He told her of a story passed down from his ancestors of a Visitor who emerged from what his people call a Sipapu, or spirit hole. The Anasazi believed the first people entered the world through this hole.

The Visitor spoke with no words and appeared around the same time as what we now know to be a Super Nova. The Visitor told how he came from the heavens and that his people’s Shaman (medicine man) spoke of visions of earth. The sights and the sounds described fascinated the Visitor enough to defy his people and travel to earth through a portal deep within the forbidden caves of his homeland.

The Visitor also told a story of how their leader would come to earth in human form and find the women that he is destined to love forever. He felt compelled to prepare the way for his young leader since his people have long stopped listening to their Shaman adapting a belief that visions and prophecies where archaic and that their society was far too intelligent and advanced to continue to believe in such fallacies.

Liz is so engulfed in what she is reading that she doesn’t hear the bell that signals class is over or hears Michael walk up behind her.

“What’s this?” as he picks up the book that’s earmarked to the picture of her near the cliff etching.

“Nothing,” as she tries to grab the book away from him.

Michael stares at her and ask her again more sternly, “Liz, what is this?”

Liz looks up at him “Michael please. It may not be anything. Don’t say anything about this to the others yet. I’ll tell you all as soon as I have more information okay. All I can say right now is that it may answer Max’s claim to his and my destiny.”

Michael doesn’t look convinced but not because he doesn’t trust her because she has proven time and again that she is trustworthy. His concern is in having to keep something from the others because they have agreed that there would be no more secrets.

“Liz, I’ll give you two days before I tell Max.”

She leans up and kisses him on the cheek. “Thanks, Michael if I need you to go somewhere with me will you?

Michael jokingly responds, “To the ends of the earth,” as he walks out of the door and to his next class.

Liz begs her parents to let her go to Santa Rosa alone for the weekend. She explains that she hasn’t been to the lake house since her grandmother died and wanted some time away from everything. They knew of her breakup with Max and decide to let her go.

She wakes Michael at 5 A.M. “Michael, wake up, get dressed – Road Trip.” Michael grudgingly gets up, “Why not, I not doing anything but S.L.E.E.P.I.N.G. I know I told you I’ll go with you to the ends of the earth but I didn’t realize it would be in the wee hours of the morning.”

Michael is driving Liz’s parent’s car northwest towards the Chaco Canyons. The radio is playing a song that Liz likes and she is swaying and singing along. Michael throws her a curious look.

“What?” she says still swaying to the beat of the music.

“How can you be so cheerful at 5 A.M. in the morning?”

She turns the volume down and leans closer to him; there are very few cars on the road so he takes the opportunity to look her in her eyes, which is why she leaned over to him in the first place.

“Michael today may well mark the beginning of the rest of my whole life’s happiness.” She looks at him for a moment longer before reaching for and turning the volume back up and leans back in her seat.

Michael looks at her for a while before asking what he’s been dying to know. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“Michael, it’s so incredible and unbelievable, I don’t know where to start.”

“The beginning is always a good idea,” he beams her a rare full tooth smile.

Liz tells him about her grandmother’s book and of the excavation that she accompanied her on the week before starting the third grade, which was also right before she meet Max Evans for the first time. She goes on to tell him of the vision she had when she first saw the picture in the book. How she remembered, at the time, being drawn to the handprint and compelled to touch her own hand to it. Her father’s account of the fever and rash that she developed triggered more memories and Liz realized that the rash was similar to the one she had right before finding the orb with Max.

“Wow, so you think that is when your connection with Max started?”

“I don’t know what to think Michael,” a little exasperated “All I know is that I am being drawn to that very spot again. None of this can just be coincidence…the feeling is too strong.”

They continue to talk about any and everything including his feelings for Maria. He confides in Liz that he loves Maria more than life itself and that he doesn’t feel that she should be in his life at this time. His fear has always been that he would hurt her and now that threat is a physical one with the onset of his powers and his inability to control them.

The next four hours fly for he feels closeness to Liz that he has never felt with anyone else including Maria and not excluding Max and Isabel. He loves Maria but their friendship came after he fell in love with her. Isabel and Max are family and love him but he sometimes wonders if they would be friends if they weren’t bonds by their alien status. Liz has become his first real friend.

Liz is too excited to sleep and offers to drive some but Michael says that he saw what happened to Maria’s car after Liz had been driving it. She laughs and playfully punches him in the shoulder. He had always thought that Liz and Maria were total opposites but now realize that they complement each other. They have a lot of the same mannerisms and convictions; he finally understands why they are best friends.

With map and notes of the location in hand they find the spot where the picture was taken. “Michael, I’m scared.” She reaches for his hand but he pulls her into his chest for a hug. “So am I.” “You don’t have to do this Liz.” She pulls away from him a little and looks into his fearful eyes, “Yes I do.’’

Liz takes a micro tape recorder out of her shirt pocket and dictates her findings up until now and explains to Michael that her grandmother always recorded a step-by-step account of explorations and discoveries.

She dictates a message to Max and her parents in case anything happens to them. Michael, reluctant at first, is given the chance to record a message to Maria, Max and Isabel. He admits his love for Maria and relays to Max and Isabel how much they mean to him.

She leaves the voice-activated recorder on and places it back into her shirt pocket continuing an account for her every move and thoughts. She takes a deep breath and moves closer to the etching, which is now beckoning to her to continue what was started all those years ago?

“Michael, will you hold my hand in case anything unforeseen happens,” looking up into his eyes. “If things get weird and you can prevent harm to me without endangering yourself, do it, ”she sighs. “But if you can’t, let go of my hand for I don’t what anything to happen to you on my account. Max will never forgive me,” flashing him the most sincere smile before taking a deep breath and then exhaling.

“Liz, we’re in this together,” he gently squeezes and releases her hand. “I won’t let go.” Michael grasps Liz’s shoulders and looks deep into her eyes, “You know its been theorized the native people of this area disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Liz lets out a nervous giggle; “This is not the best time to bring that to my attention.”

Liz takes Michael’s right hand in her left and touches her right hand to the handprint as she had done eight years ago. A powerful energy surge pulses through her hand and up her arm making her arm appear transparent silver. She tries to pull away but can’t. She tries to yell out to Michael to help her but the same energy that has taken control of her body has also taken control of his. She can hear his thoughts and conveys to him through her thoughts how sorry she is for involving him.

Before long she sees millions of stars and space zooming past her. She feels Michael next to her but cannot see him. A Planet comes into view which is a lot like earth as viewed from outer space and suddenly everything is still and its as though she’s watching a documentary. Her thoughts are invaded with a narrative of the planet’s terrain, people, plants and animals. She is made privy to their culture as a whole and their family structure past and present.

The narrative continues to tell of how the people evolved to suppress their feelings and emotions and view everything with an intellectual or scientific perspective. There are a few diehard elders who secretly continued to practice the old ways and to keep alive the philosophies of their ancestors and take heed to the many prophesies proclaimed by those gifted shamans who had lived before.

One of the most prevalent prophecies is that of a future leader who dies in war and is sent to earth as a human being. He finds his Pre-destined mate whom he will love forever and establishes a dynasty that will fight to destroy his enemy who killed him on his home planet. This same enemy has now sought out the earth as their next target for annihilation.

The narrative tells of a chosen one sent ahead to assure that a history of their planet awaited the young leader who’s destiny would start by the activation of this recording by the earth women who would become his mate.

Liz sees herself as a little girl touching her hand to the handprint on the cliff etching. She sees Max as a young boy seeing her for the first time and than again in junior high and the scenes from their life together over the past several months. She also sees herself and Max older but together in an unfamiliar city and of her and Max and a dark haired little boy walking near her grandmother’s lake house.