Prodigy Returns (book 3)

Chapter Forty

Alex had a plan for the day, one that she had been looking forward to for a long time. She had gone out several times, but never on her own. To the north side of the cave was a sharp mountain range that Maxim explicitly stated was off limits. Even Kyodin hadn't been beyond that point. He respected his father faithfully and did not question him at all. Alex did not want to disrespect her father by directly disobeying him and since the ridge was at least a two-day hike away, there was no way to go out there without him knowing. She always wondered what was beyond the forbidden north ridge and now that Maxim was gone, she intended to find out.

"Olivia," Alex said in a sweet voice. "How would you like to go camping?"

"What's camping?" Olivia asked with interest.

"It's a lot of fun. We can explore nature, sleep under the stars, and tell each other stories around a fire."

"What's fire?"

"Uh... never mind," Alex said. "Does that sound like fun?"

"Daddy said I cannot go outside at night. It's not safe."

"He's right, but I'll be with you to keep you safe. In fact, daddy and Kyodin are outside at night all this week so I figured we could do the same."

"Can Zeus come too?" Olivia asked, holding up her tiny pygmy jerboa.

"I don't think so, honey. I think Zeus should stay here."

"Pleeaaassse!" she begged.

"I'll tell you what, why don't we leave him here, but we'll let him out of his cage so he'll have the entire place to roam free. I bet he'd really like that. What do you say?"

"What about Monk, can he come to?"

Alex lowered her voice, "Monk is busy today, honey. He can come with us another time, okay? It's just going to be me and you."

Alex was still a little timid around Monk. Even though the large creature lived with the family, she avoided him as much as possible. She was especially creeped out by him last night and wanted to leave the cave before she had to encounter him again.

After preparing some food and beverages, and everything else she thought she would need for an overnight trip, her and Olivia set off. They hiked up the wooden walkway, through the waterfall, and into the mountain. So far they were shielded from the sun. Emerging through the other side of the mountain and into the glade, they felt the hot sun for the first time.

"Are you doing okay, Olivia?" Alex asked.

"Yeah," Olivia said, holding Alex's hand.

Unbeknownst to Alex and Olivia, Monk trailed behind them both at a distance.

"If you get tired or need anything just let me know, okay?"

Alex had done some exploring before and was very familiar with her surroundings. She led the way passed the garden and over a ridge. From there, they had the most magnificent view of the ocean and shoreline. The breeze rose up from the water and kept them cool under the scorching heat.

Walking hand in hand, the two sisters skipped down the path, singing and laughing. They carried on like that for over two kilometres, stopping periodically to smell the flowers or to look at bugs. 

Coming upon an unusual rock formation, Alex stopped to take a closer look. The large rock jutted out from the ground and stood over six feet in height. It was the only one of its kind, almost as if it had been plucked from some other region and placed in the middle of nowhere for some unknown purpose.

"Olivia," Alex said, "let's see if you can climb to the top of this rock."

"I can't," Olivia said timidly.

"Why can't you?" Alex asked.

"I'm afraid I'll fall."

Alex crouched low and spoke to Olivia in a calm manner. "It's okay to be afraid," she said. "That's a very normal feeling to have, especially when facing challenges you haven't done before. But it's important to face these challenges. That's how we grow and become better. You said you want to be like me one day, right?"

Olivia nodded.

"This is what I do, I stand in defiance of my fear. I say to it, 'You're not going to control me.' Now, if you don't want to do it, I won't force you."

"No, it's okay, I'll try it."

"There's nothing to be afraid of okay, I'll be here with you the whole time."

Olivia had a look of determination that Alex had never seen from her before. It was almost as if she wanted to make Alex proud. She wedged her little hands in a groove in the rock and found a place for her feet.

"That's it, now push off with your feet and reach for that second groove."

Alex continued to offer praise as Olivia made her way up the rock face. Slowly but surely, she reached the top.

"Congratulations, Olivia, you did it!"