The terrace. That’s where I thought we were going to, but seeing Adam take a detour into the garden right after the terrace was a huge stop in the show. My movements slowed until it came to an abrupt halt. Why the garden? What is going on there?
I looked around me. There was no student or teacher in plain sight. Everyone was busy eating their lunches and I was here following an ex bully, or still bully-who knows what he has in stock for me-into a garden I haven’t been in since ninth grade.
“Coming or not?” Adam questioned with an emotionless face, as he suddenly turned around to face me. He must have noticed that I wasn’t following him anymore.
“Where are we going?” I asked him, slipping my hands into the pockets of my jacket. I was nervous; like so nervous.
“The garden obviously. Are you blind too?” He piqued an eyebrow. “Stop behaving like a scaredy cat and follow me. I am not going to eat you up, unless of course the eating has to do with the hotness down there.” He laughed the next second when he saw the incredulous look on my face.
“Jeez. You are so innocent.” He muttered, turning away and continuing the unknown walk into the garden.
Calming my nerves which were jumping up and down, I took up walking again, praying that whatever it was we would be doing here wouldn’t break the King’s order. Yes, I still wanted to leave, even if Adam should say that he liked me. Okay backtrack. Perhaps I wouldn’t leave them.
Geez get your head out of the gutter, Maya. I cussed, sinking my fingers into my hair and roughing it all up, frustrated at my thoughts. Couldn’t my mind just stay blank for a minute without thinking or guessing or competing or comparing or assuming or imagining? Wasn’t that possible for god’s sake?
Getting into the garden after Adam, I watched keenly with interest as he took another detour. I came to a halt when I saw that he was standing still, facing a wall that was covered with grass. Why was he looking at it? And what were we doing here looking at a grass wall? Isn’t this a dead end?
I was about to ask him that, when all of a sudden, he patted the wall three times consecutively, then one, and then another three times. It was like Morse code. Was there something behind it, was it a door?
I was shocked when the wall began to vibrate, when the wall slid open from bottom to top, horizontally. Wow, what is this?
Adam turned to me then, and gestured to me with his hand to come in.
Stupid me followed him like I was being bewitched.
My mouth fell open the moment I beheld the interior of the space. It was larger than my bedroom. There were chairs and a few tables. Then there was a bed at the farest end. On one of the tables, there were covered plates and trays. They were arranged beautifully.
Did Adam prepare this for me? But why?
I turned around swiftly when I heard the door closing again. For a second, I was tempted to run away from here, but I let the thought go. Adam wouldn’t go against his father. But my heart rate still spiked. I’ve never liked enclosed spaces. Everywhere was dark too once the door shut.
“Adam?” I called softly, hiccuping suddenly when I felt his hand around my waist.
“You don’t like the dark or enclosed places?” I heard him ask, or rather he whispered into my ears.
“Both. I don’t like either of them. Can you turn on the light?” I pleaded, twisting my hands which were still splayed in the pockets of my jacket.
“This is a cave, Maya. There is no switch. But I’m sure I can do something about the light.” He muttered, and I nodded whilst wondering how the door of the cave had opened to us if there was no system put in place for that. It was like some secret room.
Adam made the same tap on the wall nearby, and I thought that perhaps he was reopening the door so that at least light could flood in. But when the door started to open, I knew this was a different door, a different part of the cave, because what my eyes beheld was the most beautiful sight.
A waterfall!
“My brothers and I usually come here to relax. No other person has been here except you. They wouldn’t be happy if they knew about this.” Adam said, throwing my mind into disarray again.