Of My Eyes

Of My Eyes Part 4

By the end of my dissertation, they were eating up the idea, I had turned their fears into rabid curiosity.
When they learned that there were tunnels that needed exploring, they began listing all the things we would need to go on the expedition.
At this point, I didn't have the heart to tell them that they would not be allowed to go into the tunnels with me and Mr. James.
I figured that when the time comes, I would find a way to break the bad news to them.

Returning home, I had the girls sit at the dining room table as I set out the documents I found while doing my research, along with the maps.
To say that they were fascinated was an understatement.
May and Emily poured over them like their lives depended on it.
After about fifteen minutes, May brought up the question of how are we going to find where these things live if we can only see them from our side vision?

"Daddy, should we try to capture one of them, and if so, how could we manage that?
Maybe we can find a way to talk to them, after all, they seem to know that we are here, otherwise, why would they run away every time we get near them?"

"Ok girls, why don't you make a list of all your questions, as well as all your ideas on how to talk with them.
Maybe think of finding a way to catch one of them so that we might learn to communicate with them."

Reaching into my briefcase, I took out a pad of yellow legal paper and a couple of pens for the girls to begin the task.

"Girls, I'm going into my office to make a few calls, in the meantime, start jotting down your ideas, questions, and any other things we need to think about."

Before I had even left the table, the girls began bantering back and forth about their ideas.
Dragging the maps to the center of the table, they stood on the chairs to lay out and overlay the plot of our land verses the maps from the mine.
Retreating to my office, I began by calling Mr. James to begin the process of obtaining all the permits needed to reopen the mine entrance.
In addition to setting up a time for Tom and me to meet with the local inspector, who would be responsible for certifying the mine's safety standards, before the city would even allow the entrance to be uncovered.

Back in the dining room, the girls were still at it, making notes at a furious rate.
When the girls spotted me, Emily asked if I thought it was possible to take pictures of the things we had been seeing.
Why did I suddenly feel really stupid, for whatever reason that idea hadn't crossed my mind?
I had been so concerned with the what are they, and where did they come from that I just didn't think of pictures.
My first thought was there was no way I, or the girls, would be able to spend every waking second with a camera in our hands, just on the off chance that we would be in the right place at the right time.

Hopping on my laptop, I went to Amazon looking up different home security cameras.
I was looking for the highest resolution cameras I could find.
I found a system called "Lorex" that boasts they offer a setup that has 4K resolution as well as superior night vision.
The price was reasonable, so I placed an order for the main unit along with six extra cameras.

I also found out that my local Home Depot rental center had infrared cameras for rent.
Later that afternoon, I took the girls out shopping before going to our favorite restaurant.
My first stop was at the Home Depot in town to pick up the thermal camera.
After a few minutes of instructions from the tech, I was ready to put tonight's plan into action.

The restaurant we liked was just down the block from the Home Depot, making it an easy walk for us.
When we entered, the hostess led us to a table near the rear of the dining area.
Having been here many times, the hostess knew that the girls could be a bit animated, hence the table in the rear.
I was in the mood for a burger and fries, while the girls wanted hot dogs with all the trimmings.
Fifteen minutes later, our food was on the table, when they looked at their hot dogs, May grabbed the bottle of ketchup and was about to douse her dog with it.