2.

The Cave, for it was a cave, a secret cave, Nowar's very own secret cave, was just big enough for a boy Nowar's size to fit inside. None of the bigger kids at Budsurry school would have been able to squeeze through that narrow entrance.

At first glance, the oblong opening looked like a natural fissure, an unobtrusive hole in the rock, partly obscured by a thick tree root. But a closer look revealed that the entrance and been made, carved and crafted by skilled hands. Edges were smoothed, joints and seams were perfect, almost but not quite invisible. A subtle shelf over the top would keep any rainwater out. Cool air blew out of the hole, tendrils of wispy white water vapor were just visible in the warm afternoon sun. It was deep dark inside, and beyond the entryway, the passage sloped steeply away to untold depths.

Nowar was by nature a fairly cautious, sensible child. He was not the type to go worming his way into strange dark caverns... Not without making proper preparations first anyway!

Just then a group of bigger kids came roaring through the playground, chasing a soccer ball. Nowar adjusted some leaves and pine needles, and moved a fern just so, and his secret cave was again invisible. Then he went off to play Space Warriors, and he didn't think about his secret cave again until much later, when he was on the school bus on his way home to Bone Bridge.

That night thought, after dinner, once the lights were turned off and the whole family had gone to bed, Nowar could think of nothing else. Long after his Daddy had started snoring, and his Mommy had closed her book and shut her eyes, Nowar lay awake and thought about the secret cave that he had found. Where did the entrance lead to? Who had made it? What was inside? Nowar thought he would never fall asleep.

He whispered into his stuffed bear's ear "Teddy, tomorrow I'm going to have an adventure. A REAL adventure!" Nowar though, but he wasn't sure, that his stuffed bear smiled at him. And then his eyelids became too heavy to keep open, and he drifted off to sleep.