“It’s been nice traveling with you two,” Nicole said as they walked the pathway into the village of Falling Waters. “I know you’ve got important things to do, and so do I. If I don’t see you before, let’s meet at my place the day after tomorrow.”
“Good luck meeting with your friends,” Del said, turning onto the path to her and Vitto’s home. “We need to research some of our old family stories.”
“Don’t forget to enjoy being back in Falling Waters,” Vitto said, taking in the view of the beautiful village.
“Yes, returning here is like a warm hug,” Nicole replied. “It makes you feel good.”
Inside her home, Nicole couldn’t help but smile when she noticed that her friends had kept her house clean and dust-free.
“It’s good to have friends,” she thought, setting her pack down in a corner. “Who should I go see first?”
“Seraphina, of course,” she thought with a smile.
After taking a few minutes to freshen up, she stepped back out into the sunshine.
“It’s time to surprise my friend,” she thought with a smile.
It was mid-morning, and Nicole knew where her friend would be.
Walking all the way through the village, she approached the clearing with a view of the sparkling waterfalls. On a bench near the water’s edge, she spotted a cat with white fur that ruffled in the breeze.
Nicole quietly walked up behind the white cat and was reaching out when the cat said in a smiling voice, “Hello, Nicole. I’ve been waiting for you.”
“I should have known I couldn’t surprise you,” Nicole said, sitting on the bench next to her friend.
“I knew the second you entered the village,” Seraphina said. “Have you forgotten the connection we share?”
“No, of course not,” Nicole replied, hugging her friend. “I felt it even while I was gone.”
“Are you back for good?” Seraphina asked, enjoying the nearness of her friend.
“Before I answer that, let me tell you what I’ve been up to.”
Nicole told her about the cave and the drawings that she and her daughter, Star, had been copying.
“The work has been fascinating and though the working conditions have been somewhat challenging.” she said, “but it’s what the drawing show that’s important.”
She told her friend what they had learned from the drawings and what the group of cats at the Mystic village had determined that they must do to prepare.
“Each of the cats there has skills that are important to our mission. Star and I are part of a team that specializes in copying and interpreting the clues that the ancient tribe, who lived there before, left for us. There are the cave drawings, of course, and we’ve recently found a site with stone pillars adorned with dozens of carvings on each one. We need to make sketches and paintings of those for closer study. And that’s just what we’ve found so far.”
Seraphina turned to look at her. “So, you’re saying you need help.”
Nicole looked back at her friend. “Yes, would you?”
“Of course,” Seraphina replied with an easy smile.
The two friends sat together quietly watching the rainbowed mist rising from the splashing waters, enjoying the closeness of lifelong friendship.
“Have you talked to Celeste yet?” Seraphina asked.
“No, I came here straight away,” Nicole replied, reluctantly pulling her gaze away from the calming scene before her. “Shall we go see her? Maybe we can talk her out of a mug of tea.”
Approaching the house, they noticed more activity than usual. When they got closer, they saw that Celeste’s daughter, Cleo, was visiting.
Celeste came out to meet them, holding a tiny sleeping kitten in each arm.
“Ah… Nicole, I’m so glad you’re back,” she said in a quiet voice, not wanting to waken the kittens. “Come inside.”
“Cleo, honey, could you fix us some tea?” she called, carefully sitting down, cradling the kittens.
“Sure, Mom. It’ll be a few minutes.”
“So, ladies, what’s up? I can tell that you’ve got something on your minds.” Celeste said.
“You guys are no fun,” Nicole complained with a light laugh. “Surprises are impossible.”
“Well, did you know I was a Grandma?” Celeste asked with a twinkle in her eye. “Surprise.”
“Okay, you got me with that one,” Nicole grinned. “When did Cleo have these little ones?”
“It’s only been about a week,” she replied. “Aren’t they beautiful?”
“They sure are. They look just like you and Cleo, mostly black with delicate white accents.”
As they sipped their tea, Nicole retold her story, just as she’d told Seraphina earlier.
“You’re in the midst of important happenings,” Celeste said. “I have to admit, I’m a bit envious.”
“I did come to ask if you’d like to join us at Mystic village,” Nicole told her. “Your talents would be welcomed, and I would enjoy being with my close friends again.”
“It sounds like Seraphina has already decided to join you,” Celeste said, giving Seraphina a questioning look.
“I have,” she replied. “I love my life here, but this does sound important.”
“It sounds important and exciting,” Celeste agreed.
“However…” she said, smiling down at the two kittens she was holding, “Right now, these sweet babies are more important… and exciting.”
“I can’t imagine what I could say that would tempt you away from those little darlings,” Nicole said.
“However, it occurs to me that some of what we’re doing there could just as easily be done here.”
“Once Star and I finish with our full-color reproductions of the cave drawings, we want to make copies of those. Additionally, we want to produce enhanced versions.”
“What do you mean, enhanced?” Seraphina asked, sitting up with interest.
“The cave drawings are beautiful in full color, but by their very nature, they look flat. Star and I thought to add shading to give them depth and dimension.”
“We want to be careful not to change their details, but to enhance them.”
“Think of it like this: to create the drawings on the walls of the cave, the ancients had to simplify the images. You might say, removing details that weren’t important to the message they were trying to convey. Perhaps we can reintroduce those lost details.”
“That may sound pretentious, as in, ‘how could we know what details were removed,’” Nicole said, “but once you’ve been to the Magic valley and seen what happens there, it doesn’t sound so preposterous.”
“So, if you could bring me a copy of the drawings, I could make the enhancements here without having to leave.” Celeste said, with a thoughtful expression.
“We know you have the talent, and with the ‘extra help’ we seem to be getting. I think it would work very well.” Nicole stated.
“We’re still a ways away from that point. We need to finish with the first full copy. Then we’ll want copies of that so we can keep the original safe. Then we can move onto making the enhanced drawings.”
“So, you see, you’ll have plenty of time to spoil your grandkittens before we’d put you to work.”
“You can’t fool me. I know you’re making this up on the spur of the moment,” Celeste said with a laugh. “But I like it. Let’s go with that plan.”
She raised her mug, with the other two doing the same.
“Friends forever!” they said in unison, just as they had done many times before.