September 2, 1859

September 2, 1859

Dear Safiya,

I’m so sorry that it took me so long to reply.  I was . . . busy, I guess that’s a good way to put it.  I’m sort of tired, but I’ll still tell you what happened.

I got up sixteen days ago and everything was completely normal.  I had breakfast and did some cleaning and I actually talked with Duncan.  School was about to start, and he seemed nervous, so I had asked him if he wanted anything.  He said no, he was fine.  We let it drop there.  Not really a conversation, but more than we had been talking, so that was something.

I quickly did my chores and got ready to see Jaime.  I took a bath and got dressed and brushed my hair until it was silky smooth.  I wanted to make a good impression on him after so long.  Well, it wasn’t that long, but we had left on bad terms.

Cindy reminded me yet again that she wanted pork for dinner because we were having guests, and I said I didn’t know when I was going to be back, but I would try to be back in a few hours.  She sneered something about me not deserving a break, but I was already out the door by then.

I walked quickly to Jaime’s house as I was already late.  It didn’t matter much, because he met up with me halfway there.  He was too excited to wait for me to come to his house, so he was going to come to mine.

When he saw me he smiled, and I couldn’t help but smile back.  I figured that I was forgiven for having to leave so soon before, and I was about to say that I was sorry when he interrupted me, saying, “We have to go for a walk.  I found this great spot.”

I was confused by what he meant, because he had told me that he had wanted to talk, but I was just happy to be with him, so of course I didn’t argue.  He took my hand and off we went, basically running to through the forest.  I didn’t know what he was in a hurry for.

Soon enough I began to recognize the area.  We were heading towards the waterfall.  I could even hear it rumbling in the distance.  I tried to get him to stop, to turn around, giving the excuses that I was tired and hungry and wanted to go home, but he wouldn’t hear of it.  He insisted that it would only take a minute, and then I could eat and rest at home as much as I wanted.  Finally I agreed, and we continued running.

When we got there I was amazed at what I saw.  The water was almost red, with hardly any blue or green or silver in it at all.  Jaime squeezed my hand tightly and said, “We’re going to go behind the waterfall.”

I remembered what you had said about the rocks being slippery, so I tried to get him to stop, to turn around and go home, but he wouldn’t hear of it.  I even tried to pull away from his grip, but he all but threw me onto the first rock.

When I got on there I immediately saw that it would be difficult to cross.  The surface was perfectly smooth and curved, and it was completely drenched, with water even running up to my ankles.  I almost slipped right away, and I would have been washed away into the lake and the river across from the waterfall if it hadn’t been for Jaime.  With his help, it only took about half an hour to go the fifteen steps to the waterfall.

Up close, the waterfall is even more gorgeous than from far away.  It has so many different colors, and what I had thought was red was really orange and yellow and pink and red and dozens of different shades.  There were crystals in the rock behind it, embedded in and making it all the more beautiful.

I didn’t have much time to look at it, for Jaime was pulling me behind the waterfall.  I was surprised when I saw a little doorway.  There was no door, just the doorway itself, but it was such a strange sight that I stopped walking for a few seconds, but Jaime was being insisted, telling me that he had to show me something important.

I feel like I’m going to faint at this very moment, so I think I’d better go before I do.  I’ll finish telling you later, when I feel a bit better.

Sincerely, Lucy