Be Careful Dev…
“So, you are going to climb to the bottom, swim out through the tunnel and then back into the cave and climb back out, up the rope?” Sophia had insisted on coming along today and would not be shielded from any of the pertinent details. Ignoring Dev’s instructions for her to step aside while he and Harold cleared the rocks away from the cave, she continued picking up some of the smaller stones and tossing them to the side.
Dev had not been able to go to her the night before. Nor the night before that. For the newly married couple had established that they slept in the same bed, and to do differently, might signify that they’d lost interest in one another.
And Harold was determined to leave his mother with a favorable memory of her second son. He’d told Dev he would not back out of this stunt. He’d been swimming every day, growing stronger and more agile, at Sophia’s urging.
Today, they were to investigate the condition of the tunnel.
It had eroded considerably. Dev saw this right away, as they moved the rocks back. He only hoped that the underwater channel would still present a clear passage. Pulling the last of the larger stones away, Dev then turned to the sturdy tree nearby. Sophia opened the picnic basket and pulled out the rope.
As she handed it to him, his fingertips brushed her palm. Her hand felt especially soft. He hesitated just a moment before relinquishing her touch.
The rope she handed him was thick and heavy. After testing the weight of it, he tied it around the trunk of the tree methodically and then tugged. It would do.
At the tunnel, he dropped to his knees and went to crawl forward, but suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Dev…” He looked back and saw bright blue, concerned eyes. Sophia would not try to stop him, he knew, but neither would she pretend no danger existed. “…be careful.” And then, despite Harold’s presence, she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.
He’d not had an opportunity to touch her intimately at all since arriving. And he would have prolonged this kiss but for, well, Harold was but a few feet away, waiting for him to climb into the tunnel. Dev allowed his lips to linger on hers, though. He missed her taste. He missed her essence.
“This shouldn’t take long,” he assured her.
She touched his face and then sat on her haunches, away from the cave’s opening. His brave Sophia. She would not cling to him and cry. He would return to her. He would find a way to go to her tonight.
Dev was not afraid.
He did, however, respect the elements involved in what he needed to do. He imagined that this edge of unease was akin to fear but refused to dwell upon unproductive emotions. Instead he sharpened his mind to the task at hand.
Except…
Impulsively, Dev withdrew from the opening once again, pressed another quick kiss against her lips, and then ducked back into the cave. The ground extended just a few feet and then dropped off. He remembered this now. Even the musty scent was vaguely familiar.
Water splashing against the rocks below echoed off the cave walls. Good then. The fissure in the rocks hadn’t been blocked.
The rope was coiled loosely, and without hesitation, Dev tossed it into the darkness below. After a moment, it made a thud against the rocky side wall, and then a less emphatic clunk onto the floor. He carried with him a flint. Harold was to toss down the torch once Dev reached the bottom.
Sliding on some fitted gloves he’d worn in combat, Dev proceeded to climb, hand over hand, down the slick rocky wall. The memory of doing this as a boy gradually returned as he found footholds, and various outcrops on the way down. Just as his muscles began to burn, his feet landed at the bottom.
“I’m down!” he shouted up. The small amount of sunlight that had illuminated his way was temporarily blocked.
“Are you ready for the torch?” It was Harold, watching him from over the edge of the drop.
Dev lit the flint and held it out away from him. “Go ahead. Drop it!”
He saw the torch for a moment, and then an instant later, it was in front of him. Not even thinking, he grabbed it out of the air with his empty hand before it could hit the ground. The flint had stayed lit, and so he held it to the torch. Much better.
Turning around, he waved the fire toward the water. It looked much the same as it had, all those years ago — only smaller. As a grown man, how much more confined would the underwater tunnel feel? His own shoulders were slightly broader than Harold’s. That was good. If he could fit through, then Harold ought to as well.
Waving the flame around, he found a ledge where he could prop the torch to illuminate the room. Ah, yes, he remembered the importance of the illumination. When swimming back through, he would need to follow the light from the fire. Very important.
He then pulled his boots off and slipped his shirt off over his head.
As he did so, he took slow, deep breaths.
The light at the top shadowed again. “Please be careful, Dev.” It was Sophia.
He smiled. He’d never appreciated the concern of a woman before.
