On the peaceful tropical island of Isola there lay a dark and dank cave that the villagers were forewarned to stay away from. All the children were good and listened to their elders and stayed away from the mysterious cave on the south end of the island.

One sunny afternoon, however, a young red-headed boy, aged seven and named Thaddeus, was playing by the coral reef with his two cousins, Hula, age six, and Soda, age five. They were searching the sand for cool seashells that the tide had washed up and left behind. They already had a basket filled with shells and Thaddeus had grown bored of their daytime activity. He wanted to do something new--something unheard of. But what to do? That was the question. There was the usual leaving footprints in the sand, making sandcastles, dancing, gathering herbs for the alchemy lab but Thaddeus craved adventure and novelty.

He turned to his young cousins and asked, "What can we do that we haven't done before, hmm?"

"I don't know," replied Hula. She was pretty and had dark, straight hair.

"We've done everything there is to do," chimed in Soda. She was a cute, curly-haired blond. "Let's see--we've snooped around the alchemy lab...I want to be a scientist when I grow up...we're playing on the coral reef. Ooh, we could go visit the graveyard and bring flowers to our ancestors or decorate the gravestones."

"No, no, no," Thaddeus shook his head and impatiently stamped his foot. "I want to do something new. Something we've never done before. I want to go exploring and be an adventurer."

"Well, Taddy, you know we live on an island...there isn't much to do."

"Yeah, but there's got to be something new that's never been done before. If we rack our brains, I'm sure the three of us could come up with something. I'm sick of seashells. So there's the alchemy lab--we've already done that. There's the orchard--boring. There's the cave but we're not allowed to go in there. There's--wait! I got it! The cave! We're going to go visit the cave!"

"But it's forbidden," Hula said, her eyes wide with alarm. "We're not allowed into the cave. Everyone knows that."

"Yeah," Soda echoed, scared and worried by talk of visiting the mysterious cave. She was afraid of the dark and of small spaces.

"Exactly!" Thaddeus replied. "It's forbidden. So no one's been there before. It's perfect! Now are you in or are you too chicken?" He put his hands under his armpits and mimicked a chicken squawking. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone you're both chicken."

"We're not chicken!" Hula responded. "I'm in. Soda's in too, aren't you, Soda?"

"Uh--," Soda hesitated. She was only five and she was scared of going into a dark, unknown cave.

"Don't worry," Hula whispered to Soda. "Nothing will happen to us."

"Okay, then. I'm in, I guess," Soda answered hesitantly.

"Okay, then!" Thaddeus said. "It's settled. Let's go to the cave now and see what the great big mystery's all about." He clapped his hands together with glee and led the young group over to the path that would lead them in the direction of the enigmatic cave.


[EDIT: I changed the title from "Rise of the Isolan Dead" so the story wouldn't seem so ominous or like a horror flick.]


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CHAPTER TWO

The threesome made their way slowly towards the path that would lead them to their forbidden destination. As Thaddeus, Hula, and Soda passed the orchard on the left with the farmers hard at work harvesting tropical fruit, they plastered false grins on their faces. As they passed the Research Lab on the right side with the scientists hard at work on building tech points for the Isolan tribe, they pretended they were headed to the Alchemy Lab to snoop around. When the scientists smiled indulgently at them and turned their backs, they darted away toward the cave.

Unfortunately, the cave was located close to the communal bath. They clung to the rock wall and inched their way over to the cave, stumbling a few times on a pile of loose stones. Two of the village Elders were relaxing in the bath and practicing aromatherapy. Luckily for the adventure-seeking tykes, the Esteemed Elders were too busy chatting and floating in the vast bath to notice the errant children.

"Let's go back," Soda whispered, her voice breaking in terror. "It's not too late to turn back now."

"Don't be a wuss! We're almost there. No fun if we don't take a risk. It'll be so cool when we get into the cave where no one else has gone before. It'll be awesome. C'mon. Let's go. Just a few more steps," Thaddeus said.

They held hands and guided each other around the pile of loose stones. When they reached the front entrance of the cave, they quickly dropped their hands, not wanting to be holding hands at their ages.

The front of the cave was covered with dead branches and brambles that half-concealed a layer of rocks that further obstructed the opening of the cave entrance. The cave had clearly been
deliberately sealed off.

"Let's go home," Hula murmured. "It's a dead end."

"Let's get to work," Thaddeus declared authoritatively. He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Okay, I'll pull these branches free and then we'll get to work on the rocks."

Hula and Soda stood by silently exchanging worried glances as Thaddeus got to work pulling free the dead branches that had been stacked up against the rocks like a fence. They were big and it took him almost an hour before the branches were all out of the way. The sun began setting, coloring the sky in a deep orange glow that was quickly hastening into a glowing red sunset.

"Oh, no, time to get home for dinner. We'll have to finish this tomorrow. Hey, we're having crab tonight. You girls want to come over for dinner?" Thaddeus asked.

"No, thanks," Hula responded. "Soda's coming over to my house for dinner tonight and we're having crab too. Afterwards we're going to play with our dolls."

Thaddeus dusted off his clothing and led his two cousins back toward the huts located in the center of the village. They were able to sneak by the two Elders lounging in the bath who had been joined by a third Elder.

They nodded politely at the scientists still hard at work as they passed the Research Lab and headed into the village toward their homes.

"Remember, not a word about us visiting the cave to anyone, okay?" Thaddeus said insistently.

"No," Hula replied. "Who are we going to tell? We would get punished for visiting the forbidden cave with you. Even if we've only visited the cave entrance."

"Right. Okay, tomorrow we meet up in the graveyard and sneak back over to the cave. I'll meet you bright and early."

"No, we have a wedding to attend. You have to be there as well. It's Daphne's marriage to Rain," said Soda. She was excited to be attending a wedding and to get the special treat of eating mango pudding afterwards.

"Oh, that's right," Thaddeus responded. "Okay, the wedding's taking place next to the orchard. We'll meet up and head back over to the cave afterwards. That's perfect. All the villagers will be at the celebration. No one will notice that we're missing or where we are. See you two girls tomorrow then. Good night!"

"Good night, Taddy."

"Good night."

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CHAPTER THREE

The full moon hung high in the sky illuminating the cozy slumbering village below. Thaddeus tossed and turned all night in his small bed. He dreamt of times of unsealing the forbidden cave and of what he might discover inside. Gold! Gold everywhere! Pretty, shiny gold to make bracelets and necklaces and rings and to decorate the island.

Thaddeus murmured aloud in his sleep. "Gold! Wah! Oh, just dreaming..." He turned back on his side to sleep with both hands under his soft pillow and kept alternating between dreaming and waking.

Another time he dreamt that inside the cave was a huge, dark, scary boogey monster. He awoke with a start. Both hands pressed tighty to his chest, he sat bolt upright in bed. Maybe unearthing the cave wasn't such a good idea. He debated quickly in his mind the pros and cons of exploring the cave. He knew it was best to leave well enough alone and to leave the forbidden cave sealed. Yet the lure of adventure was calling to him and he spent the rest of the night wide awake imagining fun, new toys inside the cave or artifacts of the previous village dwellers who had resided on Isola long before the current Isolans. It was worth it he decided. It was well worth the risk. He imagined every villager congratulating him and throwing a grand party in his honor for discovering the secrets of the forbidden cave. He smiled to himself at his fanciful thoughts.

The moon's glow faded as the sun rose on the horizon lighting everything with its orange warmth. And Thaddeus rose quickly with the rising sun and dressed in his finery for the day's wedding celebration. Today would be the day that the mysteries of the dark cave were revealed.

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CHAPTER FOUR

The church bells tolled two times in the village and then, after a brief pause, once signaling that a marriage was about take place. The first two rings signaled a man and a woman as separate entities. The final bell signaled the union of the two as one forever from this moment on.

Fully dressed all in white, Thaddeus joined his parents and his two brothers and two sisters, all of whom were dressed in white. It was Isolan tradition that in order to celebrate a wedding all attendees must dress in white. The white signified the pureness of the union of the marriage about to take place. Colorful flowers of all varieties were gathered and weaved into bracelets for the women and the girls and single flower buds were put into the breast pocket of the white shirts of the males. That way the blooms lay close to their hearts in the spirit of romance which was resplendent in the air. For the bride and her groom, crowns were made of red roses and placed atop their heads, signifying their exalted position on their joyous wedding day.

Thaddeus's mother tucked a purple lily into his white shirt pocket so that the bloom peeked out.

"There. You and your brothers and sisters are all ready to go now. Let's head over to the orchard," his mother, Gemma, said. She was a tall, beautiful, graceful, titian-haired woman.

Thaddeus's father, Ello, a rugged blonde giant, led the family to the orchard where the festivities had already begun. Thaddeus looked around and saw all of the villagers except for his elderly grandparents seated on white chairs at round tables covered with white tablecloths. He spotted Hula and Soda seated together at the next table over. Catching both of their eyes he winked at them and then a huge, mischievious grin lit his face as he thought of their impending exploration of the forbidden cave. He couldn't wait to get his hands on whatever was inside the cave. He hoped it was some kind of treasure that would make the other boys jealous. Thaddeus was a good boy. He would share his findings--eventually.

===================================================
CHAPTER FIVE

After the ceremony and the cake-eating, Thaddeus walked over to stand beside Hula and Soda.

"Let's go now," he murmured.

Hula and Soda were nodding their heads in assent when Thaddeus's mom walked up.

"Taddy, will you be kind and bring these two slices of cake to your grandparents. They're too sick to get out of bed."

"What's wrong with them?" Thaddeus asked, concerned for them.

"The doctors don't know yet. They're calling it Night Fever since at night, your Grams and Gramps get a high fever. Please bring them some ice water too."

"Sure thing," Thaddeus said. "Hula and Soda will go along with me."

The three children stood meekly in front of Gemma, the two girls politely curtsying before the three shuffled off toward the huts.

"Gosh, I hope our grandparents will be alright," Hula said, worried.

"I hope so too," piped up Soda. "I wish there was some way we could find out what's wrong with them and then we could come up with a cure!"

"A cure would be a great idea but we don't know anything about medicine," Thaddeus sighed hopelessly. "Let's pray for a miracle for Grams and Gramps."

The three knocked on the door and entered after they'd been summoned inside. A pungent herbal odor hung in the air from the poultices being used to treat the elderly couple who were suffering from their mystery sickness. They looked old, tired, and frail reclining as they were in bed with their eyes half open.

"Come in. Come in. Welcome," their grandmother whispered.

"We brought you some cake and ice water. Do you need anything else?" Thaddeus asked solicitously.

"No, no," his grandfather answered. "Run along now, children. Children belong outside under the warmth of the sun's golden gaze. Children should be playing and exploring, not hanging around a sick hut. Be gone now," his grandfather said with a smile.

"Bye. Hope you feel better."

Thaddeus was more determined than ever to visit the cave now to get his mind off of his grandparent's ailments since he could do nothing to help them that he knew of.

"Let's get to the cave," he said. Hula and Soda fell in step beside him and all three children made their way over to the forbidden cave. This time they didn't have to skulk around since all of the villagers minus their grandparents were still at the orchard celebrating the wedding and would likely stay there until the sun set and darkness ushered in the night.

===================================================
CHAPTER SIX

Once at the cave, Thaddeus instructed Hula and Soda to stand back out of harm's way. "I'm just going to clear the right side of the stones blocking the entrance. That way we'll be able to squeeze in to the cave. It shouldn't take too long. Then, we'll need to get a torch from the village fire to light our way through the cave. Maybe there'll be cool drawings inside or treasure."

"Okay," Hula said meekly. "Just be careful." She and Soda held hands together and prayed silently that Thaddeus would be okay.

Thaddeus began the arduous work of lifting the heavy stones and moving them over to the side. He alternated between working and resting. Hula and Soda occasionally brought him water to drink from the waterfall and in between sips, his imagination would run rampant and he would come up with wild ideas like a family of goblins living in the cave.

"I'll go in the cave first. Then, Hula. Soda, you come last so that way if we get attacked by goblins or a monster, then you can run to the orchard and summon everyone to come to our defense," Thaddeus said.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea?" Hula asked again.

"Don't be silly," Thaddeus replied. "This is an adventure. Of course it's a good idea." Then he resumed moving rocks. After two hours, he'd cleared a sliver on the right side that was just wide enough for them to slip through sideways one at a time.

"Phew," Thaddeus said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I don't think we'll need that torch anymore. There's a strange light coming from inside the cave. Maybe there's a family living in there that we just rescued."

"I don't know," Hula responded. "But you're right. I can't wait to see what's in the cave now. Let's go."

"I'll stay behind and wait. Light or no light, I hate small spaces. Plus I think it's creepy going in to a cave so I'll wait for you two to give me the all clear before I take a look around," Soda said, making a face at them. "Scream if there's something bad in the cave and I'll run as fast as I can to get help."

"Okay, here goes..." and Thaddeus turned sideways and squeezed through the slim opening. Hula took a deep breath and counted to thirty in her mind before joining Thaddeus to discover the mystery of the cave.

===================================================
CHAPTER SEVEN

Thaddeus had stepped into the cave and almost stepped on a skeleton.

"Aah! Watch out, Hula. There's a skeleton here by the entrance. Wait, make that two skeletons."

"Skeletons?" Hula cried out. "I don't like skeletons. I don't even like it when the Chief pulls out a skeleton during one of his lectures to teach us." She sidestepped the arm bone that was flung out across the narrow path. "This cave is creepy. Maybe we should leave and seal it back up."

"Nah," Thaddeus said. "Skeletons are cool." He picked up the arm bone and waved it in front of Hula's face.

"Aah! Get that bone away from me! I'll run out and leave you in this scary cave all by yourself!"

"Okay, okay, Hula. Calm down. This little bone never hurt anybody. It's just two skeletons for crying out loud. They're dead already. Cool! Maybe they left treasure behind."

"You're obsessed with treasure, Taddy. Why do you want treasure so badly, huh?" Hula asked, one hand on her hip and frowning at Thaddeus. She was still bothered that he'd waved a dead skeleton bone in her face.

"Treasure's cool! It'd give me something to wear around my neck so people would know that I'm an adventurer. Hey, let's find out what's making the light in the cave."

Thaddeus and Hula could see an eerie glow coming from ahead. They stepped over cautiously to see what it was. Soda had slipped into the cave and she bumped into Hula from behind, jostling her. Hula let out a high-pitched, "Eek!"

"What? What is it?" Soda cried out.

"You! You scared me, Soda."

"Sorry, Hula. I'm walking close to you in here so I can grab onto you if anything happens."

"Don't walk so close."

"Shh, girls," Thaddeus said, his eyes widening as he realized what was emitting the light. It was gold!

"It's gold alright," he said. "Not the kind of gold I was hoping for but golden flowers that are almost translucent and letting off light in the cave. Have you two ever seen this flower before?"

"No," Hula responded, shaking her head.

"No," Soda repeated, shaking her head.

"They're lilies," Hula said. "I wonder why they let off light. So why's the cave blocked off if there's just flowers in here? Beautiful flowers but just flowers. Oh, and two skeletons. What's the big deal?" she asked, even as she wandered over to the luminous golden lilies and softly stroked the satiny petals. "Mm, these are beautiful. I want one for my room at night to use as a nightlight."

"Good idea," Soda said. "I want one too."

They each plucked one for themselves. Thaddeus smiled wryly and said, "This isn't the treasure I was hoping for but now we can tell the Chief and all the villagers that there's nothing here that's a big deal. It's just golden lilies and two skeletons. Maybe the Chief will use the skeletons in his next lecture. Wait--what's this paper here on the ground? It's ancient parchment paper.” He unfurled the rolled up, yellowed paper. “There's drawings painted on here. It looks like the golden lily you girls are holding. Golden lily + golden lily + golden lily = hmm..."

"Equals what?" Hula asked eagerly.

"Yeah, what?" Soda chimed in. "Is it a fun potion?"

"No," Thaddeus announced. "The drawing looks like a gray gravestone. Three golden lilies = a gravestone. That's scary. What? Make a potion out of these golden lilies and what happens? You die and get a gravestone?"

"That's scary!" Hula said and flung her golden lily back into the golden lilies growing out of the dank cave floor.

"Ooh, scary! I don't want mine either," Soda said and mimicked Hula's flower tossing.

"Gravestone? Hmm?" Thaddeus said pensively. "Maybe it means something else…something fun."

"What? What could it mean?" Hula asked. She and Soda looked up at Thaddeus, both anxiously awaiting his response.

===================================================
CHAPTER EIGHT

"I bet you're both wondering how this golden lilies potion that equals a gravestone in the drawing can be fun, huh?" Thaddeus asked pointedly.

"Yes," Hula said, nodding her head. "How can it be fun?"

"Yeah, scary is more like it. I say we drop the parchment scroll and leave this cave and seal it back up and go back to the wedding party and pretend we never came in and discovered beautiful golden flowers and spooky skeletons," Soda said.

"Girls, girls. Look at the drawing yourselves. There's a vial of potion being poured onto the gravestone if you look closely. I bet it lets us talk to ghosts. How cool would that be? We could ask all kinds of questions. Like where missing stuff is...how the world works...who's hiding secrets on Isola...what's on the other side...all kinds of stuff. Now let's go brew up a golden lilies potion!" Thaddeus bent down and picked up the two discarded lilies Hula and Soda had thrown and plucked a third golden lily.

The two girls grabbed the ancient paper out of Thaddeus's hands and peered down at it. They could see what Thaddeus had just spoken of and they glanced at each other before nodding their heads warily. They were both afraid of ghosts but maybe the ghosts would be friendly and they could ask all sorts of questions. The idea intrigued them.

"Maybe the ghosts will know the future?" Soda suggested. "I want to know what I should be when I grow up."

"Yeah, that's a good question," Thaddeus said. "I want to know if there's any more gold on the island."

"If I had a piece of gold, I'd give it to you, Thaddeus, just so you'd stop talking about gold," Hula said.

Thaddeus grinned in response. "I have gold fever," he joked before remembering his sick grandparents and their Night Fever. The grin quickly faded from his face. "Maybe after we mix up this potion, we should go visit Grams and Gramps again and bring them more ice water."

"Yeah," both Hula and Soda agreed.

The three slipped out of the cave sideways one at a time and crept toward the Alchemy Lab. Just because everyone was supposed to be at the orchard didn't mean everyone actually was at the orchard. But to their good luck the Alchemy Lab was deserted. Thaddeus laid the three golden lilies that shimmered in the sunlight out on the Alchemy table. They lit the fire under the potion cauldron and added the golden lilies to the pot. The flowers quickly dissolved leaving a thin golden liquid behind with gold sparks hovering above it. Thaddeus carefully poured the hot potion into a glass vial and turned to the girls.

"Okay! Ready to see some ghosts?" He grinned devilishly.

"Sure. I bet nothing happens," Hula said. "Now you have your gold though. Golden liquid. Maybe you can figure out a way to get the liquid to harden into gold and then you'll have the gold you've been looking for."

"Ha ha," Thaddeus said dryly. "Let's go to the graveyard!"

Hula and Soda held hands together as the trio headed off to the cemetery. They were both excited to see what would happen and frightened of the thought that they might be able to make ghosts appear. Would it work? they wondered. Could they actually summon ghosts? Would it be a good thing or a bad thing? The three of them couldn't wait to find out.

===================================================
CHAPTER NINE

Once they arrived at the cemetery filled with gray headstones, they glanced around in observation.

"Which ghost should we summon?" Thaddeus asked.

"Hmm, maybe one of our ancestors? Like our great-grandmother," Hula suggested.

"Yeah, pick a female," Soda said. "Less scary that way."

"Okay," Thaddeus said and stepped over to their great-grandmother's tombstone. It read: Ellie, Master Parent, lived 89 years.

Thaddeus uncapped the vial that was shimmering golden and sprinkled a little bit on the gravestone. He and Hula and Soda waited with bated breath for a long minute. Hula and Soda were squeezing each other's hands tightly and both were ready to run away fast at a second's notice. To their great surprise, nothing happened.

"It's nothing. Told you," Hula said, letting out a pent-up breath half in relief and half in disappointment.

"Maybe it just needs more potion," Thaddeus said stubbornly. He stepped forward to sprinkle more when his shoe caught on a loose pebble and pitched him forward. The potion sprayed through the air landing on the grass growing atop Ellie's burial spot. The golden liquid slowly seeped into the ground below.

"Oh, no, it's all gone now. We'll have to make more," Thaddeus said, clearly disappointed.

A moment later the ground underneath them started shaking and shifting, loosening up the soil.

"It's an earthquake!" Soda cried out, hugging Hula tightly.

They noticed the ground beneath them suddenly had a huge crack that was spreading wider with each passing second. They jumped back and out of the way. When a bony hand reached up from underneath the earth and secured itself onto the newly formed ledge, the children screamed, "Ahh! Ahh! Ahh!" and held hands together and raced to the orchard and to safety.

The wedding party was still underway and the revelers were drinking apple cider and eating the last of the mango pudding. The three children's faces were as white as a ghost's. They were panicked and stopped short of the orchard, each glancing at the other and wondering what to tell the Tribal Chief and their parents. They were going to be in so much trouble. They had awakened the dead and not in the form of ghosts as they had intended.

"No wonder that cave was sealed," Thaddeus whispered. Something caught his eye from his peripheral vision and he turned to look and screamed out of fright, "AHH!" It was Ellie's skeleton walking upright towards them and the fully packed orchard that lay behind them. Thaddeus grabbed Hula and Soda's arms and pulled them behind the Tribal Chief.

"What's this now?" the Tribal Chief asked. "Are you children playing hide-and-seek?"

Everyone's heads turned slowly to take in the skeleton walking towards them and panic suddenly set in. Loud screams tore through the air and parents grabbed their children close to them.

"Not again!" the Tribal Chief said. He took a deep breath in order to appear calm and announced, "Everyone run back to your huts and keep the doors locked tightly behind you. Shut all your windows and secure them closed. I will let you know when it's safe to come out again. Do not come out of your homes until I tell you to."

Everyone fled the orchard except for the Tribal Chief and Thaddeus, Hula, and Soda who were still clinging to each other and hiding behind the Tribal Chief.

The Tribal Chief turned away from the walking skeleton and looked at the children. His gaze was stern and unwavering as he glanced first at Soda who immediately bent her head and broke eye contact. Her feet were shuffling nervously. Then he glanced at Hula whose eyes were wide with fright and her lower lip was quavering. Finally, he stared at Thaddeus. "What have you children done?"

===================================================
CHAPTER TEN

"You've been in the forbidden cave, haven't you?" the Chief asked sternly. Three heads bobbed up and down in assent. "Now you all understand why it was sealed and forbidden to all." The Chief looked skyward for a quick moment and prayed to the Isolan Gods for help. He quickly grabbed a wooden chair and brandished it against the advancing skeleton.

To everyone's great surprise, the skeleton spoke in a sweet, little old lady voice. "What is going on Chief Ranu? Everyone ran away and now you've picked up a chair. You look like you're about to fight someone."

"Ellie?" the Chief asked trepidatiously.

"Who else would it be?" the skeleton responded. "Now if someone could please tell me what I'm doing here, I'd really like to know."

"So you know you're dead, then?" the Chief asked, lowering the chair from its attack position.

"Yes, I'm dead. Been dead ten years now. Nothing but bones in Isola. But on the other side, I'm light like everyone else."

"Other side?" Thaddeus interjected.

"Now who might this sweet young boy be?" Ellie asked.

"I'm your great-grandson and Hula and Soda are your great-granddaughters."

"Oh! How delightful!" The skeleton covered its mouth with a bony hand. "I get to meet my great-grandchildren. I couldn't ask for a better present. Meeting you three is worth coming back to Isola. Now if I could just see my daughter I'd be even happier."

"Uh, great-grandmother, Grams and Gramps are sick with Night Fever. They're home in their hut lying in bed," Thaddeus said.

"Sick? No! I miss my daughter but I don't want to see her on the other side. Not for a long time," Ellie wailed.

"So there is another side?" the Chief asked, intruding on the conversation.

"Yes, there is another side," Ellie responded. "It's beautiful. Filled with sparks of light that are the spirits residing within all of us. A place filled without pain and discomfort. You'll all get there one day but enjoy Isola while you can. There is nothing like having a body to take good care of and enjoy. Now if I could just figure out how I got here in the first place. Then, I can visit my daughter and my grandchildren and get to know my great-grandchildren and then be on my way back to the other side."

"Uh, great-grandmother," Thaddeus spoke up feeling guilty. "It's my fault you're here. I wanted to summon your ghost to answer questions for us children. I didn't know your skeleton would rise and walk again. I'm truly very sorry, great-grandmother."

"Oh, is that what happened? You made the golden lilies potion. You must have unsealed the forbidden cave. I forgive you for being naughty and for going where you were told not to go. So am I stuck here now forever?" Ellie asked.

"No," the Chief answered. "Don't worry, Ellie. The potion wears off after 24 hours and then we'll rebury you in your final resting place."

"Thank God!" Ellie declared. "I love Isola but my home is the other side now."

"In the meantime, visit your family and enjoy your stay here in Isola. I'll go tell all the villagers what happened so no one will be scared anymore."

"Good. I've got to get to know my great-grandchildren. I already know they're curious and mischievous. Let's go, children. And tell me what this Night Fever is," Ellie instructed.

Ellie and the children walked over to Grams and Gramps' hut together, chattering away. They had all gotten over the initial shock of a walking skeleton and were getting to know one another. They spent dinner gathered around the family table, all four generations crowding the rectangular dining table with the skeleton at the head not eating of course. The conversation flowed with stories being shared to catch Ellie up on the latest going-ons of the past ten years.

Deep into the night, Thaddeus woke from a sound sleep. His eyes widened as he knew what to do next. He couldn't fall back asleep and sat in bed waiting for the dawn sky.

As soon as the sun rose, Thaddeus ran over to Hula's house and knocked on her window. He roused her out of bed and the two ran over to Soda's hut where they threw a pebble at her window to wake her. Then the trio of conspirators ran to the Chief's hut. He was just getting out of bed and putting on his chiefly robes of brilliant red and gold when they knocked at his door.

"Chief, I know what we need to do next," Thaddeus said in a rush, impatient to get started.

"What is it, son?" the Chief asked warily. These children liked to get into mischief. He'd have to watch them carefully in the future.

"We need to brew the golden lilies potion one more time," Thaddeus said.

The Chief was getting angry at the thought of a whole cemetery of walking skeletons wandering about town and dining with their families but Thaddeus quickly defused his anger. "Wait, Chief, just hear me out, please. We need to make the potion to rouse the two skeletons in the cave and find out who they are."

The Chief immediately calmed down upon hearing young Thaddeus's words. He stroked his white beard and mulled it over. He finally said, "You know, when I was a young child when our tribe first landed on these shores, I found the cave and the golden lilies and the parchment paper and I made the potion and woke the two skeletons and ran away from them immediately. The villagers didn't believe me at first until they saw with their own eyes the two skeletons. We all kept our doors locked. The next night we gathered to attack the skeletons but we found them collapsed in the cave. I threw the ancient parchment scroll back where it belonged and we all sealed up the cave together. We never told the story of the walking skeletons because we thought it would be too tempting to the young ones to make the potion and to see a skeleton walk. But I think you're right now that we've spoken to Ellie and seen that her spirit returned to her skeleton. We will make the golden lilies potion one last time and see what the skeletons in the cave have to say to us. Children, go gather the lilies," the Chief commanded.

Thaddeus, Hula, and Soda immediately scampered off to the cave to gather the lilies. They raced back to the Alchemy Lab where the Chief was waiting with most of the village. The golden potion was brewed and then everyone walked over towards the cave. Only the children and Chief went inside the cave with everyone waiting outside with lighted torches just in case something bad was going to happen. The Chief looked heavenward and again made a silent prayer for everything to turn out alright. He then sprinkled the sparkling potion onto both the skeletons. They immediately rose to their feet and the children and the Chief stepped back in response. Thaddeus, Hula, and Soda hid behind the Chief's flowing robes.

The skeletons looked at one another and hugged each other tightly. Then they looked at the Chief and the children and one of the skeletons spoke in a deep, masculine tone, "Thank you so much for making the potion one last time. We have been waiting and waiting for a century for someone to rouse our bodies. Our spirits have been wandering Isola unable to go to the other side because our skeletons lie here unburied. Please bury us together when the potion wears off so that we may find peace."

"But who are you?" the Chief asked.

"We are the inhabitants of the original Isolan tribe. Our people left this island to explore but we two love it here and decided to stay behind. We are husband and wife and were unable to have children to pass the island on to. When it came time for us to leave our bodies, we huddled together in the cave and left behind the ancient scroll so whoever found us could rouse us again. When you did it, Chief Ranu, we were overjoyed but then you ran and all the villagers ran from us as well and we didn't want to scare you any further so we returned to the cave and then the potion wore off. Will you bury us now?"

"Yes, of course," the Chief responded. "As soon as the potion wears off. We'll bury you two together in the same grave with two headstones. I am sorry I ran away when I was young and didn't stop to speak to you. I'm sure you can understand how two walking skeletons would be a scary sight."

"Yes, yes, there is nothing to forgive," said a sweet, high-pitched female voice. "By the way, our names are Batole and Evenelle and we died together at the age of 90. Please put husband & wife on the tombstone. We are so grateful to finally be buried."

"Can you tell us about the mysteries of the island and of the future," Thaddeus asked inquisitively.

The two skeletons looked at one another before Batole answered, "No, son. History is meant to stay in the past to make room for the future. What you do not already know is not meant for you to know. And we cannot tell you of the future because it is unwritten. This used to be our island. It is not any longer. It is now yours. Your tribe has taken over and changed it and made it your own. That is all that you need to know."

"Okay," Thaddeus said, clearly disappointed.

"Wait. There is one thing that I can tell you, young Thaddeus. What is the thing that you would want most at the moment?"

"A cure for Night Fever so that my Grams and Gramps will be okay again," Thaddeus responded immediately.

The skeletons seemed to smile although it wasn't possible. "Then a cure you shall have, young one. Mix two of these golden lilies with that flower that was in your pocket yesterday and you'll have the cure for any disease. You can mix different potions with the golden lilies and you'll always have good results. That is our gift to you for helping us find our eternal rest."

Thaddeus grinned at Batole and Evenelle and immediately grabbed two golden lilies and raced back to his hut to pick up the purple lily that was sitting on his desk. Hula and Soda were two steps behind him and his family was on his heels as well. They watched as Thaddeus brewed up the new potion in the Alchemy Lab and they all cheered as white sparks rose from the shimmery light purple potion. Then, they all raced to Grams and Gramps' hut to give them the miracle potion. It worked immediately! As soon as Grams and Gramps ingested it, they felt better and looked ten times better. They got out of bed, thanking Thaddeus, Hula, and Soda. Everyone was relieved to have found a cure to Night Fever and for any disease on the island.

After twenty-four hours passed, the potion did indeed wear off and the villagers gathered for the reburial of Ellie and the burial of Batole and Evenelle. In front of everyone, the Chief thanked Thaddeus, Hula, and Soda for solving a mystery of Isola--the forbidden cave--and for bringing peace to Batole and Evenelle and most of all, for helping find a cure for disease on the island. The tribe had prospered in a way that would lead to longevity for all. The Chief pulled the golden key that he wore around his neck and presented it to the children.

"For your outstanding help, I present you three with the key to Isola," he announced.

Hula stepped backward with a smile on her face. She shook her head and said, "It belongs to Thaddeus. Everything was his idea."

Soda stepped backward as well, leaving Thaddeus out front. She shook her blonde curls and said, "Yes, Hula and I never would have unsealed the cave on our own. It was all Thaddeus."

Thaddeus instantly smiled at the sight of the golden key. It was now his to wear about the island to proclaim that he was an adventurer. The Chief placed it around his neck and it felt heavy in a very nice way. He grinned happily. His adventuring days were over with. The forbidden cave was enough to last him a lifetime. He would enjoy reliving the experience by retelling the story to his friends time and again. Maybe he would become a storyteller? The future was unwritten but it was his to write. He smiled at the thought.

THE END



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