Alice: “okay, okay, I’m coming”

In the living room, there was a big suitcase and Alice has both hands holding her coffee and her sandwich.

Alice: “grab the suitcase and I’ll follow you”

Tasha: (angry) “what?”

Alice: “my hands are full”

Reluctantly, Tasha carried the heavy suitcase to the van and threw it in the back. Alice on her side has to seat in the front with Louise and Tasha because Jenny’s wheelchair was in the back of the aisle of the van blocking the use of the last row of seats.

The trip to Hidden Town was about two hours, but the view of the road was beautiful; the town was on an elevated hill.

Behind the driver’s seat were Dana and Helena with their luggage, behind them, Bette and Tina, then Shane and Carmen, and finally Jenny tied to her wheelchair.

They arrived at the town and make a stop at the inn where Peggy and Lenore will stay. Outside there was a big signboard “THE SHACK”. The building was an old but very well-preserved family house that has changed its use into a rural hostel. It has several rooms for guests on the first second and third floors and a huge dining room on the first floor.

Tasha took them to the reception followed by Alice.

Tasha: “we haven’t arrived at the place”

Alice: “I need to pee”

Tasha pointed to a door in a corner of the reception, while Peggy talked to the lady in charge who gave them the bigger and best room in the inn.

Later, the van continues its trip toward the outskirts of town.

Alice: “are we leaving town?”

Tasha: “not exactly, we’re heading to the sacred place”

Alice: “I hope we get better bedrooms to sleep in than that old inn”

Tasha didn’t answer but smiled sarcastically.

After fifteen minutes of driving to a higher altitude on the hill, they arrived at what looked like a rock building, the van parked on a kind of parking place on the ground and everybody got off the van.

Bette: “what’s this place?”

Tina: “it looks like a building carved in the rocks or a cave”

Louise was close to them and explained.

Louise: “indeed it’s what you said; this place was first inhabited by the Kumeyaay; it was a temple where they practiced rituals to protect their tribe against evil; after the arrival of the Spanish invaders, the missioners took this land and built a church, which was abandoned, some rumors about the place was haunted, but I think the real cause was conflicts between the clergy and the inhabitants; after many years a group of half-blood descendants of the Kumeyaay, claimed ownership of the land which was granted by the authorities, and this is where we are”.