Then on Friday morning, my uncle had an idea for us to get away, alone, for a few days. A cabin on a mountain, in a National Forest. At the barbecue that night, Naainish picked up on me being troubled, and we had a talk in which he suggested that we get away alone. He was happy that we had already decided to do it. Then he found out where we were going, and he surprised us with something about the area where Amy and I were going.

Saturday my aunt, uncle, Amy, and I went shopping for what we’d need to spend three nights in a remote mountain cabin. My aunt was loaning us linens including sheets, pillows, pillowcases, a heavy comforter, and towels and washcloths. There’s no electricity in the cabin, so no refrigeration. But my aunt and uncle had some coolers that we could pack frozen food in, with ice packs. So we were taking some perishables with us. We purchased four days worth of food.

Amy and I also had to make a quick run to Albuquerque to finish the business with the car. We picked up the title, and the dealership put our New Mexico plates on the car.

Once we were back at the resort or our home away from home, Saturday became what Thursday was supposed to. A laid-back, relaxing day. Amy and I went and spent some time in one of the soaking pools, and since I didn’t bring Tom’s swimsuit, but Kai’s. I was Kai. And that was not a problem.

Yesterday we had made appointments for Amy and me at the Spa for massages. I’d asked for Amber, the same girl I’d had last year. So after our soak in one of the thermal pools, we headed for the Spa. We checked in and waited for our masseurs. It wasn’t a long wait until the same girl that I had last year, Amber, came out to get me.

As we walked into her room, I said, “It’s good to see you again, Ahiga.”

She looked at me a little puzzled, then asked, “How do you know my native name?”

“I’m hurt. You don’t remember me?”

“Should I?”

“Well we only met once, and it was last year.”

“And you remember me?”

“Yes. You gave me such a good massage that I couldn’t forget you.”

“You do look a little familiar. But I still can’t place you.”

“Let's see. Mrs. Biakeddy told you about me. And she’s my aunt. And this year I won’t have to take off my wig.”

“Oh my God! Yes. You’re … You’re the Nádleeh. Aren’t you?”

"Why does everyone remember that way?"

"You are important to our people. So you are easy to remember that way, especially if we've met you."

I smiled and said, "Yes. I guess I need to remember that. And, it’s Kai.”

“It’s good to see you again, Kai.”

“It’s good seeing you too.”

“So what are we doing?”

“I’d like you to do the same thing that you did last time. I can’t remember what it’s called. But you used stones that were heated in the mineral waters along with the massage.”

“Oh. That’s the Earth Keepers' Hot Stone Massage. That’s an excellent one it will really relax you.

“You go undress, and I’ll get set up.”

“Remember, I’m a guy under here.”

“I still can’t believe that. You are too pretty.”

I smiled, and said, “Thanks.”

I went into the changing room, took off my shorty robe, stripped out of my bathing suit, and put on the supplied long robe. When I came out, Amber’s back was to me, so I took off the robe, climbed up on the table, covered myself with the sheet, and lay on my stomach.

Of course, we talked as she worked. After she had folded the sheet so that it just covered my butt, and left my back and legs exposed, was, “Are you sure you are a guy? Your upper body and legs are just like a girl.”

I chuckled, and said, “I think my wife will tell you that I am a guy.”

“I forgot. You’re married. And if I remember right, she is a good-looking, blue-eyed, blond. Wait. You were a blond last time too.”

“Better living through chemistry. Black hair dye. I didn’t want to wear a hot wig. Besides my natural hair feels better.”

“I can’t blame you.”

Amber finished my massage, and I went into the changing room again. I slipped back into my swimsuit, and put my short robe back on. When I came back out Amber escorted me back out to the waiting room, and Amy was waiting for me. I said so long to Amber, and Amy and I headed back to my aunt and uncle’s house. We had packing to do.

As we walked, I said, “Amber said something interesting today.”

“What did she say?”, Amy asked.

“She told me that my upper body and legs were just like a girl.”

“Well, your butt and hips are the only things that aren't a girls.”

"I don't have anything on top either."

"On top? Oh. Yeah. You don't.”

“I know. But I haven’t heard that since you told me that a few years ago.”

“Does it bother you?”

“Not in the least. Does it bother you?”

“No. I love you that way.”

When we got back to my aunt and uncle’s house we had a nice dinner, then Amy and I packed. At first, we were just taking lightweight clothes, like shorts and light tops. We took moccasins to wear around the cabin and hiking boots for everything else. Then it hit us. It will get colder in the mountains than it does down here at night. So, we added long pants, heavier shirts, and decided to take jackets. Of course, the cowboy hats, hiking staffs, and canteens would go along too. My uncle also gave us a small backpack just in case we want to take things with us when we hiked.

Then we went out on the patio with my aunt and uncle and sat and talked. The stars were brilliant tonight. We stayed out until it got too cold, then we said goodnight to my aunt and uncle.

As we were getting ready for bed, and I was naked, I asked Amy, “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer a macho guy with a muscle-bound body instead of my slim, trim, female type body.”

Amy had just undressed, she turned and looked at me, and said, “Lover. As I’ve always told you, I love you for what’s in your heart. But your body is so sexy that it makes me want to eat you up.

“Now get your sexy butt in bed so that I can make mad, passionate, love with you.”

Sunday morning, I had a seven o’clock meeting with Naainish at the remote hogan. And as usual he was there before I was, and I stood at the opening listening to him chant. Finally, he said, “Tom or Kai join me.”

I pulled the cover aside and walked into the hogan. Naainish said, “I see Tom is with me again today.”

“Yes.”, I replied. “We’re leaving for the cabin right after you and I are finished.”

“Please sit with me.”

I walked over and sat across the fire from him. He looked at me, and said, “I feel that you are at ease.”

“Yes.”, I said. “After the talk you, Ajie, and I had, I'm much better.”

“I feel that after your time alone with Ajie, that you will even feel better.”

“Is there anything that you can tell me about this sacred place that is supposed to be where we’re going?”

“I’m afraid not much. It’s only spoken of. There’s nothing written about it. Something happened many Moons ago, I don’t know what, and supposedly a medicine man traveled to the area. Some who came after him found it and some didn’t. It’s like it wanted some to find it and some not to find it. And it was strong medicine. Over time, it’s location was forgotten, other than the general area.”

“But I’m not a medicine man.”

“No, you’re not.”

“So how am I going to find it?”

“I’m hoping that your two spirits, being special like they are, will be able to sense it.”

“Will I have troubles with it like I’ve had around here during a full Moon?”

“I don’t know. You won’t be there during a full Moon. But if you sense problems, I’d leave. Quickly.”

Now I was a bit worried.

We spent the rest of the two hours talking about my spirits and how they are intertwined with each other and how that affects them. Then we talked about controlling my spirits when they’re affected by outside forces, like a full Moon. When we finished, Naainish said that there wasn’t anything more that he could teach me. But there was a lot I would learn by just being.

As we said so long, I told him that I would let him know what I found, if anything, while at the cabin.

When I was back at my aunt and uncle’s house, I walked in the door and froze. Amy was standing there with black hair and grinning. I asked, “Are you wearing my wig?”

Amy just smiled. So I asked again, “Is that my wig?”

“Is it?”, she said.

“I’m not sure.”

“Yeah. It is.”, she finally said, “Like it.”

“I do. You look good with black hair.”

“Can I wear it?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll wear it next weekend.”

“Just wear it now.”

“No. With all we’re doing, I don’t want to hurt it.”

“It’s up to you.”

After a nice lunch, we put our suitcases and other things in the car. Then with the help of my aunt and uncle, we packed, along with a lot of ice, the perishables into two coolers and placed them in the car. We put the two rifles in the back seat along with a box of ammunition. And then double checked to be sure that we had everything that we’d need.

We followed my uncle and aunt who were driving their jeep up into the mountains and onto some Forest Service roads. These roads reminded me of the road to the Four Corners Area, but they weren’t as rough.

As we drove, we went higher and higher up a mountain. And we eventually saw the fire lookout tower off in the distance. We watched as the fire lookout tower got closer and closer. When we were about a mile from the tower, we turned off onto what looked like another road but turned out to be a driveway through the trees up to the cabin. You couldn’t see the cabin from the road.

The cabin sat on about an acre of land that had almost been cleared of trees. This was more of a house than a cabin. It was two stories with two gables on the front. It had a covered porch that wrapped around three sides. And it was made out of logs.

It was almost to the peak of the mountain which was about a mile away with a Forest Service fire lookout tower on it. The front of the cabin faced south, and the view in that direction was spectacular, as was the view to the east and west. And right now all the windows on the lower part of the house were shuttered.

The first thing my uncle showed us was how to un-shutter the windows. The shutters were very heavy and were hinged at the top, and held down with a steel rod and locks. Once unlocked and the rod removed the shutters were pulled up to the ceiling of the porch with a block and tackle system. The front and back doors were thick with no windows and were held closed with two heavy duty locks. It’s called bear proof.

Then my uncle gave us a tour of the house. As we walked in, he pointed to some fold up wood chairs and said we could use them on the porch. Then he showed us how to refill and light the kerosene lanterns. We went upstairs, and there were four large bedrooms all with dormers, and no bathroom. The first floor had a large living room with some nice furniture including a nice couch facing the large south facing picture window. And the fireplace was here, with another large couch facing it, and was open through to the kitchen. There was also a large round table in the living room with eight chairs around it. Maybe for playing cards.

The kitchen was a nice large one with a wood-fired stove, a sink with pump, and a large round table with ten chairs. As my uncle had said, the bathroom had a composting toilet, and all the wastewater from the house goes there. I guess it shouldn’t be called a bathroom as there was no way to take a bath or shower, it only had a toilet and wash basin with pump.

Both the living room and the kitchen had a large wagon wheel suspended from the ceiling. Each of the wagon wheels had a number of kerosene lanterns mounted on them. And the wagon wheels could quickly be raised and lowered, to fill, light, or extinguish the lanterns.

Then he took us outside thru the back door. He pointed out an old galvanized bathtub and told us if we wanted to take a bath, we could heat water on the stove and fill the tub. Amy looked at it, and said, “I’ll pass.”

He then showed us the bear-proof trash container. It was built out of some seriously heavy steel and opened in a particular way. And from the scratch marks, it looked like the bears had tested it. He told us to bag our trash, all of it, and put it in the bear-proof trash container, and when we left to come home to take it all with us. Then he showed us the outside bear-proof food storage, and he suggested that we store all of our food there.

Then my uncle pointed to the woodpile, more a mountain of split wood. He said to replace whatever we use in the cabin with wood from the pile. Then he pointed out a shed and said that was for kerosene storage, and that we were only allowed to have a small amount of kerosene, other than what was in the lanterns, in the cabin at any time.

Then we cooked dinner for the four of us so that we could see how to use the stove. As we were cooking, my uncle told us that when we get ready to leave, to remove all the ash from the stove, and fireplace, and place it out in the fire pit between the pile of wood and the kerosene shed.

As we were eating dinner, my uncle went over the rules for bears. Here they are condensed:
1. Don’t hike alone.
2. Make noise. Talk, sing, clap. You don’t want to surprise a bear.
3. Stick to the trail.
4. If you see or smell something dead, avoid the area.
5. Be aware of your surroundings. Don’t surprise a bear.
6. Hike in the daylight. Bears are more active in the early morning and late afternoon.
7. Avoid high bear population areas, and that this area is known to only have a few black bears.
8. Keep food packed up tight and clean up thoroughly.
9. Watch for bear signs. Such as tracks, scat, and scratches on trees.
10. Don’t wear perfume or lotions.
11. Carry a gun. A big gun.
12. And last but not least, if you do encounter a bear while your hiking. Stop. Don’t run. They can outrun you. Don’t approach the bear. Make yourself look big and make a lot of noise. And above all, don’t surprise a bear.

Then my uncle said, “Be sure at least one of you is carrying a gun when you’re outside. The nearest help is at the fire lookout tower. There is a trail out the back door that leads to a well-used hiking trail about a hundred yards away. Going to the left will take you to the fire lookout tower. It's just about a mile, and there is someone there all summer. Going right on that trail will take you deeper into the woods and eventually to a road after about five miles. And if you continue to follow the road that we drove in on, it will also take you to the fire lookout tower.

“Also, three quick shots from a gun is a signal for help. And they might hear that at the fire lookout tower from here.

“I know you kids like to hike. Just don’t do it in the early morning or late afternoon. You’ll be surprised what you can see from the porch as far as Sunrises, Sunsets, and the Moon.

“If you go out at night, to maybe close the shutters, always take a gun and a flashlight.”

Then handing me a map with a line drawn on it, he said, “Here’s a map that will get you back to the resort. And if we don’t see you by late Wednesday afternoon we’ll come looking for you.”

As my aunt and uncle were getting ready to leave, my uncle said, “Are you two ready for this?”

I looked at Amy, and then we said, “Yes.”

“Any questions?”

“Two. First, how did this guy get permission to build this in the middle of a national forest?”

“Money talks.”

“That’s what I thought. And, is this the cabin you were going to kidnap us to last year?”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you remember last year when you wanted us to stay and you joked about kidnapping us and taking us to a remote cabin?”

“Oh yeah. Yeah this is the cabin.”

“We should have let you kidnap us.”

My uncle handed me a ring of keys, and said, “You’ll need these. And be sure to make sure all the fires are safe and lock up when you leave.”

“We will, Uncle Paul. See you on Wednesday.”

We walked out to their jeep with them and waved as they drove off. Then we checked to be sure we had everything out of the car that we need. I found something that had we'd left in the car from our trip to the Grand Canyon. A candy bar. As I handed it to Amy, I said, “This isn’t a good thing to leave in here.”

Amy asked, “Can a bear get into a car?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out.”

I carefully checked the car and couldn’t find any other food. As we walked back towards the cabin, Amy said, “Our first house.”

“Don’t I wish.”, I said.

“You could live out here, couldn’t you? Out here in the woods.”

“Yes.”

We went back to the cabin and checked that we’d cleaned up after dinner. Then we took two of the folded chairs out on to the porch and opened them. They were Adirondack style chairs. We sat, but we couldn’t cuddle. So I said, “Why don’t we sit on the steps.”

We got up and sat on the steps to watch the Sunset. Amy cuddled up to me, and I put my arm around her. We watched the Sunset over the mountains, and it was beautiful. We sat there quietly listening to the sounds of the woods. It was amazing what you could hear, and what you couldn't hear. There were no people noises. No traffic noise, no people talking. Nothing but the woods.

As the twilight faded, the stars came out. We were amazed as to how many stars that you could see out here. Amy saw a shooting star.

In a whisper, I asked Amy, “Are you ready to be alone out here for a few days?”

“Honey.”, Amy whispered back. “When I’m with you, I’m never alone.”

I pulled her closer and kissed her.

We sat there until it started to get cold, and it did get cold. We went back into the cabin, laid a fire, and we were soon warm. Cuddling together on the big couch in front of the fire helped.

Was it boring just sitting here watching the fire? Absolutely not. It was relaxing. And cuddling with Amy was nothing but amazing.

As the fire died down, I lit the two of the portable kerosene lanterns that were on the fireplace mantel, tossed another log on the fire, and closed the large ornate fire screen. Then I said, “I’m going out to close the shutters.”

“I’ll go with you.”, Amy said.

"You don't need to."

“Yes, I do.”

“What to stand guard for bears?”

“Yes. Do you think I want you getting eaten by a bear?”

“Okay, come on.”

As we walked out the front door, Amy picked up one of the guns, made sure that the safety was on and that it was loaded. I handed her the flashlight and said, “Here. You can hold this for me.”

We walked the porch, closing the shutters that were there. Then we walked around the house closing the rest of the shutters that we’d opened. We walked in the back door, closed it, and I locked the two heavy duty locks on that door. Then we did the same to the front door.

Amy used the so-called bathroom first. Then I did. We extinguished one of the lanterns and took the other one upstairs with us. We’d chosen one of the bedrooms at the front of the house. As we went in, I lit the two lanterns that were in the room.

Then I looked at Amy and realized that she was carrying one of the rifles. I asked, “Why did you bring that?”

“Just in case.”, she replied.

“Just in case of what?”

“Just in case.”

“Are you afraid that a bear will get us up here?”

“No. But you can’t be too careful.”

I just shook my head.

We made the bed. I extinguished the two lanterns in the room, plus the one I had carried up the stairs. We undressed in the Moonlight coming through the gable window. Then we crawled into bed, looked at each other, kissed, and …