SARA, BOOK 2 (8 page)

“See those rock cliffs up there?” Seth pointed off toward the hillsides. “See that bank of trees, there?”

“Yes, I see that.”

“See that dark spot just above them? I think that’s a cave. Can’t tell for sure, but I’ve seen lots of cliffs, and those cliffs
look to me like they have caves.”

“Okay.” Sara smiled. “I hope you’re right. How much farther do you think it is?”

“Not far. We’ll be there in less than an hour. Do you want to rest again?”

“No, I’m fine. Just wondered.”

They trudged silently along, not talking much to each other.
Funny,
Sara thought,
I thought this
would be a lot more fun than it is.
She hadn’t expected it to take so long, and she hadn’t expected to get so tired. It was a much steeper climb now, and her
little toe was beginning to hurt. Sara wanted to stop and take off her shoe and straighten her sock, which felt bunched up
and uncomfortable.
Geez,
am I trouble or what? I’ll bet Seth won’t be cutting class
with a girl again anytime soon.

“Let’s sit here for a while, Sara. If we stop and rest and eat and drink often, we’ll keep up our stamina better.”

“Oh, good,” Sara said, tugging off her shoe. What sweet relief! She pulled off her sock and pulled it back on again.
Much better,
she thought.

Seth smiled as he tossed her an apple. His toss was quick and accurate, and Sara looked up quickly and snatched the apple
out of the air with her left hand.

They both laughed.

They finished the apples, and now feeling refreshed and eager, they continued on. “You know,” Sara said, “this really is a
beautiful day.” She had gotten her second wind, her guilt had subsided, and right before them was the cliff they had seen
from the pasture below.

“Uh-oh,” Sara said, as she saw the very dense underbrush all along the cliff row. “Now what?”

“Wait here,” Seth said. “I’ll go see if I can find an easier way through this.”

Sara really didn’t want to stay there by herself, but she didn’t like the idea of getting all scratched up either.

“Okay,” she said reluctantly.

“If I don’t find something fast, I’ll come right back,” Seth called as he disappeared into the bushes.

“Good,” Sara said to herself, sitting on a rock ledge clutching her knees and looking back down at the valley. She had become
interested in seeing if she could identify landmarks down in the valley, when Seth came back through the bushes.

“Come on, Sara, you’re gonna
love
this one. This is one of the best caves I’ve ever seen!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s great! It’s kinda hard to get through this part, but then it’s a clear path,” Seth said, as he pulled the bushes
back so Sara could enter. They walked a hundred yards or so, and then right before them was an entrance to a great big cave.

“Wow!” Sara said. “I can’t believe that every kid in town hasn’t found this.”

“Well, from the markings on the walls inside I’d say we aren’t the first ones here, but we’re the only ones here today, or
anytime lately. I don’t think anybody’s been in here for years. Look how faded the writing is.”

Seth and Sara stood inside the entry. “I can’t believe this,” Sara said. “This is a big place!”

The entrance to the cave was about five feet in diameter, but once through that opening, the cave opened up. The ceiling of
the cave looked like it was at least 20 feet tall, and all over the walls and even the ceiling of that first big room were
painted, in truly untalented fashion, names and stick figures—and even a happy face.

“Whoever painted this has about as much artistic talent as I do,” Sara said, laughing.

“Yeah, and not much respect for natural beauty, either,” Seth said. Sara could tell that Seth didn’t appreciate the defacing
of this beautiful cave.

“Wanna go farther back in?” Sara asked, wanting to see more and at the same time really hoping that Seth would say, “Later”
or “Next time” or “No, I really don’t want to go farther.”

“Yeah,” Seth said. Seth sounded as if he genuinely wanted to see more. His enthusiasm boosted her courage some, but she still
felt strong reluctance to trudge forward into this dark, unknown territory. She certainly didn’t want to be a party pooper,
but with every step they moved forward, Sara felt stronger and stronger resistance to taking the next step.

Seth wasn’t hurrying either. He was very proud of himself for producing a cave so quickly and easily for his new friend, but
he was also feeling reluctance about bolting into this dark unknown. But he wasn’t about to disappoint Sara. After all, they
had come this far.

Seth took off his backpack and pulled out the flashlight he’d stashed. It was an old one that didn’t put out much of a beam,
but it was much better than nothing, and he shined his dim light back into the cave. “Geez,” he said, “this cave goes on
forever!”
His light wasn’t strong enough to find the back wall of the cave. “Sara, I’ve never seen a cave like this. This is awesome!”

Those words weren’t particularly reassuring to Sara. She would have preferred words more like “Yes, Sara, I’ve explored many
caves exactly like this one, and they are always the same: safe, empty of anything scary, and really fun to explore.” But
she could hear from Seth’s tones that he was feeling as uneasy about this cave as she was.

Seth shined the dim light around, looking up to find the ceiling and out to find the back walls of the cave, but the light
just couldn’t seem to find the top or the back of this huge space. Seth pointed the light back down at the floor—and then
he stopped dead in his tracks. “Shusssh,” he said softly. “Don’t move.”

Sara stood frozen. What did Seth see? Then, suddenly, there was a commotion of fluttering and dust, and Sara heard Seth’s
voice saying, “What the heck . . .”

He wheeled around looking back at the cave entrance past Sara’s startled face and yelled, “Look, Sara, it’s the owl! It’s
the
owl!”

Sara and Seth ran back to the cave entrance in time to see this very large owl flying with a very large snake hanging from
his beak.

“Sara!” Seth shouted, “That owl saved us! That snake was coiled ready to strike. If the owl hadn’t been there, it woulda had
me for sure!”

“Let’s get out of here!” Sara exclaimed, running out of the cave, and Seth was right behind her. Sara had no trouble making
her way through the brush and down the rocky ledge back to the pasture. She didn’t even stop to look back to see if Seth was
still behind her until she was back in the pasture and ready to cross under the first fence.

“I thought you said you weren’t afraid of snakes,” Seth said, grinning.

“I changed my mind,” Sara retorted, out of breath. “And I’ve changed my mind about caves, too.”

Seth laughed. “Yeah, me, too. At least for now. But that’s an awesome cave, Sara. Usually snakes don’t bother you. They usually
get out of your way. I guess we just surprised it. Hey, what about that
owl?
Do you believe that?”

“Well, yes, I guess I do.” (Oh, there was so much to tell Seth.)

“We’d better head back,” Seth told her, looking at his watch. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”

“Yeah, or something like that.”

It was much easier walking back down into the valley than it had been to walk up out of it, and Sara and Seth had a new energy
that was propelling them as well. Sara appreciated that Seth seemed to hold his pace to one that was so comfortable for her,
and Seth was glad that Sara was able to easily keep up with him. They visited, walked, and sometimes ran down out of the foothills.

“These old fences don’t seem like they hold much in,” Seth said, as he put his foot on one wire holding it down, and pulled
on the top wire holding it up, making a wide enough opening that Sara could slip through. Once on the other side, Sara did
the same for him. “Yeah, lucky for us.” Sara laughed.

They happily made their way through the pastures and back to the old dead tree where they had stashed the fishing boots. As
they approached the tree, Sara felt reluctance. She really dreaded the idea of putting on those smelly old boots. And the
idea of wading back down the river wasn’t the least bit appealing either. Seth felt it, too. Sara didn’t say what she was
feeling; she waited as Seth climbed up the back side of the tree and watched as he reached inside.

“Ya know, Sara, school will be letting out in a few minutes. We could walk right past the school and blend in with everyone
else as they’re heading home. What do ya think? Are you willing to try it?”

“Yeah,” Sara said excitedly. She liked that idea a whole lot better than trudging down the river. And a game of hide-and-seek,
or at least a game of, “I’m invisible and you won’t notice me,” was exciting.

“I’ll come back later and get the boots.”

Sara felt such relief. “Well, then, let’s get going!” she said gladly, perfectly happy to leave those smelly old boots behind.

As they crossed through the last pasture above the school yard, they could see that it was empty. No one was moving about.
Then the bell rang, the doors burst open, and the school yard and parking lots filled with students and teachers, spilling
out of the buildings like prisoners who had just made their escape. Sara felt a twinge of discomfort, or maybe it was excitement—or
maybe it was guilt. It was hard to pinpoint exactly
what
she was feeling as she saw fellow students leaving school at the end of a long day, just as she knew she should have been
doing at this moment as well.

“Okay,” Seth said, “I’ll go out ahead. We shouldn’t go together.”

“Okay. Ya want to meet back at the tree house?”

“Yeah, I’ll see ya there.” Seth took off in the direction of the school.

Sara watched Seth until he disappeared behind the building. She tied her shoelace; tucked her shirt in; pulled the rubber
band out of her hair; and ran her fingers through her long, curly hair to bring it to some order. She laughed as she found
a good-sized twig tangled in her curls. “Oh,
that’s
nice, how long has that been in there?” she said aloud, feeling self-conscious about her appearance. She put the rubber band
back in her hair and followed Seth past the school.

Mr. Marchant came out of the building just as Sara rounded the corner. He looked at Sara and waved.

Sara’s heart stopped.
Uh-oh,
she thought.

But Mr. Marchant got into his car, backed out of his parking place, and rounded the corner.

Either he didn’t see me; he forgot I went home sick;
we all look alike to him; or I’m in big, big trouble
and he’s toying with me.
Sara’s mouth felt dry, and suddenly she felt very hot. “Oh well,” Sara said, “what’s done is done.”

Sara walked quickly toward the swinging tree. She felt more conspicuous than she had ever felt in her life. “I’d probably
glow in the dark,” she muttered under her breath.

In all of her life, Sara couldn’t remember living through such a topsy-turvy day. It had begun with such promise. A whole
day to escape and explore with her best friend. But it hadn’t been anything like she thought it would be. It was very hard
work wading up the river, and the smelly boots didn’t add much to the pleasure of the day either. Finding the cave was great,
but getting chased out of it by a big, mean snake was truly terrifying. Being saved by the owl was incredible! But then, getting
spotted by Mr. Marchant . . . well, if there could have been a worse ending to the day, Sara couldn’t imagine
what
it would be.

CHAPTER
16

Follow Your Heart

S
ara ran almost all the way from the school grounds to Thacker’s Trail. She ducked off the road into the bushes and half walked,
half ran to the tree house. She was eager to talk with Seth and tell him how she had been spotted by the school principal.
Of all the people in the world to see her, why did it have to be the one person she had lied to?

“Hey, Seth!” Sara called out.

No answer came back.

“He should’ve been here way before now,” Sara said out loud.

“Seth!” She called out again, hoping that her voice would somehow reach out to where her eyes couldn’t see, and find him.

Sara sat on the floor of the tree house, pulled her legs up against her chest, and rested her chin on her knees. She was absolutely
exhausted.

“Solomon?” Sara said, quietly. “Can you hear me?”

I can, indeed, Sara. It’s nice to have an opportunity
to visit. What is it you want to talk about?

Sara closed her eyes and got comfortable. She had learned, through much practice, that if she really had something important
that she wanted to talk about, that she could hear Solomon’s words in her mind as clearly as her portable radio and earphones
played music into her ears. Sara had so much she wanted to talk with Solomon about.

“Solomon, where
is
Seth? He should have been here by now. Do you think he got caught? Do you think he’s in trouble? He’s probably in as much
trouble as I am. Oh, Solomon, why did we ever decide to skip school?”

Solomon listened while Sara poured out her worry. When she finally stopped, Solomon began.
Well, Sara, I’m sure that it’s not as bad as all of that.
Don’t make too much of all of this.

“But, Solomon, Mr. Marchant saw me coming back onto the school grounds. Do you think he remembered that I said that I was
going home sick today?”

Well, Sara, that is a possibility.

“Do you think he recognized me?”

That is most likely, Sara. You are one of his favorite
students. I don’t think he would forget who you are.

“That’s just
great,
Solomon. I’m one of his favorite students, and now I’m in big trouble.”

What makes you so sure you are in trouble, Sara?

“I can feel it. I feel awful. I wish we’d just gone to school today like we were supposed to. I guess I’m really a bad person,
Solomon. Are
you
mad at me?”

Sara, there is nothing that you could do that would
cause me to be mad at you. My love for you is not dependent
upon your behavior. My love for you is constant.

Sara appreciated Solomon’s loving words, but she certainly didn’t feel that she deserved them.

“You mean, no matter how bad I am, you still love me?”

Solomon smiled.
Sara, I do not believe that you
could ever be bad.

“Hmm.” Sara felt confused. She had never known anyone like Solomon.

Sara, I would not want you to alter your behavior
in order to gain my approval. I would actually prefer
that you seek to find harmony with your own guidance
system that comes forth from within you. I want you to
make your decisions based upon how they feel to you, not
because you are worried about what I might think.

Sara was beginning to feel a little better. It was comforting that her dear Solomon had not lost faith in her.

I have noticed, Sara, that good intentions are usually
at the basis of most deception.

“What do you mean?”

Why did you want to keep your cave exploration a secret? Why didn’t you want your parents or Mr.Marchant to know about it?

“Because they’d be mad at me if they knew.”

Is it important to you that they love you?

“Yes.”

You found yourself in an uncomfortable position, Sara. You want them to love you, but you also wanted to explore for caves.
By not telling them your plans, you were attempting to satisfy both intentions at the same time.

You see, Sara, if there is only one person that you
are attempting to please, in time, with enough effort, you
may be able to stand on your head in enough different
ways to please him or her. But if there are two different
people, or three, or more, it very quickly becomes far too
much to juggle. The only real alternative is for you to
discover your own guidance system that comes forth from
within you. In short, Sara—you just have to follow your
own heart.

Sara was beginning to feel a little better.

No one else can really know what the best choices
are for you. You are the only one who can really know
that.

“Sure seems like there are a lot of people who think they know better.”

They mean well, Sara. Most have your best interests
in mind when they try to guide you. But remember: The
Law of Attraction
is really behind everything that comes
to you or happens to you. And so, if you are a vibrational
match to good things, then only good things can come to
you.

Nothing so terrible has happened. I am rather happy
that the two of you had such an interesting day. Much
more value will come to you from this cave exploration
experience than if you had been at your school all day.

“So you think it’s okay that I skipped school today? And that I lied to Mr. Marchant?”

Well, let’s see, Sara, let’s check it with your own
guidance system. How did you feel when you told Mr.
Marchant you were going home sick?

“Hmm. I didn’t feel very good
then.
I felt guilty. It bothered me that he trusted me.”

So your guidance was telling you that this action
was not a match to your desire to be trusted.

When you thought about a day of skipping school
and exploring for caves, how did you feel?

“I felt
great,
Solomon. I felt happy and excited.”

Good, then your guidance was telling you, this is a
good idea.

“But Solomon, I don’t understand. How could I get what I
did
want, like exploring for caves, without doing something that I
didn’t
want, like lying?”

Before I answer that, Sara, let me ask you some
questions. How was your day of exploring? Was it
glorious? Was it fun? Was it wonderful? Was it a
perfect day?

“Well, some of it was wonderful. Sometimes I felt really, really good, but some of it was hard, some of it was scary. It was
sort of a mixture.”

Actually, Sara, your day was a perfect match to the
way you were feeling about it. You felt both good about
it and bad about it, and the day was a perfect match to
the way you were feeling.

“Are you saying that if I had felt only good about this day of exploring, that the day would have turned out only good?”

That’s exactly right, Sara. The
Law of Attraction
is always exact.

“So I didn’t have to tell a lie to get to go?”

That’s right. Once the two of you decided that you
wanted to explore for caves, you could have held that
idea, purely, and a way for that to happen, without
violating any other desires, would have opened for you. In
fact, Sara, it is never too late to find a good-feeling place
about anything—things will constantly change to match
the feeling you have inside.

“You mean, if I find a good-feeling place now, I could still keep Mr. Marchant from being disappointed in me?”

Yes, indeed. You have only to think of him understanding
you, and loving you. Remember, Sara, you can
tell by the way you are feeling, how you are doing. If
your thought feels good, then good things are coming to you.
Try to find thoughts that feel good.

“Okay, Solomon. I’ll work on that. I better get going. I hope everything is all right with Seth.”

Imagine that all is well.

“Okay. Thanks for your help.”