The flowing grassy plains wave to me in the wind as I make my way down the road. I am surrounded by the fields of The Grassy Knoll. The sea of pale white grass stretches on as far as the eye can see. The sun shines down over this landscape, causing the ground to light up in intense shades of golden yellow. Fluffy, light clouds float through the brilliant sky, trying hard to avoid blocking the sun. The birds all around me are chirping their summer tunes, filling the air with their song. I hear blue jays and songbirds, and even a few turkeys all around.
As I continue down the worn, gravely road, I see a small group of horses grazing on the ranch neighboring The Grassy Knoll. Getting closer to the house, lush, flowering gardens come out from around a corner. Tall blueberry bushes, low grassy watermelon vines, rows of green carrot stems, and little apple trees only make up half of the garden. The warm summer air is floating all around, as comforting as a kind friendly embrace. The invigorating smell of nature is everywhere.
Walking up to the house itself, it is hard to believe that the house was completely hand made by my friend’s grandfather. Each strong solid oak beam that holds the house together is like the great titan Atlas, supporting the foundation of the home on its shoulders.
Behind the cozy warm home, there is a mysterious path going into the surrounding forest, looking as if it were from a Lord of the Rings movie. Going down the path, the woods move in on me, surrounding me, instilling a great sense of excitement. The feeling of adventure is all around and it becomes instilled in me, making me feel like young Flapjack getting ready to set of on an exciting expedition with Captain Knuckles.
Every time I enter those woods though, I also get the feeling that I am being watched. The trees seem to follow me, staring at me. The sounds of the forest make the woods come alive, bringing new life to the forest, creating a strong sense of spooky adventure. The trees stare at me as I walk. That only makes the woods more exciting, and so I continue along the wooded path.
After climbing up a huge leaf covered hill, I stumble upon something unexpected. In the rocky face of the hill, a little hole is emitting a golden glow. As I get close I see what it really is. The hole in the rock opens downward, creating a cave-like entrance with a shimmering pool of clear water filling up the crevice. The air around is fresh, clean, and calming. The trees seem to part above the cave, wanting the sunlight to drift through, causing the little pool to light up in a dazzling array of sparkling ripples.
I remember my friend telling me the story of an old abandoned gold mine. There used to be a lot of work going on, in efforts to clean the mine of all the magnificent gold held within the depths of the mine. But during the early excavations, the miners accidentally dug into an underground spring which erupted and flooded the mine, with the precious gold lost beneath the dark waters, gone forever.
I also remember the time me and my friend first stumbled upon the mystifying cave, with its walls aglow with shining gold. We were so amazed by what we saw, that we just stayed by the watery cavern for the entire day. We sat around dreaming of possibilities and of all the what-ifs we could think of. The cave gave us feelings of relaxation, with the pool rippling in the light breeze and the little sounds of the forest creating a soothing backdrop. Outside of the cave, we even found a piece of gold studded rock, laying there as if someone or something had just dug it out of the cave, but dropped it unknowingly as they left in a hurry. It was a small rock, but it was the most brilliant stone I had ever seen, with shiny veins of gold lit aflame by the shining sun of the clear summer day. A piece of that very rock still remains a small little glass case on the old wooden bookshelf in my room.
The cavern was like our own Cave of Wonders and we were both Aladdin. We made all sorts of exciting plans to go back to the goldmine with scuba gear, fins, and goggles and mine some gold for ourselves underwater. The possibilities were endless. We had everything planned out and we were all set for going, but we never ended up doing anything. The plans were lost, and the grand ideas almost disappeared.
And so our Cave of Wonders has remained untouched for the past year. Next summer we will go up to the Grassy Knoll, and next summer we will venture through the forgotten forest and up the lonely hill to the hidden rocky hollow. But, until then, we can only dream of what lays hidden in the mysterious depths golden cavern