped it to the ground. Suddenly, she leaped off without a second thought. 

At first, the wind tugged her hair upwards as it flew through it. Anticipation of her feet hitting the water caused her stomach to twist. Then, coldness shocked her body, followed by tiny bubbles streaming from her feet. A sense of belonging satisfied her soul. ‘I love this other version of me! What a feeling!’ she exclaimed in her thoughts. All of a sudden, she’s forced deeper into the water. ‘No!’ she yelled. Panicked, she attempted to swim towards the surface, but without success. A force dragged her down to her death. Her lungs were on fire, so she had to resist the urge to take a breath. As her eyes became heavy, the image of a white horse appeared in front of her. The same majestic horse from her dreams. It moved in the water as it would on land. Unexpectedly, it came up from below and raised her to the surface. 

Isabella frantically gasped for air once she came up. Strong hands circle around her waist to support her in remaining afloat. The additional help offered her a chance to wipe the water from her face. “Travis” She said out of breath. “I’ve got you. Your save.” Travis tightly held her to him. To get her breath, she leaned on his chest, but clumsily push him aside after a few seconds. “Are you ok, Bella? What happened down there?” Travis worryingly asked. “I’m fine thanks, just a little cold”. Isabella lied and search the water for the white horse. The vision disappeared as quickly as it came. “Go up on my back, I’ll take us ashore. There, you need to rest.” He told her. She nodded and climbed on his back. “Thank u.” She murmured, causing him to smile without her seeing. Travis’s powerful arms ripped through the water with speed, only slowing down closer to the bank. Penny and Grace stood watching for them.

“Bella, are you ok? You startled us.” Penny said while helping them out of the water. “Yes, thank u. Don’t know what got over me…” Isabella replied and shook her head. However, Grace’s strange behaviour caught her attention. She didn’t seem surprised by the events that took place moments ago. “Sit, lets rest for a short while.” Travis placed her down under a nearby tree.

The cliffs stood high on opposite sides of them, yet became one further down the river. It appeared as if they protected a secret. A secret so extraordinary that no one must discover it. “Grace, the guy who told you about this place - where did you meet? There is something so curious about it. Somehow, I’m drawn to it.” Isabella asked Grace. “A friend of mine hosted a party a few months ago. We became tipsy and chatted about all kinds of rubbish. We gossiped about the chatter flying around. This one guy—I cannot even recall his name—said he heard about a group that came here and disappeared. We all knew it’s a load of crap. It couldn’t be true, right?” Grace answered truthfully. 

“Go on,” Penny replied. “Suddenly, a girl stood up and confirmed his story - she said she was part of that group, but the only one that returned. She has no recollection of what happened, though.” Mystery shrouded Grace’s answer. “What? Grace, are you sure? Why bring us here?” The turn of events shocked Isabella, recalling the force drawing her down into the water. “You cannot sincerely think that a group of people just vanished? The girl claiming to be the sole survivor obviously invented the lie. To obtain attention, I’m sure. We were stupidly drunk that night!” Grace exclaimed. “Why choose to come here if there’s alternative ‘legal’ placed to visit?” Penny pressed. “Out of curiosity…” Grace shrugged her shoulders.

“This place is growing on me. I can imagine myself living here.” Isabella pointed to the top of the cliffs. “In a small wooden cabin on the highest cliff”. She added. Penny and Travis chuckled at her silly ideas. “O Bella, there're no books here in the mountains, how will you ever survive!” Penny laughed. “Let’s explore a little, that was our intention, wright?” Grace interrupted them. “Yes, I too want to uncover the secrets hidden here.” Isabella said while standing up. 

Today was one of those perfect, but intense summer days. The friends carefully walked alongside the river, further into the mountains. Travis heavily carried his troubled heart far ahead. “What’s up with him?” Penny asked. “He need to vent and take time to accept what is.” Grace answered her first, to Isabella’s surprise. ‘Did she overhead their conversation earlier?” She wondered. Unfortunately, she didn’t grasp the true meaning of Grace’s words. “Let’s go this way.” Grace motioned. To Isabella, it felt like they walked without an end in sight.

The scorching sun caused sweat droplets to fall from Isabella’s forehead. Hot and tired, she wiped it away with her bare forearm. Clothed only in their swimsuits, the friends walked further alongside the river, appreciating their surroundings. “I’m thirsty!” Penny complained. Isabella also noticed her tongue sticking to her dry palate. “We’ll shrivel up if we don’t get some fresh water soon.” Penny noted, but they left all refreshments back on top of the cliff.

“We can drink from the river.” Grace answered. “Are you sure?” Penny asked. “She’s right, it’s constantly flowing and gets filtered by the rocks.” Isabella added. In the blink of an eye, Penny dropped to her knees and gulped down hands full of water. “I… (gulp)… don’t know…. (gulp)… if it’s the thirst… (gulp)… but this is the tastiest water I’ve ever had!” Penny exclaimed while swallowing at the same time. Amused by her, the others also bent down to take a sip. “Pure mineral water complimentary from mother nature.” Grace said in a proud tone. “Yip, it’s delicious...” Isabella replied, but not able to figure out the expression on Grace’s face. She has been acting strange since they got here, but cannot figure out why.

“Bella, your back! The sun got you good.” Grace noticed. Isabella looked down to her chest and shoulders, realising her pale skin turned a reddish pink. “O no! We need to get out of the sun.” She replied, still looking at her pink skin. “Ouch, that’s going to hurt tomorrow!” Penny said, scrunching up her nose. “Let’s find Travis and call it a day.” Penny added. “TRAVIS!” She yelled in the direction he disappeared earlier. “TRVI…” She yelled again, before Grace interrupted her. “Stop it, you sound like a crazy person. We have to go find him. He disappeared into that direction.” She pointed to the edge of the dense trees. “Fine” Penny scoffed and started walking. “Coming?” She turned around with a raised eyebrow. “Yes” Isabella answered, preoccupied by new skin colour. She crossed her arms on top of chest, so her hands could cover her shoulders.

Before long, they entered the mountain’s dense forest with Penny in the lead. “Thank u Grace.” She said. “Huh, for what?” Grace replied. “For dragging us along on your crazy adventure. Today was incredible. I actually had a lot of fun.” She answered. “I know you, Bella. Although we’re not the closest of friends, everyone knew you needed a break. We all miss you.” Grace said and gave her a gentle hug. She could tell Grace meant every word. “Let’s find Travis and go home” she replied with a smile.

“Bella! Grace! Where are you?” Both of them never noticed Penny continued searching for Travis while they had a heart-to-heart. Peering around them, Isabella said; “It looks like a dead end”. She pointed at the giant cliff walls rising in front of them. “HERE!” Grace yelled. Without warning, Travis answered, “To your left!”. Startled by him, they both jumped toward his voice. He walked towards them with a huge smile on his face. Just then, Penny also came back. “You wouldn’t believe what I found!” Travis exclaimed, almost bursting with excitement.

“No, we are going home. I’m sunburnt, tired and hungry. We had enough adventure for one day.” Penny said, crossing her arms. On the contrary, Grace looked at him with stars in her eyes. “Please… We can go home as soon as Travis shows us his find.” She pleaded. Isabella silently kicked the dirt around thinking; ‘I have to return Grace’s kindness of just moments ago’. “Ok, I’m in.” Isabella said. “What? Aw, I guess a new adventure awaits.” Penny sighed sarcastically.

Struggling over the slippery rocks with bare feet proved more challenging than one would assume. Once again, it was a relief reaching the giant cliff’s shadows, lending an escape from the scorching sun. “Travis, it’s time to go home. We’re all sunburnt and dehydrated. Let’s call it a day. We can pack accordingly next time and spend a few days.” Penny complained.

“You’re not going anywhere until you see what I discovered! Come and have a look!” His couldn’t contain his excitement. Travis led them over a large boulder to what seems to be a c***k in the cliff wall. In disbelief, Isabella blinked her eyes; ‘I’m I hallucinating from the heat? From different angles the cliff plays tricks on me.’ She thought. Careful not to hurt her feet, she walked closer but suddenly paused. “Did you hear that?” She asked. “What?” Penny answered. “A whisper… The same as before.” She said. “It’s the wind moving through the forest. I hear it too.” Grace eased her mind. “O, that make sense. I thought I’m going crazy.”

“Almost there girls, we have to approach from an angle. That’s how I found it.” He led the way until they came face to face with his find. The four couldn’t believe their eyes. There it was! The Mountain’s best kept secret.