I have always watched the horseman come and never saw them come out the same way once they went through the waterfall.

Few people know about this fall. Me and my brother have been sneaking out to this waterfall since I can remember. For years it was a place for us to throw stones, catch fish, relfect on life and BE there. One autumn evening we heard a horse gallop, the sounds came closer and closer to the place we lay. We decided to hide behind the rocks and watch for the unwelcome noise and the stranger with it.

“Must be riding hard”, my brother said.

“What on earth is that?”.

“Shut...keep it down”.

We saw the horse rider take a right turn and come directly at the edge of the rocks facing the waterfall. Rider looked exhausted and the horse was sick, could barely take the weight of the rider and his armor. Horse was constantly moving, because it knows that if it standstill its legs would collapse.

We watched the rider get off the horse and walk through the shallow waters and into the fall. They disappeared behind the fall. We waited...and waited. The sky lost all his light and the rider never came out. And this happened many times over. Once a week a rider, with a armor and a tires horse would come and vanish into the waterfall and never to be seen again.

Me and my brother gathered courage and decide to inquire ourselves, what is behind the fall. We prepared ourselves with flash lights, knives, warm gear and food. We followed the path taken by the armored men and their horses. The water poured on us like it wants to crush us and stop us from making a mistake of going behind the fall. Despite the falls efforts, we decide to go forward and see what is behind.

“ What?” My brother said. “It cannot be”.

There were rocks, just rocks. All over the area we explored there were just rocks. We decided to turn back and then my attention turned a single leaf that was sticking out of the cracks.

“Look, there...a leaf”, I shouted.

My brother turned, “what about it?”

“Leaves from this plant needs sunlight to become green, and this leaf is in shade all day long, it cannot stay green”.

I went ahead and tried to touch the leaf when my brother gripped my hand. “Be careful what you wish for”.

“It is a leaf”,I said.

As soon as I touched the leaf, it started to grow, exponentially and before we could blink it became the size of a door. With its veins glistening and bright green color it looked majestic. My brother touched the overgrown leaf and the veins separated and made way for us to the other side of the rocks. Astonished by this miracle, me and my brother were left speechless and motionless. My brother gathered courage and started walking towards the portal and I follow him carefully.

It was pitch dark and I tired to switch on my flashlight. All out electrics were rendered useless here. And I looked back, the portal was closed and we were stuck inside. Suddenly a fail light appeared far ahead of us. We decided to follow it like helpless beings. And their they were all the armored horsemen with their swords and horses. They all looked fresh and horses nourished.

We froze their for few seconds and the lead horsemen stepped forward and announced.

“Welcome children, hope you are ready for a great adventure”.

And that’s when our lives changed.