A cap, a gown, an honor stole.

My friends’ daughter is graduating.

I still remember the day they brought her home.

I was grateful to help, more than they may ever know.

Ten fingers, ten toes, and a full head of hair.

It seems like it was yesterday.

I’ve watched her grow up, mostly from afar.

Where has the time gone? When did she grow up?

She’s off to college in the fall…What?!

She can’t, she’s just a little kid!

…Amazing how time flies…

Beautiful wine glass, filled with pretty fruit,

floating in magical liquid before me.

Red, or white, it matters not, as long as the taste is sweet.

Oranges, apples, lemons, limes.

Strawberries, cherries, blueberries, oh my!

It goes down smooth, and distracts my mind.

I’ve always been a lightweight, I guess.

Never too much, a glass or two will do.

Plus, it’s only once in a while.

Well okay, except that one time…

We were celebrating that night, weren’t we…

It made me laugh and happy, but then,

losing my footing and holding on to his belt.

I didn’t have that much, I swear. At least he drove.

Finally, kicking out of my shoes and giggling all the way home.

That memory should make me sad, but instead I laugh.

Many happy times since then, since you.

And, even still, I love drinking my sangria.

She looks for the truth to be heard

by the closed eyes and closed minds around her.

She works to show their duplicity, the inequity of it all.

Minds fight back, positions of power abused.

She’s just a token woman in their mind, after all.

An image so they can pretend they are fair.

Although they are not… nor are they just.

But still, she persisted.

---

For all the women who find they face uphill battles for what is good, fair, and right. Don’t give up!

“Whatcha’ doin’?” she whispered in his ear. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, resting them on his chest as he fiddled on his phone.

“Makin’ shipments,” he responded as he continued to play his game.

“Yeah, how’s the mining going. Making us lots of money?”

He laughed. “Yeah, sure.”

She leaned in and kissed him on his cheek.

He laughed again. “Are you trying to distract me?”

“Who me? Noooo. Never!” She smiled through her drawn out reply. She shifted her weight, resting on his shoulders more.

He finally looked her way. Then he saw it. Desire.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. Finally, he set aside the phone and pulled her again, this time, over the back of the sofa.

Her head landed in his lap as her body landed stretched out on the sofa.

He played with her brown curls, wiping them out of her eyes.

“You wanna?” he smiled…

She smiled back.

Mikaela hoisted her pack and limped toward the glowing light deep inside the cavern. The light began to illuminate the area. She found a small path which wound its way around stalactites and stalagmites which formed throughout the cave system. The riverbed continued to flow along side her, but the rush from outside had slowed to a small trickle.

Mikaela felt as if she were in another world. Cool drafts of air floated by as she moved deeper into the opening. She called out again for the team, with no response.

She continued forward and saw a man-made structure. It appeared to be supports from an old mine system. She paused a moment and looked around. The mine shaft continued forward for at least a hundred yards to her left and then off to the right. If her instincts were correct, the team should be finding their way to this location. She found a small rock to sit on to rest and drink some water.

In the distance down shaft, she believed she heard voices. She called out again, “Frank? Sin? Moe? Anyone down there?”

A faint echo seemed to repeat her voice, then she heard a response, a faint call of her name. “Mike? Come here, Mike.”

Mikaela paused. The voice wasn’t Frank’s nor anyone else from the team. It was his. But that wasn’t possible, was it?

Mikaela stood back up and headed towards the voice. As she walked through the mine shaft, the glow of blue green grew until she came to a solid wall along the side of the shaft. She reached her hand out and rested it gently on the wall. The wall pulsed and she heard it again.

“Mike. Come here, Mike. Find me.”

The glowing tattoo on her pinky became hot as it continued to glow and the only relief she found was placing her hand on the wall. It cooled her hand. She became entranced and her mind drifted. Visions of him appeared in front of her. Memories and dreams and wishes became jumbled in her mind. Flashes of reality were mixed with desire. The rest of the world disappeared away. Her mission to open a portal no longer meant anything to her.

“Mikaela!” A voice from behind her called out. An arm wrapped around her, pulling her backward. She fought it, wanting to stay in the moment. “Mikaela, wake up!” Frank’s voice commanded while Moe pulled her back.

Moe fell backward, dropping Mikaela as the wall released her. They both were splayed out on the ground. Slowly, Mikaela regained awareness and sat up. “It is so beautiful. I need to go back.” She reached back towards the wall.

Sin stood in front of her. “Stop Mikaela. This isn’t real.” Sin’s stern voice snapped her out of it. She never fit into the story, and always would break it apart….back then and even now.

Mikaela became angered, wanting to fight them all. “Leave me be.” The wall’s magic pulled on her even harder. Tears streamed down her face.

Moe moved in front of her. “No. This isn’t you. Mikaela, focus.”

The hurt and the confusion showed in Mikaela’s face. This is what Moe was worried about when James decided to bring her in. Her desire would override her reality.

A voice, his voice, echoed in her head. Mikaela, it isn’t time. She slumped, overwhelmed.

Slowly, Mikaela came back to reality. “We need to finish this, Moe. What do we need to do?”

Frank piped up. “We need to find the spot where the portal closed. It should be near by. The power of the wall grows closer to the portal, and based on what we just saw, we are close.”

The team picked up their things and began to follow the mineshaft deeper into the earth. Frank, Moe and Sin formed themselves along side Mikaela, keeping her away from the side of the mine lined by the wall. Ahead, an archway formed out of rock with carvings could be seen. Scrollwork much like on her ring and the knife Frank gave her glowed in vibrant colors.

When the wall closed, it broke off parts of the arch. Each of them stepped up to one of the 4 stone pieces laying on the ground.

Frank hoisted the first one up and looked at the pattern. “I think we need to replace these back into place so the portal is whole. Then we need to figure out how to open it.” Three of the stones were able to be quickly placed back into the arch. They each were small enough that Mikaela, Frank, and Sin could easily restore them.

Moe looked at the fourth stone. “I’m a strong guy, but there’s no way I can lift this one alone.”

Mikaela snickered a little bit. It was odd for Moe to admit defeat, especially in the realm of his own strength. “What do you mean, Moe? We all handled ours.” She chuckled as she wiped the dust off her hands.

The stone was considerably large, no doubt. And it needed to go into an opening well above Sin and Mikaela’s reach. “We might be able to help get you boys started, but there is no way for us to reach that spot,” Sin spoke up, then looked at the gap.

The four of them positioned themselves around the stone and began to lift. Mikaela’s rings made contact with the stone and it began to glow. With the stone alit, it quickly became weightless and almost floated up. Mikaela’s reach however was exceeded as the team lifted the stone, the light disappeared, and the stone returned to its heavier weight. Frank and Moe struggled under the weight and started to lower it back to the ground.

Mikaela looked more closely at the rock. Then she took off all of her rings. She saw the scroll work from one ring matched a repeated pattern in the stone, but there was a second mark, similar to a cresting wave, like the one in her wedding ring also carved into the stone. She first set the emerald ring down on it. A small glimmer came from the stone. It wouldn’t be enough.

She picked up the ring and then placed her wedding ring set down. Again, a small glimmer, different, but still not enough. She added the emerald ring atop the others and the stone began to pull on the rings and glow intently. However, they wouldn’t stay in place atop the stone and started to slip off.

She caught them before they hit the ground. “We need to find a way to hold them in place.” If the cost to her were her rings, she would part with them willingly. Rings could be replaced.

Frank watched Mikaela as she worked on this puzzle. He laid on the ground and cried out, “Roll it over!” As the team took his direction, they discovered a small thin slit. “Mikaela, the knife.” He pointed at her hip. She pulled it out. “Will the rings fit somewhere in the hilt?”

Mikaela fiddled with the pommel stone and removed it. Inside, there were three slots, perfectly sized to hold the emerald band and her wedding ring set. “Frank, did you make this?” Frank looked at her and quickly shook his head indicating no. “It’s his. I don’t know why, but I somehow suspected it needed to be here. He had it with him when he tried to stop all of this from happening. The emerald ring was inside.”

Mikaela slipped her rings into the hilt and replaced the pommel stone to hold them in place. She thought to herself, the past and the present are the keys to the future. She didn’t know what it meant however. She walked over to the side of the stone where the opening was and slid in the knife. The stone began to glow again. This time Frank and Moe easily lifted the stone back into place, the knife still sticking out from the stone, holding the rings in place.

As the stone slid into place in the arch, the knife began to vibrate and the openings in the hilt glowed white and green from the stones in Mikaela’s rings. Mikaela reached for the knife but it was too far away from her. The team all stepped back from the archway as more light poured out filling the mineshaft with blinding effect. The team shielded their eyes from the brilliance.

The mineshaft began to shake and wind from outside was pulled in as the wall area flashed. Sin and Frank held on to each other behind an outcropping while Moe grabbed Mikaela’s hand as he held on to a nearby rock formation. The winds picked up, pulling everything in its path towards the wall. The wall began to give way under the archway. Rocks, old mine tools, even their packs which laid on the ground were sucked in.

Moe hollered, “It’s working, the portal is opening!” While it was a relief, the team worked to not be pulled through. They didn’t know what actually lied on the other side of the portal, but knew having it opened would bring relief to their world.

Moe’s grip on Mikaela tightened as she kept being pulled towards the opening. Her body floated up from the force of the wind. In that moment, she understood what needed to be done. She loosened her grip. “It’s okay. Just make the promise, nothing said to him.”

A tear came from Moe’s eye. He never allowed his emotions to show, but he understood. He shook his head, “I promise.” With that he let her go. The portal swallowed her up. As she passed through, the knife was ejected by the stone and was pulled through with her.

The winds through the mineshaft settled. Sin, Frank and Moe walked toward the portal and looked through it, hoping to see Mikaela on the other side. But it appeared to just be another branch of the mine. Frank turned to Moe and started to fight with him. “Why did you let her go? We all needed to go back together.” He pushed Moe to the ground and started to hit him repeatedly.

Sin just stood there, tears rolling down her face. “He’ll never hear about it from me. I promise, Mikaela.” She turned and pulled Frank off of Moe. “Frank, it’s for the best. For both of them. It isn’t time.”

Moe slid out from Frank’s grasp, stood up and dusted off his pants. “Let’s head home.”

The trek back was sad and slow. The mission was accomplished, but at what cost? As they neared campus, they saw people milling about, all of those who had tried before. They made their way to the field tent and walked into the room where everyone had been placed when they fell. One bed remained filled. He laid there, looking to the ceiling.

He threw some balled up paper in the air and caught it repeatedly as the trio walked up to him. “She was here, wasn’t she?”

None of them would reply.

After a long pause, he continued, “Is it fixed?” Moe shook his head yes, turned and walked away with Sin.

Frank pulled up a chair. “Pop, is she…”

He responded, “Yes, she is.”

---

A booming voice came from the garage door. “Honey, I’m home!” The sound of the garage door closing behind him echoed through the house. “Hey, you up yet?”

He fiddled in the kitchen and made a cup of coffee and a cup of tea. He heard her groan from the sofa.

He chuckled, “Cats wouldn’t let you sleep in bed again, huh?” and set her tea on a small table beside her. She sat up, covered by her furry grey throw. “I also grabbed some breakfast.” He placed some egg bites and a small scone on a plate in front of her as she rubbed her eyes, then he kissed her on her forehead.

“I had the strangest dream just now. It was crazy, Rich. Crazy.” She sipped her tea.

“Well, that storm last night looked horrible. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had nightmares. There are branches down all throughout the neighborhood. Glad you are okay.” Rich then reached toward the coffee table. “Hey, you found that emerald piece you were looking for! When did it come in?”

Mikaela’s eyes opened widely as he handed her a glass jewelry box covered in scrollwork. Nested inside were her wedding rings and an emerald ring. Her heart skipped several beats. She smiled to herself then at him. “It just arrived.”

---

##

The team met just before sun up in the cafeteria and fueled up for the day’s journey. Sin wore her squeaky clean and new trail runners, while the rest of the group had on worn and dusty hiking shoes or boots. Sin was always spunky like that.

Mikaela set down her pack and checked her gear. Frank walked up beside her and handed her a sheathed knife to add to her equipment. “I have a pocket knife, Frank. What’s this for?”

He smiled, “Take it, look it over. I think you’ll appreciate it.”

She pulled the knife from its hand crafted leather sheath. The sheath has similar scroll work as her ring. The handle was formed with similar open scrollwork, and had a beautiful color shifting stone in the pommel. She smiled, and appreciatively said, “Thank you.” Her voice was quiet and soft. “It’s beautiful.” She never looked at knives as anything other than tools, to cut away at wood, vines, vegetables or even box tape. Others might see something more destructive, but she just saw them as a thing of beauty.

She sheathed the knife and hooked it to her belt. Satisfied with her pack, she looked at the threesome in front of her. “Ready to go?”

They all nodded in agreement, donned their packs, and headed out into the pre-dawn light.

The first part of their journey was almost pleasant. The air, still cool from the night, set a brisk tone, waking up their senses. The trek along the lake and next to the meadow was almost joyful. The team chatted, shared stories of their lives since three of the four had last seen each other. Mikaela also was delighted to find out more about Frank; he seemed to be a good soul and a kindred spirit. He loved solving puzzles and hated when he figured out the whodunit in mystery movies too quickly while anyone he was watching it with still were putting the pieces together.

Mid-morning, they reached the base of the mountain. Moe reminded them the plan. “We’ll have a short climb up this slope. There is one tricky part where we need to pass over a creek. Be careful there. Then we’ll find our way to the entrance of the mine which will take us to the caverns.”

Mikaela was worried about Sin’s trail runners, but with the four of them as a team, if they stick together, they should be able to make it through. A big-horned sheep wandered out in front of them on the trail. He looked their way, then trotted off in the opposite direction.

The slope was deceiving and the trail became hard to follow. The trees offered some shade from the sun, which had risen during the morning walk and now hung directly overhead. Each of them took turns leading, finding and pointing out tripping hazards and loose rocks as they climbed up the slope.

As they continued to climb, they heard running water off in the distance. The creek Moe mentioned sounded more like a flowing river as they neared. They crested the slope and saw the swiftly moving water. “It must be snow melt. I didn’t expect it to be like this yet.” Moe scratched his head.

The team walked along the banks looking for a shallow point to cross. Mud oozed around Sin’s pretty new trail runners. She pouted a few moments, then caught up with the rest of the group. Mikaela was grateful her boots were waterproof, but they wouldn’t protect her if the water was more than ankle deep.

Moe found a set of rocks where they could cross over to the other side and continue their trek. They’d have to cross carefully however. Two of the rocks were slightly under water, which could cause them to easily slip. Moe started across first, carefully pointing out which rocks were not stable and plotted the path. Next, Sin passed behind. Her shoes were slippery on the rocks, so Moe reached out to her as needed to help her stabilize.

As they approached the halfway mark, Mikaela started stepping across, and Frank pulled up behind. As they proceeded across, Sin gained confidence and relied less on Moe’s assistance. Then, she slipped. Falling into the water. Moe turned back and Mikaela caught up to pull her out. Finally, they got her to a safe spot where she could recover and step out of the water. She giggled. “At least my shoes are clean now!”

The whole team paused, precariously perched on their own rocks and the far shore almost in reach. Suddenly, Mikaela’s rock shifted out of its position, and threw her into a swiftly moving area of the river. The team tried to get to her, but the water quickly carried her downstream. She was positioned on her back and keeping her feet up, hoping to find a way back to the shore while the team finished crossing and attempted to keep up with her. However, the water was moving too swiftly.

---

The underground river rushed by with her body in tow. Mikaela hit her head on a rock and was knocked unconscious as the water swept her further downstream. At least she was face up, unconscious but not dead. The current from the flow forced her onto a gravelly shore.

A small creature approached and smelled her. He licked her arm. The river water left a sour taste in the creatures mouth. He spit it out, scraping his tongue with his front bucked teeth.

Her face bloodied, her brown hair matted to it, sprinkled with dust and pebbles. Her clothing was torn, her tank top also bloodied, soaked khaki shorts rolled up, and hiking boots still attached to her feet.

She moaned in pain, raising her right hand over her eyes to shield them from the light streaming into the cavern. The one trickle from the outside world, and it landed in her eyes. The small creature scurried away, frightened by her movement.

As she sat up slowly, the dank odor of the cavern greeted her nose. With limited sight, she pat her own body looking for her light which had been hanging from her belt loop. She located it and started to shine it around. Slowly, her eyes began to adjust to the dark.

Mikaela bent her knees and attempted to stand. Pain streaked up her left leg from her ankle. A familiar pain her mind determined, likely a sprain. She’ll need to find a way to bandage it if she’s going to make it out of here.

She moved her light about the cavern over the river bed. On the other side, gratefully, she spied her pack trapped by a boulder jutting into the river.

She limped across the shallow river bed here, picked up her pack, and took a seat on a boulder nearby. She pulled out her first aid kit and a wrap then begins to tape up her ankle to stabilize it. She swallowed some medicine to dull the pain.

Mikaela called out for the rest of team, but nothing responded in return except for the rush of water and drips within the cavern. She hoped her team was okay and that she could find her way back to them.

In the distance of the cavern, she spied a blue green glow. She remembered how the wall used to glow this way. She looked at her hands. They were trembling, and the tattoo was again glowing, even stronger than before. Perhaps her detour down the creek turned river shortened the complex journey. She thought to herself, This isn’t lone wolf — I’ve been separated from them. I have to find a way to get back and up and out will not be an option. She decided to follow the glow to try to link back up with her team.

I should be at my Mom’s this weekend.

She’s there, but sits alone.

My heart breaks, my mother isn’t who she was.

Angry at the world, angry at me,

angry at anyone who dares cross her door.

Fight after fight after fight.

Ugliness and hatred now fills her mind.

I can no longer help her find the light;

I’ve tried, time and again.

I’ve ignored it, tried to redirect,

but nothing today was good enough for her.

She just wanted to poke and prod and start problems.

Every interaction just devolves into another screaming match.

Not just with me, but others now too.

It’s as if she wanted us to go, to leave, to be gone.

We gave her what she wanted.

I love you, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.

Moe, Frank and Sin sat at a round table in the cafeteria. Over pizza, they talked about the day’s events. Frank spoke up, sheepishly, “I called her Mike.”

Moe and Sin stared at him incredulously. Moe set down his soda sharply, the can almost crunching from the impact, and exclaimed, “You did what? That is his name for her, he is the only one allowed to use it.”

Frank’s lip quivered slightly as Moe’s immenseness began to shadow him. “I think I covered it up well. I wasn’t thinking. I told her I thought I was looking for a man.”

Sin shook her head. “She’s smarter than that. Now she knows there’s a connection with you and him. She is like you in that respect, Frank. Her mind draws conclusions and links from seemingly unlinked items together. Most of the time, she’s right too, just like you.” Sin huffed and looked at Moe. “What should we do?”

“Nothing at the moment. Let’s see how tomorrow goes.” They continued talking over their day and waved at Mikaela when she walked in. She waved back and made her way over to the buffet. She smiled when she saw the pizza laid out. With a slice of what looked like Acapulco Gold, and some iced tea on her tray, she headed over to their table.

Sin quickly changed the topic of conversation when she saw Mikaela walk up. “Hey Mikaela. How are you doing?”

Mikaela slid into a chair and force a smile. “Okay. I wish I had known he was here up front, but what can I do.”

Frank looked up, “What would you have done differently?”

Mikaela gave him a knowing look, “Um, I really didn’t have a choice on coming here, now, did I Frank?”

Frank grimaced. He was the one who gathered her and her things to bring her here.

“Frank, no hard feelings. But, you could have just asked.” Mikaela shrugged. “Thank you by the way for bringing my pack as well as some of my things from home. I miss home, hopefully Rich is taking care of the cats while I’m away and not worried.”

Frank piped up, “Rich won’t even realize it, he isn’t due back until Saturday. The cats are both okay — I made sure to leave them food and water before…..” his voice trailed off.

Mikaela stared at him a moment. How did he know Rich’s schedule? Instead of getting upset however, she smiled at him, as if all was forgiven. “Thanks, Frank.” She turned to Moe and, nodding her head to the mountains visible through the windows, “Is that where we’re headed tomorrow?”

Moe looked at her and the rest of the table. “Kind of. First, all four of us are going, together. No more lone wolf who has the world by the tail stunts. Agreed, Mikaela.”

She paused a moment, then replied, “Of course. It’s been too long anyway; I wouldn’t know the way.”

Moe began to fill her in on the plan for tomorrow as the team continued to finish their evening meal. It was a complex weave of hiking, warnings of encountering wild things, and caving. After an hour, he finished going through the plan.

“Whew, I can’t believe how crazy this plan is. But, why am I here? I don’t see anything special I can help with.”

Sin, Moe, and Frank looked at each other, then back at her. Sin piped up, “You’re the one with the tattoo and ring. You tell us.”

Mikaela looked at her hand and held it up. “This? What does this have to do with any of this.”

Frank spoke up this time, “We don’t know. We just know the symbols on your tattoo line up with the last part and, only you have that.”

She looked at the tattoo and then back up. “I’m not the only one with this tattoo. Moe, tell them, if his didn’t stop it from collapsing, why would mine open it back up?”

Moe looked around. “We don’t understand either, but we tried everything else. One of the volunteers even got the same tattoo as you, but it didn’t work. We think there was something embedded when you got it.”

Mikaela exhaled, her chest heaved and her shoulders lowered in disbelief. She almost rolled her eyes, but realized her tattoo was pulsing again under the ring. “Well, I think we should go get some rest if we’re heading out at first light. Moe, can I talk with you privately a moment.”

Mikaela and Moe stood up, dropped off their trays, and headed back out to their sleeping quarters. Sin and Frank hung back to give them space.

Mikaela turned her head towards Moe as they walked. “When this is over, I need you to not tell him I was here, or that I was any part of this. Can you promise me that? I plan on leaving as soon as this is done. I don’t want to cause any problems for him, and well, it just will be better.” Her voice quivered.

“You made up your mind, then?” Moe asked, looking at her hands. “You don’t have to yet, you know that.”

“I never want to have to make that choice. I never have carried through with making that choice…you know this. I can’t break….” she stopped herself mid-sentence. A tear ran down her cheek.

Moe lifted her chin. “That’s why we need you to do this. That, right there.”

She found herself standing in front of her room facing Moe. She forced a smile. “Thanks.” She quickly hugged Moe, then turned, entered her room, and closed the door behind herself.

Moe looked down, tsked at himself, then looked up at the closed door and raised his hand to the door. He almost knocked, but he lowered his hand, turned, and walked away.