in it for long.
“Kimberly’s questions suggest they aren’t. I just wanted to make a point.”
The place was a bewildering mass of grass, trees, other plants and what looked like a huge hill.
“She spends a lot of time in the bathroom, so she’s missed a lot of math classes. Hence, you have to be patient with her.” Kimberly rushed up to Miriam and shoved her, which caused Miriam to stumble a bit. “She also loves to get her butt kicked.”
They walked around, taking in the scene and doing a survey of the land.
“This place is pretty and somewhat unfriendly all at once,” Elaine noted. It was the unkempt nature that made it seemed so hostile, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
“Sort of like Kimberly then,” Miriam said.
“So you do admit to thinking I’m pretty. Well, it’s clear to see, so why would you be the only one not to see it?”
“Do you ever listen to yourself?” Miriam asked. “Fun and jokes aside—seriously, do you?”
“Why would I listen to myself? Why do you constantly bother me?” The mound in front of them was getting closer. It looked dark as it loomed in the distance.
“Maybe you should listen to yourself so you can hear what you’re saying.” Miriam understood what Elaine had said about the place. It was attractive and delicate in a weird way, but it was also weird in its neglect and abandonment.
“It’s getting cool,” Susan said as she rubbed her palms up and down her bare arms.
“And soon it will be both cool and dark,” Elaine said.
The sun was high, but it was at an angle and had turned to a shade of yellow that suggested the end of day was near. The hill was in front of them now and seemed to beckon to the girls to come even closer. They slowly inched their way toward it and stopped when they realized that the dark hollow gaping at them was a cave.
The Cave
What they thought was a hill or a mound was a massive rock with great big walls. Trees and grass overshadowed it. Facing the dark space, they stood their ground, not knowing what to do.
“What are those?” Miriam pointed as she moved toward the walls. There were strange drawings and carvings that looked weathered and faded. Elaine and Kimberly stepped closer to the wall with Miriam, but Susan hung back. The carvings and drawings were of birds, lizards and some animals that looked like small bears. Some of the figures were half human and half animal, and some had birdlike heads and human bodies.
“Petroglyphs and pictographs.” Elaine had thought that she would only see these things in books. She wondered if these could possibly be real.
“What?” Kimberly asked, mystified. She ran her hands along one of the carvings.
“Carvings and paintings.” Elaine could barely make out some of the yellow and red pigments. Exposed to the passing seasons, they couldn’t be expected to last.
“There are no paintings out here in these bushes. You think you’d see these at the Art Gallery of Ontario” Kimberly scoffed.
“The AGO isn’t the beginning and the end of art. If they could lift this rock, maybe. But because it’s not down at the AGO doesn’t mean it’s not what it is.”
Designs of hands, arms, boomerangs and axes with and without handles were depicted all over the walls. Figures in ceremonial garb, hunters, gatherers, more animals and abstracts that couldn’t be deciphered littered the walls. It was another world.
“I guess this is it,” Elaine said, moving away from the cave walls. “We can’t walk anymore.”
“We can’t stay here!” Susan stepped even farther from the cave.
“Why not?” Elaine asked.
“Not with those things.” She pointed to the wall.
“What things?” Elaine was puzzled.
“Those drawings.”
“You’re afraid of staying near the drawings?” Elaine looked incredulously at Miriam and Kimberly.
“You won’t see them when you’re sleeping,” Miriam said. “We’ll probably be sleeping inside the cave, so you won’t see a
“Kimberly’s questions suggest they aren’t. I just wanted to make a point.”
The place was a bewildering mass of grass, trees, other plants and what looked like a huge hill.
“She spends a lot of time in the bathroom, so she’s missed a lot of math classes. Hence, you have to be patient with her.” Kimberly rushed up to Miriam and shoved her, which caused Miriam to stumble a bit. “She also loves to get her butt kicked.”
They walked around, taking in the scene and doing a survey of the land.
“This place is pretty and somewhat unfriendly all at once,” Elaine noted. It was the unkempt nature that made it seemed so hostile, but it was beautiful nonetheless.
“Sort of like Kimberly then,” Miriam said.
“So you do admit to thinking I’m pretty. Well, it’s clear to see, so why would you be the only one not to see it?”
“Do you ever listen to yourself?” Miriam asked. “Fun and jokes aside—seriously, do you?”
“Why would I listen to myself? Why do you constantly bother me?” The mound in front of them was getting closer. It looked dark as it loomed in the distance.
“Maybe you should listen to yourself so you can hear what you’re saying.” Miriam understood what Elaine had said about the place. It was attractive and delicate in a weird way, but it was also weird in its neglect and abandonment.
“It’s getting cool,” Susan said as she rubbed her palms up and down her bare arms.
“And soon it will be both cool and dark,” Elaine said.
The sun was high, but it was at an angle and had turned to a shade of yellow that suggested the end of day was near. The hill was in front of them now and seemed to beckon to the girls to come even closer. They slowly inched their way toward it and stopped when they realized that the dark hollow gaping at them was a cave.
The Cave
What they thought was a hill or a mound was a massive rock with great big walls. Trees and grass overshadowed it. Facing the dark space, they stood their ground, not knowing what to do.
“What are those?” Miriam pointed as she moved toward the walls. There were strange drawings and carvings that looked weathered and faded. Elaine and Kimberly stepped closer to the wall with Miriam, but Susan hung back. The carvings and drawings were of birds, lizards and some animals that looked like small bears. Some of the figures were half human and half animal, and some had birdlike heads and human bodies.
“Petroglyphs and pictographs.” Elaine had thought that she would only see these things in books. She wondered if these could possibly be real.
“What?” Kimberly asked, mystified. She ran her hands along one of the carvings.
“Carvings and paintings.” Elaine could barely make out some of the yellow and red pigments. Exposed to the passing seasons, they couldn’t be expected to last.
“There are no paintings out here in these bushes. You think you’d see these at the Art Gallery of Ontario” Kimberly scoffed.
“The AGO isn’t the beginning and the end of art. If they could lift this rock, maybe. But because it’s not down at the AGO doesn’t mean it’s not what it is.”
Designs of hands, arms, boomerangs and axes with and without handles were depicted all over the walls. Figures in ceremonial garb, hunters, gatherers, more animals and abstracts that couldn’t be deciphered littered the walls. It was another world.
“I guess this is it,” Elaine said, moving away from the cave walls. “We can’t walk anymore.”
“We can’t stay here!” Susan stepped even farther from the cave.
“Why not?” Elaine asked.
“Not with those things.” She pointed to the wall.
“What things?” Elaine was puzzled.
“Those drawings.”
“You’re afraid of staying near the drawings?” Elaine looked incredulously at Miriam and Kimberly.
“You won’t see them when you’re sleeping,” Miriam said. “We’ll probably be sleeping inside the cave, so you won’t see a
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