The Longest Day

On longest day in the heat of summer, climb the mountain tall and old.

Near falls mouth, in pouring rain, the path to treasure will unfold.

Seek circle, spiral, hidden blue, then arrows apparent will point true.

“Lucy, we’ve got to hide it. We made a deal, a binding oath.” Hissed Gertie.

Lucy sighed, her hand still in the tin. She let out the breath of air she’d been holding in and unclenched her fist. The small object dropped into the tin with a clang. She closed the lid, removed her arm from the small crevice, and crawled down the ladder.

“What if we lose it forever,” whispered Lucy.

“We have to trust that we’re doing the right thing for everyone. It’s a huge sacrifice, our small fortune and power, but that kind of magic works the best.” Said Gertie, resolved in her decision. She softened her voice to add “Any daughters of this family line will be strong and clever enough to figure it out. We’ll still hold the ability, we’ll just need to come back for the key when our end of the deal has been fulfilled.”

“How long will that take?” Lucy questioned.

“As long as it’s supposed to, my dear.” said Gertie, looking fondly at her daughter as she wrapped her arms around her.

*Present Day*

“Lucas, LUCAS!” Marigold was shaking his shoulder violently and repeating his name with a crescendo.

Lucas opened his heavy eyes and groggily sat up in his sleeping bag. He felt exhausted and his back muscles were still screaming from their journey the day before.

“Christ, Mare, you don’t have to be so aggressive, would it have killed you to let me sleep 10 more minutes until my alarm went off?” Lucas griped, annoyed he’d never see those precious moments of rest.

“Sorry,” said Mare, almost sounding apologetic. Almost.

“You can take your time packing up, but meet me downstairs when you’re ready. I have a cup of coffee ready for you,” she said, standing up and backing out of the room.

Lucas still felt dead, but he was awake now. He took a deep breath and opened the sleeping bag all the way, the little zipper clinking along the hardwood floor. He braced himself for the chilled oak under his feet as he stood up and stepped out of his cocoon. The contrast in temperature on his bare soles was jarring enough for him to shake off the remnants of his slumber. He quickly pulled off his sweat pants and donned a fresh t-shirt before stepping into his well worn overalls. The course denim rubbed against the gash on his outer left thigh, causing a quick grimace. Yesterday went well, but it’s not an easy journey and only sustaining minor casualties was a huge win.

Lucas was lost in thought as he tossed his sweatpants in his backpack. He put on some deodorant and went to roll up his sleeping bag. He paused at the very end, his fingers tracing the oddly shaped burn on one of the outer edges of the waterproof material. The singed area looked like a stem of a tomato on the bright red stripe of fabric. He recalled the time spent goofing around with his brothers in the tent on their first overnight trip alone. Someone pushed someone and the old lantern tipped over spilling small flames onto the sleeping bag. They put out the fire quickly and somehow the whole mishap of accidentally starting a fire made them laugh harder. He missed them. He pulled himself back to reality and packed up the rest of his things.

He headed down the hall to the communal bathroom to brush his teeth before they left. In the cramped space, he examined the scruff on his chin and upper lip through the murky mirror. There was a smattering of different sized black dots all around the edges creating an odd frame. He almost didn’t recognize himself. He quickly finished brushing his teeth and spit his toothpaste out into the sink. He watched as the blue foam mixed with the red blood from his gums swirl around in the basin before disappearing down the drain.

Downstairs, Marigold was true to her word. She was standing in the doorway, a thermos of coffee in her hand for Lucas. He could smell it from here, vanilla macadamia. He wondered how she got ahold of his favorite coffee from home all the way up here at the outpost. Had she carried it all this way just for this occasion?

“I already put a dash of cream, no sugar,” Mare said, handing the warm metal container to Lucas. “I have the map out and if we keep up a steady pace, we’ll make it there before sunset.”

“Sounds good,” said Lucas between breaths as he blew on his coffee, trying to get it to a drinkable temperature. Mare turned to open the door and Lucas suddenly thrust out his hand, grabbing her forearm and turning her to face him.

“Are you sure about this, Mare?” Lucas asked softly, gaze meeting hers. He was smiling as he looked at her but his eyebrows were furrowed together with concern. There was a slight hitch in Mare’s breathing before she composed herself.

“Lucas, it’s my destiny.”

He held his gaze, narrowing his eyes slightly. She didn’t waiver.

“If you’re sure,” he gave in and looked away. “I know you’ve been waiting for a solstice with weather like this for years,” he closed his eyed. “I know how much this means to you.” He let go of her arm and she continued out the door.

*7 Hours Later*

It was afternoon now as Lucas and Marigold stopped to sit on a fallen log beside the trail. They both shrugged off their packs which landed on the ground with a heavy thud in the grass. They’d made good time that morning and were about halfway to the top of the fall.

“I promise this will be worth it,” said Mare, still fighting to catch her breath. “Family has died to keep the knowledge alive,” said Mare. “I know it makes me sound insane, but I know we’ll be able to find it. We just need the r-,” Mare was cut off by a clap of thunder followed by rain drops the size of marbles hitting their heads. The rain started as a sputter but quickly increased to a soft, steady flow. Lucas was flooded with memories of standing in the sprinkler in the summer with Mare. She would always wear her cherry swimsuit. He opened his eyes to the reality they were in the middle of a forest halfway up a mountain not 9 and laughing in the front yard.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Lucas muttered under his breath. He allowed himself to feel a glimmer of hope. Maybe she was right, maybe a rainy summer solstice would reveal her family’s fortune of untold wealth or knowledge, who knows, maybe every power. This whole thing was crazy because so far because it seemed to be working.

“C’mon, Mare,” said Lucas refocusing on the task at hand. “We’ve got to keep moving before there’s too much mud and the moss gets too slick.” They were both already feeling the added water weight in their clothes.

They continued up the mountain for hours keeping a grueling pace. At one point, Mare slipped on a boulder. Lucas was able to redirect her fall, but she still caught herself with her left hand. They lost time while Lucas stopped to help her bandage the cut the rock left behind. Bloody but overall in good shape, Mare was right back to climbing the mountain. Lucas watched her scale the muddy path with ease, her dark brown hair pulled back in a messy bun looked black now from the rain. He kicked himself because that girl could get him to follow her to the ends of the earth.

The rain was relentless. The higher they climbed, the harder the rain seemed to come down. They were having to shout to be able to hear each other over the downpour. Lucas gave up on any unnecessary communication and let his mind wander to the first time Mare told him about her familial destiny.

He’d listened to Mare bubble over with theories and research about this family secret for the past 22 years. She even used to quiz him randomly to make sure he had the riddle memorized. The theory was they had the ability to gain their treasure back but the key to reversing the sacrifice was lost or delayed. He couldn’t help wonder if this was just a fantasy created by desperate parents dreaming of a different life from the dust bowl and molding rice. His thoughts were interrupted when, Mare disappeared over the top of a steep part of the path and let out a shriek.

“Mare?” “Are you okay?”

Lucas scrambled to catch up and crest the hill. It only took a few second before he saw Mare kneeling on the ground, frantically clearing ivy and pebbles to expose something.

“Look!” Mare exclaimed in a frenzy. She lept to her feet and bent over to brush the last bit of earth and debris out of the way. There was a faint circle etched into the rock on the ground and Mare was standing smack dab in the middle.

“Holy shit,” said Lucas in disbelief. “Holy fucking shit,” Lucas repeated, too stunned to keep talking. They both stared at the circle. Even though the carving itself looked old on the weathered rock, the circle was deep and very smooth, no jagged edges.

“C’mon, we have to keep going!” Mare yelled suddenly running ahead.

“Slow down, we might miss something,” Lucas yelled while jogging to try and keep up. The woods quickly became more dense, giving them respite from the rain. They trekked through a dense tunnel of trees fighting the briars and underbrush that clung to their clothes. When they emerged from the woods, they were standing in small clearing. The clearing was surrounded by woods on the right, a cliff wall directly ahead and the waterfall and subsequent ledge to the left.

As they were getting their bearings, Lucas noticed a particularly large, old oak. It almost looked like a guide standing on the right side of the trail they had just followed out of the trees. The branches were thick and gnarled. Lucas was admiring the scarred branches and mottled bark when he noticed one of the branches near the ground. The branch was twisted in such a way it formed a damn near perfect swirl.

“Mare, get over here, you’re not going to believe this, but I think we’ve gone the right way.”

They continued exploring the clearing right up to the brink of the fall. The river leading up to the drop off had carved a deep ravine through the mountain creating a sharp rock wall .They didn’t waste any time in examining the solid slab of mountain for any further markers. Mare was examining the section of wall nearest the fall when she bent down to adjust her boot. She noticed something glistening. There was a natural sapphire embedded in exposed rock formations.

“Lucas!” Mare shouted as she pointed at the stone. “This can’t all be a coincidence, can it?” She questioned out loud.

With this third discovery they immediately began looking for the last identifier, scouring the sections of wall for what felt like hours. They examined every crevice, peeked behind every vine and patch of moss. Lucas had gone cross eyed from staring at the same rock patterns. He needed a break.

He turned around and started walking towards the fall to look out over the land. Even with the rain, the view of the forest was so clear. All of the different trees and their infinite hues of green creating a unified canopy protecting the forest floor. The scale of it all made him feel so small. There was something ancient and powerful about this place, practically unscathed by the blight of clear cutting and deforestation. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, just letting the cool rain fall on his forehead and cheeks. He took a few steps forward up to the edge of the outcropping and looked down. There was a continuous eruption of water from the impact of the water in combination with fog leaving zero visibility of the basin at the bottom. Looking at the sheer drop pulled Lucas’ stomach into his throat as he stumbled backward.

“Lucas, I think we’re going to have to climb, look!” Mare was pointing to something indistinguishable on the face of the cliff. He walked closer to Mare, right along the brink finally getting close enough to see a small arrow on the stone. It looked strangely dry even though the rock was soaked. After noticing the arrow, Lucas looked up to see a cluster of arrows now visible in this area. All were pointing up. Mare tilted her head back and inhaled sharply before immediately starting to gear up with her rock climbing harness and clips from her pack.

“Where are you going?” snapped Lucas. “You’re not seriously going to climb on the edge of the fucking cliff OVER the waterfall, are you Mare?”

“Well the arrows are point up, right?” Mare shot back. “I didn’t come all this way to just give up.” She continued strapping herself into her harness.

“What are you even going to anchor yourself to? It’s a flat, rock wall, Mare. Have you even looked down? I have and I almost threw up.” Lucas had started to yell but restrained himself. He knew they were both exhausted and running on fumes. Regardless, he wasn’t going to let Mare’s delusions of lost secrets cause her to go on a suicide mission. “Will you at least pause for one goddamn second to come up with a plan?”

Mare dropped everything and dove into her pack, searching for her pair of binoculars. Normally she would worry about the leather in the rain, but she didn’t care about anything other than continuing the mission. After a few minutes Mare let the binoculars hang around her neck and she turned to Lucas.

“There’s a small opening about twenty feet up. I think our best bet would be to try and secure a rope around the small tree on the outcropping about 5 feet over the crevice. We can work together on a makeshift pulley and I’ll climb the wall, okay?” Mare said, while looking intently at Lucas.

“Give me the binoculars and let me take a look,” Lucas added, “please?”

Mare handed them over and Lucas scouted the rock face. It was hard to see even with Lucas wiping the accumulation of rainwater off of the lenses but Mare was right. There was a small opening, but reaching it would put her right over the river’s edge. Any miscalculation would be the last one she’d ever make.

“We can try to get a rope up there. IF we can get the rope up AND we test it to make sure it’ll hold, we can try and get you up there.” Lucas was terrified, but knew that they had to try something. At this point, drenched from the rain and his body humming from exhaustion, he still felt the faintest flutter of excitement about what could be up there. That was overshadowed, though, by the crushing fear of watching Marigold fall to her death over a stupid story.

*1 Hour Later*

Lucas had a knot in his stomach watching Mare dangle with her hands and feet grazing the rock face. She was unable to hold on the the flat and unforgiving surface. The makeshift pulley they worked out was slow going, but it seemed to be secure enough.

“Are you still okay?” shouted Mare.

“I’m fine, are you okay?” Lucas shouted back, trying not to let his voice sound strained. She gave him a thumbs up while continuing her slow ascent. Still watching her every movement, he dug his feet a little deeper into the dirt and shifted his hips trying to find the best distribution of weight. He hoisted again lifting Mare right up to the cusp of the opening.

“I can see it!”

“What can you see?”

“Hold on, I’m getting my flashlight!” Mare reached for her back belt loop and pulled her flashlight out and around.

“Fuck, there’s something in there! Maybe, it’s hard to see, maybe a metal tin?” Mare was straining her arm trying to reach all the way to the box. “Can you lift me a few inches higher?” asked Mare.

“Is that better?”

“Yes, perfect, I’m just not su-, OH SHIT! I touched it! I just have to grab – like that – I almost have it out! I might just have to open it in the cave, I don’t think it’ll fit all the way. I’ve gotta find the latch.” Mare’s entire left arm was jammed inside the small crevice in the mountain. As she struggled to open box, her face pressed against the rock while she strained to retrieve the item, out of nowhere a jarring clap of thunder rattled the earth.

What happened next happened in slow motion. As Lucas started to scream for Mare, a bolt of lighting struck the tree the rope was slung over, severing the line. Marigold and Lucas locked eyes, fear and panic mirrored in both of their eyed as she started to fall. He watched the wisps of hair framing her face seem to float upward, her arms reaching for anything to grab, but there was nothing. Lucas noticed her left hand balled into a fist around something as she soared over the brink.

“MARE!” screeched Lucas.

He plunged for the edge, grabbing for any part of her he could reach but his fingers never found her. She was gone in an instant. The swirling plumes of mist from the falls had engulfed her lanky body. He could only hear his blood pounding in his ears mixed with the roaring of the rushing water.

“Marigold,” Lucas whimpered as hot tears filled his eyes. It wasn’t supposed to end like this. They’d been working towards this for years, she was so confident she was right.

Lucas’ knees buckled when he tried to stand and he let himself fall limply back to the ground. He didn’t try to get back up and sat crumpled, digging his fingers through the grass into the saturated soil underneath. The rain kept coming down in sheets.

Lucas was sobbing and burying his hands in the mud. Small rocks and hard clay were mashed under his fingernails but he couldn’t even feel the pain over the throbbing in his chest. He was considering throwing himself over the edge when he heard it.

“Help! Lucas, help me!”

Lucas thought he was hallucinating the faint voice, but managed to get himself up on his feet. His whole body was trembling as he shuffled to the edge, afraid to see what was below. Was it her ghost? Were these the final breaths escaping from her broken body? When he was feeling brave enough to tilt his head down, he fell to his knees again, this time in disbelief. Marigold was hovering almost out of sight in the mist. Her eyes wide open in shock and something still clutched in her fist.

“MARE!” Shrieked Lucas, his voice hoarse from the crying. “Mare, don’t move. I’m going to make a pulley for you and lower down a rope with a clip so I can get you up.” Lucas grabbed the portion of the rope under the ledge, the end smoldering. He prayed this section of rope would be long enough as he looped it around a stump near the edge of the woods. He searched his pack and found a ratty, mostly black climbing clip to attach to the end of the rope. Once secured, he started letting the rescue line down to Mare’s level. He watched as she held her left arm perfectly still, grabbing the line and hooking the clip to her harness all with her right hand. She gave it a small tug and in a weak voice said, “I’m ready.”

Lucas strained for about half an hour getting Mare back to the ledge, but he was able to get her within arms reach. From there, he grabbed her under the armpits and hoisted her back to the safety of land. He held her tight against his body for a few moments before releasing her. They locked eyes. Mare’s pupils were completely dilated and her face was frozen in shock. She slowly looked down and unfurled her fist revealing a small, opalescent crystal with a small burlap bag tied to it.

“When I squeezed it, I stopped falling.”

“What the hell have we done,” whispered Lucas.