Weight of Memory by Kristina Brune

Author:Kristina Brune [Brune, Kristina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

Maisie

They’d found the book in their secret spot. Maisie’s family home sat on two acres of land that butted right up against Sutter’s Acres, high on a bluff overlooking Grafton. At the very back edge of the property, there was a small cave, carved into the bedrock of the bluff.

Maisie, John, and CiCi had spent hours exploring that land, discovering streams and giant boulders to climb and had built countless forts and hideouts. They’d stumbled upon the cave years ago and had explored it a bit but had been scared to venture too far in. Now they were thirteen and thought they were much, much braver. And they desperately wanted somewhere that was all their own. Maisie’s father was on the rampage every other day. John’s mother was struggling to take care of her family. And CiCi was just trying to be there for her friends.

One cloudy fall day, John had suggested it was time to go back to the cave and explore it properly. It was the perfect place for a secret hideout. To their knowledge, no one else knew it was there and no one would ever bother them. Maisie’s father wouldn’t be able to find her and John could get away from the pressure he felt to help his mother and his sisters.

Two days later, they met after church. It was still warm, but the air had that crispness to it that spoke of the coming winter chill. They’d packed snacks and flashlights and even brought some blankets and a few old pillows to sit on. Maisie and CiCi had grand plans to decorate. John was hoping to find long-forgotten treasure. Maybe something to help his mom catch up on the bills.

As they trekked through the woods, they talked about what they might find in the cave.

“Maybe we’ll find some old Indian drawings on the wall,” said John. “I’d love to find a real arrowhead, too.”

“Maybe we’ll find the Piasa bird,” said Maisie. The Piasa bird was an old Native American legend in the area, a huge dragon-like bird that devoured men.

“I hope not,” said CiCi, who was the least adventurous of the three by far and scared easily.

“It’s not real,” said Maisie.

“But if it is, at least we’ll die together!” said John, throwing his arm around CiCi’s shoulders.

“Not funny, John!” she said, pushing him away.

After a fifteen-minute hike through the woods, they arrived at the mouth of the cave.

“It’s pretty dark in there.” CiCi wrapped her arms around her waist and peered nervously into the mouth of the cave.

“Time to see what’s back there. I’ll go first.” John walked confidently into the cave, shining the light ahead of him. It was just tall enough for them to walk without stooping—an adult probably would have had to bend over. The cave was quiet, the sounds of their footsteps muffled but bouncing off the walls. There was a nearly imperceptible sound of dripping or running water. The cave smelled of earth and leaves and the temperature became noticeably cooler the farther they went in.

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