After the Sun Sets (18+)

CHAPTER 8a - Divulgence pt.2

As soon as they were out of the house, Dr Shaw shifted Siena from his side to his shoulders.

"Look, Ma, I'm a giant!" she announced lifting her hands into the air.

"Behave, Siena," she said trying to suppress a smile at her daughter's innocent happiness.

"It's fine, really," Dr Shaw assured her before turning to Aiden. "So, Aiden, your mum tells me you like to draw, is that true?"

Aiden turned to his mother before nodding his head shyly.

"Great. You're going to love this place. I brought some pencils and paper for you if you would like to sketch something. I'm sorry I don't have any crayons or watercolours or anything. I wasn't prepared."

"Really?" Aiden said in awe.

Lora's heart melted as her eyes settled on the small bag she didn't realise the doctor was carrying until now. She knew what this meant to her son. He was used to his sister getting all the attention as he was so characteristically shy and he never complained. Dr Shaw caught her eyes and she mouthed a heartfelt thank you for his thoughtfulness. He shrugged and gave her a small smile.

They reached a lonely chapel in the middle of an open space and Dr Shaw finally put Siena down. He took her hand as well as Aiden's as they crossed the road. It was incredibly serene. It felt like they were in the middle of nowhere. The four of them walked up to the side of the chapel until they reached a narrow opening between the thick trees revealing a set of narrow and steep downward steps.

"Follow me. Mind your step, okay?" he guided gently, going down the steps sideways so that he can keep his eyes on the three of them.

The steps turned an angle and got wider and steeper until suddenly they came to the most magical clearing Lora ever laid eyes on. There were large trees on either side, branches meeting and getting lost in each other over their heads to form a small arch. The floor was natural and uneven but not too difficult to manoeuvre. It was like a scene from an old, romance novel. The only sound in their ears was the chirping of the birds and the rustle of leaves with the gentle breeze. They crossed the clearing and Dr Shaw led them to another set of narrow steps. He started climbing down carefully, helping Siena and Aiden and then waited for Lora to take her hand.

This time she couldn't hold back a gasp.

"Oh my goodness! This is beautiful!" she stated staring at the scene in front of her.

They were at another clearing but this time, they were atop a ledge that looked over a great sinkhole that was completely dominated by nature. A wooden fence surrounded the perimeter of the cliff so that they could approach the edge safely. The rocks behind them were a beautiful rosy colour and towered high above them and Lora was not surprised considering how long they had been climbing down. But that was nothing compared to the depth of the vast sinkhole in front of them. Its ground was thickly knit with laurel trees, pomegranate trees and carobs and was set at least fifteen metres down below them, contrasting beautifully with the pink rocks that were savagely under attack by capers, ivy and sandarac gum trees.

"Can we go down there?" Siena asked, her eyes full of wonder.

"No, I'm afraid not," Dr Shaw replied, "It's too dangerous to go down. But what we can do is try to capture it on paper while your mummy and I talk for a while, okay?"

Dr Shaw handed them the bag with the drawing supplies and they took it eagerly, settling cross-legged by the fence before he walked back to where Lora was standing watching them quietly.

"You're amazing with them," she said without thinking as he approached her. "How did you get so good with kids?"

"I'm a natural," he shrugged and winked shamelessly.