Black Bane Adventure
Roland and I walked out of the Mountain that is Callan School. It had been three weeks since he twisted his ankle in Moon's Hole. His foot slipped off of a slimy, slippery rock under the water. We had to wade through the water to get our prize; 5 pieces of limestone. Moon's Hole is a cave at the bottome of Black Bane Mountain. Our Adventure Hunt was going good up until that point. After he injured himself, I continued on alone to collect the remaining items; 5 pieces of quartz stone from Speckled Peak and 5 pieces of flint from Black Bane Mountain. I climbed to the top of Speckled Peak alone, leaving Graban at the bottom. At the summit I found something more interesting than quartz stone; A ram's skull with tall curly horns.
Also, something's inside a cave in Black Bane Mountain. When I was chiseling out a piece of flint from the wall, Graban and I heard a growl coming from deep inside the cave. Somethin was in there!
Now that Roland has recovered from his injury, we have set out to retrieve the ram's skull and find out what be inside of Black Bane Mountain. The curiosity inside me be so overwhelming! It was hard to wait fer Roland to recover. I almost went out on my own. The timing be perfect though. Roland feels better and we have five suns off of school while the Magistrates go to a conference wit the Order of the Faith Givers.
The two of us, Roland and I, will meet our Rockies, Graban and Mafic at the bottom of the mountain. They already know our plans. We know each other's thoughts and feelings through the bond. Graban and I and Roland with his bonded, Mafic. We packed food and provisions fer three days. It should only take less than a day to do what we want, but we want to take our time and see more things. I hope to introduce Roland to Feale. We left early enough. We should be able to catch him on his mornin mushroom pickin. Feale sells them to the locals around here. He's quite the jolly fellow, always tellin jokes and his sing-song laugh be so enjoyable. Roland likes to tell jokes as well. I thought the two of them would like to meet.
The mornin sky boasted a vibrant yellow ribbon across the eastern horizon. Even the sky sings good mornin to our creator and friend, Cara Mor. The feathered beasts be chirpin in the evergreen trees that line the path down the mountain. Their songs carry to the heavens bringin sweet praises to Cara Mor. Roland Carried a beautifully carved walkin stick that he carved while he was laid up in the infirmary.
They tried to get him to stay longer but after three days, he took up his walkin stick and walked out of there. Then he continued his classes wit the aid of his new stick. After he was better, he said he liked how it felt in his hand and kept it. Now he's never without it. He reminds me of my own Uncail Anwan the way he carves beautiful wood and he's such a happy fellow. I brought my bow and quiver of arrows wit me. Roland wants to learn how to use it. I'm more than happy fer an opportunity to use it again. It be the one Uncail carved for me on our trip here. Oh how I miss him! I miss my whole family. Me Ma and Da, me Brother Og, me cousin Rhia and her parents. Oh, but most of all, I miss Uncail Anwan and Auntin Tabika so much it hurts! Those two have gotten me through some really hard times. They have always been there for me, always. To not have them now is so, so hard. I have my friend Roland now though. He's been helpin me wit the sadness and loneliness. Since our adventure hunt together, we have been together a lot. He gets along good wit Scoria and Joktan Graywack as well! The four of us have formed a nice friendship together. Roland and I have mostly been inseperable. I visited him in the infirmary every day he was there. We ate evening meal and breakfast together every day. I found him the branch he asked for to make his walkin stick. I cut it from the Heartwood trees. Graban and I ran down there and back in a couple of sunpeg changes. I know just what be a good carvin stick. Uncail Anwan taught me. He carves knives and axe handles so beautifully. Using flint and bronze, he forges the blades. Uncail's crafts are saught after far and wide. They be so beautiful! Most days Roland and I meet after classes in the library wit Scoria and Graywack to study.
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So Roland and I head down the mountain on this glorious, crisp morn. The leaves be changin to orange and yellow so vibrantly! I can see across the whole Callan Compound from the school. The once green and lush glen now looks golden all the way to the southern shore. I can see the Blue Mountains against the vibrant orange mornin sky. It's so breath-taking! I am in awe once again how glorious Cara Mor be! To make such a wonderful world. Thank you Cara Mor fer makin such beauty! I be so grateful fer that. It brings me such joy to see the mornin sky. Since the leaves be so vibrant, I be thinkin back to home. Right about now they be gettin ready fer the hunt. My family brings the beasts to feed the Clan. We provide the meat fer the storehouse to keep the Clan fed during the cold season. We also keep live beasts on our homeland. When the cold season gets sparse of meat we will kill one of our kept beasts
and feed everyone fresh meat. They all be very grateful to my family fer that fresh meat in the off season. This always made me proud of our contribution to the clan. So as I walk today wit Rolan, I be thinkin of family. I be grateful to Roland fer his friendship.
A Green-Feather just landed on Roland's pack. It be chirpin and singin so joyfully! We both laugh with glee over this sweet little creature blessin us wit song. The feathered beasts always be more active in the morn. That's one of the reasons I like to be up and out early. I love the beautiful start they give my day. Soon they will all fly away fer the cold season. We won't get a chance to get out like this in a few weeks. I'm glad we're doin this now. Graban and Mafic met us at the bottom. They morrored our joy being bonded to us, they can hear our thoughts and feel our emotions. Graban and I and Roland and Mafic. The four of us join and walk along together casually, slowly and peacefully. I say I think Feale may be over in the trees by the Blue Mountains so we head over there first. I hope he doesn't mind me bringin new friends to meet him. He did tell us where to find him if we ever want to see him again. We be walkin so slow enjoying ourselves. We stopped fer a family of Coneys hoppin by. Their long ears bounced as they hopped wit their big thumpy feet. It be quite comical to watch those beasts hop. After they passed by, we continued on. Again casually and happily enjoying our mornin walk together--- together wit friends. The cool air smells so fresh. I took a few deep breathes into my lungs very deep. It felt refreshing! We easily reached the trees where we saw Feale a'fore. He wasn't anywhere to be found, unfortunately. These trees were a lush green last time Graban and I saw Feale here. Now they be a virant gold and orange and red. The mornin sun be glowing gold and shining through the leaves makin them glow so brightly. The colors seem even more deep with the sun shinin through. We begin to shout Feale's name. "Feale! Oh, Feale!" I think he may be back further, closer to the Blue Mountains, so we continue to walk back to the mountains shoutin his name.
There be another group of trees further back by the Blue Mountains so we go back there to see if we can find him still callin his name.
"Feale! Oh, Feale!" we kept shoutin and walkin. Finally, just as we get to the end of the trees, right at the base of the mountains, we hear..... "Whaaaaaaaaat? Who is it?" I chuckle and yell,
"It's me, Netri. Come to see ya. And I brought a friend. Where be ya?" "I'm inside my house. Where are you?"
"We be standin at the base of the Blue Mountains in the Trees, Where be you?"
"Well, I'm right beneath you silly! Hahahaaha!"
So we begin to look around but can't find anything. Hmmmmmm.
"We can't find ya Feale!" I shout, "Come out please."
Suddenly, Feale was standin right in front of us. There he was.
Right in front of our faces he seemed to appear from nowhere. Our shock was apparent. Then he was laughin his sing-song laugh. We all began to laugh then.
Feale began to dance and do backwards summersaults all the while laughin fiercely. It seems as though he lives by no rules. We all laughed too. Jubiently we bellowed huge belly laughs of our own. Then he finally stopped and gave me a big hug. I hugged him back. He told me he missed me and I echoed the same. We made our introductions and then he invited us into his home. ???
"Um, Feale, where be yer home? All I see is trees and grass and mountains."
Then he led us around what looked like a dirt mound. On the other side was what looked like a barrel on it's side poking out of a mound in the earth..
He led Roland and I into the barrel-door and down into the ground. (Graban and Mafic couldn't fit. So they stayed outside.) Roland had to duck down a little to avoid the low dirt cieling. But Feale and I, being short folks, didn't. We ascended a hard packed dirt slope into a lovely little room carved out of earth. He directed us to a wooden table in the middle of the room. I smelled potatoes and mushrooms.
The yummy smell wafted into my nostrils and the fire's heat warmed my bones. He had the food cooking on the fire. A crude, open rock fireplace held up the dirt wall next to the table. It was fashioned with a flat top fer cookin over the fire. The chimney was absent. This puzzled me. I didn't see or smell any smoke outside. Where is the smoke going? When I asked him about this, he explained that the pipe goes out under his bedroom and he has a system set up with natural suction and filters on this long pipe. By the time it exits, the smoke be gone. It exits far from his home in the Blue Mountains. Mayhap a faint smell would be in the air near the exit, but it's so cleverly hidden that no one outside wouldn't know it was there. Genious! We have giants and other creatures living about. It's a good safety feature. He said the pipe going under his bedroom heats the room a bit too. Like me, he likes to sleep in a bit cooler temperature.
Feale grabbed a small white sack off of a shelf to the left of the stove. He untied the string that was keepin it closed and dumped a whole pile of mushrooms into the skillet right on top of the others already cookin.
"Would you gents be staying for breakfast?" He asked. How could either of us say no with the hearty aroma tantalizing our senses. My stomach flipped and I realized how hungry I was. Roland and I looked at each other and licked our lips simultaneously.
I asked why Feale wasn't pickin mushrooms. He explained that the season be over. I could see he didn't sell all of the mushrooms he collected. The entire wall had a shelf stocked with the little white bags. There must have been 100 little bags neatly tied with a string. I could see he's stocked up with mushrooms. I had a couple bags of dried meat in my pack and asked him if he'd like to trade a sack of meat fer a sack of mushrooms. He said he doesn't eat meat but proceeded to drop one of his white bags on the table in front of me. I thanked him and put it in my pack. I didn't want to just take the mushrooms knowing mushrooms be his livelihood so I pulled out a small flint knife I had made and asked if he would take it in trade. He eyed it with his large eyes and thanked me. Then put it in his belt.
The mushrooms in the skillet cooked quickly. He scraped them off onto three small plates and we ate the potatoes and mushrooms together. They were tasty and boy was I hungry. We didn't take the time to eat breakfast before we left Callan Mountain. We were so anxious to get out and start our three day adventure.
Feale and Roland got along well; just as I suspected they would. They were jokin and laughin through the whole meal. We told him of our plans to see what's inside Black Bane Mountain and retrieve the ram's skull. He was intrigued, just as we were. We decided Feale must come with us. He was very curious to see what's inside the mountain as well. Having finished his meal, he jumped up excitedly and washed the dishes. Then he grabbed his pack and filled it with a few items to keep him fer a night. He said he would accompany us to see inside the mountain and spend a night out in the stars with us. We were happy to have him along.
After our hearty breakfast the five of us headed out to our little adventure. I love adventures! Feale explained that he's been living in his hole fer nearly fifty seasons and has never heard of somethin inside Black Bane Mountain. Graban said he didn't feel it was particularly evil. Just angry. The growls did sound angry. I fear nothing. My curiosity supercedes any fear of what may be in there despite the discussion of many kinds of creatures that could do harm. It's ok, we have plenty of protection. Garban and Mafic can handle anything. Except mayhap an army. No, this is a single creature. We will be quite safe. I be glad Graban has the adventurous spirit just like me! The Order of the Faith Givers sure knew what they were doin when they put us together.
Roland thought it a good idea to go to the Rock and get some Shock Berries before we begin, just in case. So we went there first. It's just a little out of the way and we have time. A full five days of free time lay ahead of us, even though we only planned fer three days adventure, we can do whatever we want.
By now the sun seems to be further in the sky. I think it's about Du Peg, still early. We walk past the trees and the school again, south to the the Rock. Again, we be walkin slow, just enjoying each other's company. As we come out of the trees, we passed a Mathair (momma) Fia Rhua wit her baby bedded down under the trees. She was licking the top of the baby fawn's head. So sweet.
When we approached the Rock, Graban 'felt' somethin there. A giant. Everyone grew quiet. Feale's eyes got even bigger and he wanted to go the other way. His instinct is to hide and avoid. He said he sensed the giant too. Hmmmm..... I wonder if he has the senses like the Rock Monsters. We whisper to him to just wait and see what we do. Roland and I and Graban and Mafic already did this before. We want to see if it will make Feale laugh. The Rockies went ahead stealthily. Surprisingly, Rock Monsters can walk quietly despite their girth. We crept carefully behind them.
Pretty soon, we saw the giant near the Rock. He was standin by a big boulder playing with his knife. It looked like he was practicin throwing and catching it. Clumsy giant, he kept missing and the knife fell to the ground every time. He didn't notice us approach. The knife came down and stabbed the giant in his hand. The blade went straight through his palm and out the back. Well at least he caught it. The distraction was perfect. All at once, we all yelled and the Rockies charged while yelling and pounding the earth. Sure enough, the giant ran away! Feale shouted a shrill shout and we all laughed at our cleverness and the sight of the bumbly giant runnin away!
So we collected some shock berries. Roland popped some in his mouth. He must still be hurting a little. I didn't ask because he won't admit it.
We headed to Black Bane.
What's inside Black Bane Mountain.
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Black Bane Mountain be mostly made of obsidian and flint, hence the name. We heard the growl deep inside the dark mountain when I was tryin to get a piece of flint from the wall inside the cave. We walked around back where we saw the cave a'fore. Feale said he never saw a cave ever in Black Bane. Curious. Sure enough, there was the cave mouth. It stood yawning in the morning light. We went in. Our adventurous, curious spirit drew us inside the mouth of the cave.
Inside was just as before, black rock all around, which absorbed most of the morning light. So we fashioned some torches and went into the throat of the cave. The light of the fire reflected off the black obsidian walls like mirky water. We krept inside further and further. The landscape of the tunnel not changing even though we walked deeper and deeper. The quiet in there almost smothered my ears like ear muffs. The only sound, our footfalls and soft breathing. It went deeper than I expected. From the sound of the growl, I thought the creature might be just inside, but no. We went deeper and deeper inside the mountain. Feale commented again that he never knew of this cave. His voice broke the air of silence around me.
"WHOOOoooo IIIIIS THERE?" A strange, croaky coice called out. We all stopped in our tracks. Anticipation filled my veins, my heart beat out of my chest. I pushed ahead of everyone to see who was attached to that voice. Graban held out his hand to stop me but I kept going. The others walked a bit more cautiously. The tunnel opened to another cave. There in front of me leanin against the wall about thirty yards away sat.... a...... fish......man? He had the head of a fish, but the body of a man. His body had fins on his arms and legs. The feet and hands were webbed. His head looked large. His eyes were large and angry looking. His gaping fish mouth had sharp needle teeth sticking out.
This Fish Man sat leaning against a wall by a lake. Yes, a lake inside the mountain. The water looked a mirky, dark blue.
This Fish Man was croaking a crackly voice. "Why do you disturb my slumber?"
"I'm sorry." I exclaim. "We were curious. We heard you three weeks ago growling and we wanted to know who or what it was." I shuffled my foot on a pebble nervously. Suddenly I felt foolish and sorry I disturbed this fellow.
"I am Netri Annora of the Shist Clan." I began. "This is my Rocky Graban." I gestured with my hand toward him. "Behind me are my friends, Roland, Mafic and Feale. Roland and I go to the school and Feale lives nearby. I'm sorry to disturb you. We were only curious."
The Fish Man's eyes widened more at my explanation. "Then you must be the one." He said flatly. "I'm sorry I growled at you before. I was very angry that you woke me up with your pounding. It echoed inside this cave so thunderously and woke me from my slumber. From the looks of me, I think I've been asleep a very long time. My name is Ailbe the Fish Giver. I hail from a proud clan that keeps the fish abundant in the seas. I have been sleeping here a very long time. Waiting for you Netri Annora of the Shist Clan. Your presence must have woke me."
Now my eyes widened in surprise. "Me?" I asked.
"Yes Netri. You're The One. You are to be the leader of the new age. I was tasked with waiting for you so I could tell my clan when you arrived here. We know of you Netri and what you will do. Now that I know you have arrived at Callan School, I must go tell my clan. We must prepare."
Aye! More talk of my destiny! I be not wanting this destiny and it's annoying to be reminded of it so much. "Ailbe, I be but 12 seasons old. I do not see my future to be this grand future, yet I keep hearing about it from others."
"Like it or not, Netri Annora, you are to become the leader of the new era. You better get used to it because it's happening. Now I must go tell my people of your presence here. It's the beginning and we need to prepare." He repeated himself. Then he got up from his resting place and began to walk off. "I sure have gotten fat and flabby slumbering so long. I can't wait to get back into the ocean and swim free again. Now that my task is almost complete, I will be able to live. I will see you again Netri Annora of the Shist Clan. When you are much older we will all see you rule. Now it begins." Then he shook my hand with his floppy, webbed fish fingers to which I shook his hand back and he walked out of the cave into the tunnel. We all just stood there stunned watching him walk away. His floppy feet flapped and slapped the floor with every step making a comical slap sound with every step. Clearly his flipper feet were not meant fer dry land. Then he was gone. Well that was a strange encounter.
After he left, we all just stood there. I don't know about them but that is NOT what I expected to find in here. I expected some sort of spirit or animal, but not a fish! Wierd. We decided to take a break by the pool of water. It seemed so calm and serene in here. I pulled out some dried meat and Roland pulled out some berries and nuts. Feale accepted the berries and nuts, but not the meat. I shrugged and chewed the meat contemplating the odd thing that just happened. Feale kept saying this cave was not here before. I don't know what to believe. Graban felt my annoyance and said inside my head that I need to just accept this prophecy. That annoyed me even more. He felt that and backed off.
Feale and Roland started talkin quietly sensing my annoyance too. I stared at the deep black/ blue water and chewed. I felt dissapointed. This be not the adventure I had in mind. I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. I decided not to let this ruin our fun time.
We ate and talked about what to do next. Well, we want to go get that Ram's skull but we don't have to do it right away. It's quite large and will be cumbersome to lug around. Roland stood up and began to take his shoes off. Then he took his shirt off. I know what he's doing. He wants to go for a swim! The temperature be much warmer in here than outside, actually, it's a bit balmy. Mayhap a swim isn't such a bad idea! So Feale and I jumped up. I raced to take my shoes off. Feale doesn't wear shoes so he had a head start! Roland was already in the water. He eased himself in feet first. It looked deep. The water reached Roland's chin. Feale leaped and curled up in the air in a ball and hollered "Whoohoo!" He caused a huge splash, gettin me all wet. I struggled to get my now wet shirt off and then ran back a bit from the water's edge. Running at full speed, I leapt at the edge, pushing with one foot. I sprung up so high I tucked and did a summersault before I hit the water causing a medium splash. Not as impressive as Feale's splash. The water felt very warm.
We swam and played the rest of the day away in the cave. By the time we decided it be time to go, we were surprised the sky was getting dark.
The now colder air hit my wet body causing tiny bumps to erupt on my entire body. We found a nice soft patch of grass to bed down fer the night. The grass was long there. Once we pushed it down and put our blankets on top, it was quite comfy. Mafic went to gather some wood and Roland started a fire wit some dead leaves. Feale and I sat on a fallen log and talked while we watched the sun go down.
Graban put a few dry twigs on the burnin leaves and sat by the log. The sun waved goodbye leaving a dark purple sky behind. Roland blew on the burnin leaves to catch the twigs. After the purple left the sky to black, Mafic returned wit a huge armful of dry wood. He toppled it onto the ground in a heap by the fire and proceeded to put branches onto it. When they caught, the fire got really big. It illuminate the entire area making spooky shadows. Cool! The spot be well enclosed with the three mountains on one side and the Blue Mountains on the other. Trees and bushes surrounded us to make a nice enclosed spot to camp.
The fire started to dry me out and comfort enveloped me. I felt the most comfortable I'd been in a long time. A fire tends to do that. The warm glow mezmerizes me. I have to stare at it. The three of us sat on the log feeling the fire's warmth, starin into it. Mafic and Roland turned to their sleepin piles by us, Feale watched them with interest. He said he'd never really seen them do that. He knew they could, but didn't ever see it. It is quite stunning when you think of it. Rock scrapin upon rock as their human form shrinks to a pile. Almost as if they're melting. I never really thought much of it, because I grew up with Rock Monsters. It surprises me to see the interest in Feale.
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Mornin came with the birds chirpin and squirrels scamperin about. I rolled out of my blanket just as the sun was peaking over the horizon. My friends were still in their bedrolls. Snoring. We must have been tired because we slept past the sunrise. I just caught the end of it when my eyes popped open. I layed there watching the sky fade from pink to blue. The fire was still going strong. The Rockies must have taken turns keeping it blazing so we could sleep. Bless them! I never got cold. I love Rock Monsters so. They be so thoughtful and helpful. Thank you Cara Mor for giving us Rockies. I be so grateful fer Graban. So grateful indeed.
Graban sensed I be up so he changed from his sleeping pile to his man-like form. When he was finished, he smiled at me. I sat on the log and smiled back. What a beautiful mornin! I turned and watched a chickmunk chitter in a tree. It's striped tail swishin. I don't know what it was sayin, but it was really intense! I giggled at it. Roland and Feale began to stir in their blankets. Mafic changed from his sleeping pile.
I took some biscuits out of my pack and we ate them together. Now today we decided to go up Speckled Peake and get the skull. After our meal, we stomped out the fire. I looked up at Speckled Peake. It's the gray mountain next to Black Bane. We be camped behind the mountains. I looked up at it deciding my path up. I could take the path I did last time or, I saw another one behind it that looked pretty good fer climbin. I'm a very good climber and this shouldn't take long. Roland decided not to go up. I know why. His ankle be hurtin still. It does take a long time fer an ankle to feel totally better. I know when my Da hurt his, it was near three months before he got it totally better. He wouldn't run much until then. I do not expect Roland to be climbin this mountain. I readied myself with rope to tie the skull to myself. Feale said he's not a climber so he won't be goin wit me either. I put the rope over my shoulder and went up alone.
I reached the top fast. I have more energy in the mornin and the climbin went well. Yep, the skull be sittin just where I remember it.
This time I got it by the horns. I didn't want it to be wettin me again so I grabbed the horns and pulled it off it's stack of quarts stone. Carefully I tie the rope around the horns and go to lower it down the mountain ahead of me. It's quite large. I don't think I can climb down with it so I try lowering it. It hit the end of the rope half way down the mountain. So I have to go down to see what I can do. Hmmmm....... It would be nice to have a helpin hand. Oh well, I put the rope over my shoulder and climb down. Carefully decending while lowering the weight of the skull at the same time. I had to move slow countering the weight on my shoulder. It was tough. I began to grow shaky with the extra effort. My limbs gettin tired. Almost....
Ugh! I slipped and fell into a crack and got stuck. I couldn't get out. It seemed to be like a well. I couldn't see it before and mayhap I could have seen it if I weren't distracted by the weight hangin off me. The walls of this crack, no more like a well were smooth. I couldn't seem to find anything to hold onto! So I holler to the others. "Help! I seem to be stuck!" Just as I finished sayin that, I saw Graban's face poke over the top of the well. "Graban! I didn't know you could climb!" I bellow surprised. We were still a third of the way up the mountain. He just grinned at me. I heard him say inside my head, 'I'm full of surprises you don't know yet lad.' Oh boy. He took the rope from my shoulder and lowered it down to the ground with ease. Then he puzzled about how to get me out. His form changed and his rocky human form turned into a bunch of stones that rolled down into the well under my feet. The rocks piled up under me and I kept stepping on top of them until I could reach the top. Then I got a hold of the top of this deep well and pulled myself up and over. Graban followed. His stones moving up and out of the well all at once. Then he formed into his human figure that I know and love so well again. Wow! He's so full of surprises. Bless him!
We climbed down together. 'Why haven't you ever climbed with me before?' I asked inside our heads.
'Because my rocks could damage the mountain. So we Rockies don't do it often. I only did it now to save you lad.' That Graban, always surprising me! Down at the bottom the others asked if I be ok. Yes, yes, I assured them I'm fine. I didn't hurt myself. Then we inspected the skull I retrieved. It is quite impressive. Now what do we do with it? Roland fashioned a harness with the rope and tied it to Mafic's back. How smart! It was tied on there like a back pack.
"Well," Feale chimed in, "How about we all go to my house and have a hearty breakfast?" We decided that be a very good idea. I get the feeling Feale had enough adventure fer now.
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Thanks for reading. This time it was a bit long. I know I promised it's a quick 20 minute read but we had a lot to get through. Besides, I made you wait a long time for this one. So I had to make it good. We are building slowly to Netri's destiny. He's got a few more years at school before he has to face his destiny. He's only twelve! There are many, many adventures ahead of him and learning before he faces his destiny. I hope you stay with me and enjoy every single one of them!
Have a blessed week guys.
Syd
