The Kingdoms of the Mountain Valley

Chapter 2: Discovery

Chapter 2

“So, what do you think, Kylie?” asks Ryan as he bites into a sandwich, “We lost?”

Kylie laughs as she pops a potato chip into her mouth, “I think so, Dad.”

Doctor Ryan Bell, tall and lanky with short shaggy hair that never really seems to cooperate, pushes his round rimmed glasses back up his nose and looks down at his daughter, Kylie. It just amazing him at how much his nine year old daughter looks so much like her mother, the same straight, brown hair, the petite nose, the thin lips, everything from her mother, except for her eyes, she got those deep blue straight from him. He can’t help but smile when he thinks about how her mother, his wife, Lana always said that she fell in love with his eyes first, then the rest easily followed.

When Lana was pregnant with Kylie, she kept saying how much she hopes and prays that Kylie will be born with his eyes, and then always the same joke, his eyes, not his hair. He sighs deeply, he misses her so much. 

Max, their golden retriever, runs past Ryan, bumping him and bringing him back to the present. Max runs into a shaded spot, lies down and barks at them.

“You think so too, Max?” Ryan laughs.

This was their weekly ritual; Ryan would take Kylie and Max on a hike into The Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Wildlife park. This was something that Lana started; she couldn’t understand the point of living surrounded by natural beauty if you weren’t going to see it, so they all started going when Kylie was just a baby. After Lana was gone, Ryan kept this tradition alive, and was glad that he did, Kylie loved these trips and looked forward to them all week.

One of the things Ryan always tried to do was take Kylie down new paths, which was easy enough to do, The River of No Return Wilderness was enormous and enveloped most of Idaho, so a new path was always waiting. Today was no different, they headed off for an older trail that was suppose to lead to an abounded saw mill that Kylie thought would be” cool” to check out. Ryan noticed that trails with “cool” destinations were Kylie’s favorite, she says it’s like having desert after a great big meal. Ryan also noticed that Kylie uses the word “cool” way too much time to introduce her to a new word, maybe “awesome” or “bodacious”. Well, maybe not “bodacious” that might be a little to 80s and, as much as how the 80s is in now influencing pop culture today, Ryan just doesn’t see “bodacious” making a comeback.

  The path that they started was not the same that they’re on now. About an hour into the hike they trio came across a fallen tree on t he side of the trail. Ryan thought that this was a good spot for a moments rest and to give the much panting Max a drink of water. While Ryan was pouring Max’s water into a portable rubber bowl, Kylie had said that see saw something off past some trees and wanted to see what it was. Ryan, seeing that it wasn’t that far away and the fact that there weren’t any cliffs or rivers around that she could fall into had said alright but be careful anyways.

It wasn’t even two minutes before Ryan heard Kylie yelling, not yelling because she as in trouble, but yelling with excitement as a nine year old would do when they come across something they’ve never seen before becoming the single most important discovery ever made in the history of mankind. Ryan yells back to hold on and that he would be there in a second. He puts away the water and Max’s water bowl then jogs over to where Kylie was. Kylie ran up to him when he got close and pulls him towards whatever was this decade’s greatest discovery.

“Daddy,” Kylie said excitedly, “Come see! Come see!”

Kylie pulls Ryan into a small round field full of blue.

“Look!” Kylie points to the center of the field; there in a perfect circle was a ring of mushrooms. “Isn’t it cool, Daddy?”

“Yes,” Ryan said, “Very cool. Do you know what this is called?”