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   The wind blew in Maria's hair.   It reminded 

her of the curse.   She struggled on, the wind 

almost knocking her over the edge.   'Thalia!' 

she cried before stumbling on a pebble.  

'Thalia!'

    Maria was looking for her long lost daughter 

and a fortune teller had told her to seek 

Bloodhurst Cave.   Years of searching had made 

her desperate for help and she would go to 

every petty fortune teller, every fake oracle, 

just to be given some hope and then be beaten 

down.   This was her last chance.  

Sudenly, in the distant Maria spotted a plume of red 

smoke.   'Thalia!' she cried   again and began to run.  

She stumbled again and her knees began bleeding 

but still Maria ran.   When she got to the source, she 

found a hole, just large enough to walk into if she 

stooped.   Maria checked her photo of the cave.  

Yep, this seemed right.   She ducked and stepped in 

gingerly reaching out in the powerful darkness.   She 

peered behind her.   The cliff face of Scurrying Ridge 

lay behind her.   Maria shivered and carried on 

forward.   'Thalia?' she whispered loudly.  

Silence.

        Maria bit her lip and began to run.   Her 

knees hurt and she was tired, but Maria was 

impatient.   She kept bumping into the walls 

until she found what she was looking for.   In a 

large room, deep inside a cave, on top of a 

ridge that was ten miles high, traveling on foot 

and horse, donkey and carriage, she had made 

it.   In the room there was a witch, lighting 

blood red candles whilst chanting strange 

words.   The witch didn't look up as Maria 

stepped into the pale light.

     'quis es?' asked the witch in a young voice.

'Beg pardon ma'am, I do not speak that 

language.' Maria said uncertainly.   The witch 

laughed a high, brittle laugh.  

'Of course you do not, child.   Here is the potion 

to make her wake.' the witch handed Maria a 

tiny vial, no bigger than a child's thumb.  

Through there.' she pointed behind her.

      Maria stepped into a tiny door, only just 

wide enough to let her through.   In the room 

there was a stone bed.   On the bed lay a young 

girl.   She had been cursed by the witch after 

stealing some bread form the market and some 

lettuce form the witch's private stock.   Then 

(accidentally) she had set fire to an important 

spell.   So the witch had said she would sleep 

until one of her relatives discovered the curse 

and found the place to set her free.   Maria took 

out the stopper with trembling fingers and 

poured it into Thalia's lips.

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