The Hidden Path 🌿✨
Jas pushed aside a curtain of vines, sunlight spilling through the leaves like liquid gold.
“Look at this,” they called back softly. “I think this leads somewhere.”
Roman squinted down the narrow trail. “Hopefully not straight off a cliff,” he muttered, though curiosity had already pulled him forward.
The path was barely there — just a whisper through the green. Roots twisted across the ground like old fingers, and moss softened every step. 🌱
The air felt different here.
Thicker.
Quieter.
Like the world itself was holding its breath. 🤍
Ivy Mae felt it in her chest — that strange tug she’d learned to trust.
The feeling that something was waiting.
Then they saw it.
A break in the rock face.
Not just shadow.
Not just stone.
An opening.
A cave. 🪨
Cool air drifted out to meet them, carrying the scent of wet earth and something metallic, like rain before lightning.
Roman traced the entrance with his hand. “Natural… or man-made?”
Jas grinned. “Does it matter?” 😄
“Only one way to find out.”
Inside, the light faded quickly. Their footsteps echoed softly as their eyes adjusted.
But this cave felt different from the crystal cavern they’d found before.
Not alive.
Not glowing.
Older.
Watching. 👀
The walls weren’t rough and wild — they were smooth in places, shaped… carved.
Intentional.
“Do you see that?” Ivy Mae whispered.
At the far end, something shimmered. ✨
A wall.
Not stone.
Not glass.
Something in between — like frozen water or polished moonlight.
Jas stepped closer and brushed their fingers across the surface.
The moment they touched it—
Ripples spread outward. 🌊
Like a pond disturbed by a single drop.
Then images flickered to life.
Headlines.
Voices.
Fragments of another world.
GENDER FILES ERASED FROM GOVERNMENT RECORDS
TARIFF WAR ESCALATES — GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS FAILING
PROTESTS. FIRES. STATIC.
Faces they half-recognized.
Words breaking apart.
Truths twisting into noise. 📺⚡
Roman stepped back. “This isn’t just a cave…”
His voice barely carried.
“It’s a message.”
“Or a warning,” Jas said quietly.
Symbols replaced the words — strange shapes pulsing like a heartbeat. 💓
Then—
Darkness.
Silence.
Just their breathing.
A gust of wind sighed through the entrance behind them, snapping the spell.
Roman exhaled. “We should go.”
Jas nodded, rubbing their arms like they’d walked through cold water. “Yeah… the river sounds better right now.” 🌿
Ivy Mae lingered a moment longer.
Her reflection stared back at her in the darkened wall.
For just a second, she thought she saw the images flicker again.
Like the cave wasn’t done with them yet.
Like it was remembering. ✨
And somehow…
waiting.