Page 86 of Sincerely, Mr. Braden

When the passageway narrows, we walk single file. “Everyone okay?” Sound travels strangely in caves, echoing and fading.

“Yeah, fine. It’s like another world in here,” Ellie says with awe.

“More like another planet,” Frank says.

We wind through the chilly narrow passage, turning sideways to squeeze through an outcropping, my backpack and their shoulders scraping the wall.

“It’s a good thing we’re not claustrophobic,” Ellie says.

“I went caving with a friend in college who had never had any issues in tight spaces until we got halfway through a narrow passageway and he froze.” I had almost forgotten about that trip. “Poor guy had a full-on panic attack.”

“What’d you do?” Frank calls out.

“Left him there to suffer,” I say as seriously as I can.

“No, you didn’t!” Ellie exclaims.

Frank says, “She knows you too well, Boy Scout.”

I grin. “I guess she does. I tried to talk him out of it, and when that didn’t work, I had him close his eyes and focus on breathing. Then, with his eyes closed, I guided him back out the way we came, reassuring him that he was going to be fine and promising he could tell everyone at school that he had to help me through a panic attack.”

Frank laughs. “You’re all right, Braden.”

Ellie touches my back as the passageway widens. I look over my shoulder and catch that sweet smile that has me falling harder by the second.

We climb over boulders and crawl through tight gaps, and I check on them every step of the way. Frank gripes when I try to give him a hand, and Ellie rolls her eyes. When we come to the large chamber with the pit we’ll be descending, our headlights sweep over the uneven walls, mineral bands shimmering from traces of quartz and iron.

“Watch your step.” I reach for Ellie’s hand to help her off an uneven terrace of stone and dirt.

“Thanks,” she says as she jumps down.

“Frank?” I offer him my hand.

“I got it,” he says, and sits on the edge, then shoves off it to his feet, grinning proudly.

“Whoa, look.” Ellie points to the pit.

“That’s where we’re headed.” We walk over to check it out. “It looks great. Clean drop. Good footing.” I put an arm out in front of each of them as they peer over the edge. “Careful. I don’t want to peel either of you off the bottom of that pit.”

“Looks like it wants to swallow us whole,” Frank says.

“That’s what you signed up for, Dad,” Ellie says.

“If you’d rather not go down there, we don’t have to,” I offer.

Frank scoffs. “Who’re you kidding? I didn’t come all this way to sit out the best part.”

“I figured as much,” I say.

“I’m excited to descend into the depths of the unknown.” Ellie says the last part in a deep voice.

“You’re willing to go blindly into this dark pit, and you give me a hard time for going to a mosh pit?” Frank challenges.

“They’re totally different,” Ellie says.

“A pit’s a pit,” Frank says.

“Well, I’ve got no interest in a mosh pit, but this?” Ellie turns around, waving her hand as her headlamp sweeps over the chamber. “This is…otherworldly.”