The Tradition
"Steady, steady there." He guided her blindfolded form gently to their destination.
"I'm not a horse Ben," she retorted. She fell quiet, letting her conscious extend beyond her senses. She heard a brook, pooling in a circle of rocks and boulders. She smelt wild grasses.
"Ah," she said, "your Grandpa's so called secret fishing spot."
He sighed, "Who told you? Was it Gwen?"
She laughed as he removed the cloth from her eyes, "I'm sorry Ben; I just figured it out."
He chuckled, "Well I still wanna show you something. C'mon." He grasped her hand and led her to an old oak tree. Two different hearts were carved into it; "Max + Verdona" and "Gwen + Kevin".
"Verdona's your grandmother isn't she?" Julie asked as she traced the older heart with her fingertips.
"Yeah, Grandpa brought her here over fifty human years ago and they carved that heart."
"And Gwen and Kevin…?"
He chuckled, "That one surprised me too. It wasn't there last week."
"So you brought me here to carve our own heart?"
"Yeah, but only if you want to."
"I'd be honored."
"You wanna carve it or should I?" He brought a pocket knife from his jean pocket, "There's an unspoken rule that we have to carve it without using alien powers."
"I'll do it then." she agreed, taking the blade from him, "You might cheat."
"Hey," he faked being offended.
"Hey nothing Mister-use-an-alien-Flash-in-a-race-against-a-human-girl."
"You got me there. I couldn't resist, I wanted to see the look on your face."
She stepped up to the tree and found an empty patch, beginning to carve. The tree's wood was surprisingly easy to cut into and she was soon finished. She stepped back to his side to admire her work; there under "Max + Verdona" was now a heart that read "Ben + Julie."
"Wonderful," he told her. She nodded, completely agreeing with his assessment. They grabbed each other's hand and turned together to leave the sacred place, proud in their knowledge that they had carried on a family tradition.