Höhle oder Hölle

It was a beautiful day — perfect for a trail ride.

Gillian: “Jamie, come on, let’s go riding. Corny and I are getting cabin fever.”

Jamie: “At your command, Ma’am. It’s not like I have anything else to do — like picking up feed or mucking out the sales stable…”

From a hilltop, we had a breathtaking view over Jorvik.

Jamie: “This ride was a great idea. I’d almost forgotten how beautiful it is here. What a view.”

Gillian: “It’s incredible! Look — you can even see Fort Pinta from here.”

Jamie wanted to show me a path that led through a cave. We had to ride steeply downhill.

Jamie: “This is the old bear cave. Don’t worry — there aren’t any bears left. Just be careful, it could be slippery.”

Gillian: “I’ve already had my share of bear encounters. The rangers solved that problem for us… Wow, this is steep.”

But the exit on the other side of the cave was blocked by fallen rocks.

Jamie: “Damn. Looks like a rockslide. The exit’s sealed. It’s usually a nice shortcut through here.”

Gillian: “I don’t like this. It feels eerie. Let’s go back. Imagine if a bear suddenly came through the back entrance…”

We had just turned to ride back when an ear-splitting roar filled the air. Snow blasted into the cave, and within seconds we couldn’t even see our hands in front of our faces.

Gillian: “Oh my God, Jamie — watch out! Back up! It’s an avalanche!”

Jamie: “Gillian, quick — we need to move deeper inside! Oh no… the avalanche has blocked this entrance too!”

We were trapped. One entrance was blocked by rocks. The other buried under snow.

Gillian: “We’re locked in. No one will find us. We’ll freeze… or starve… or die of thirst… and one day they’ll find our skeletons here…”

Jamie: “Calm down. Of course they’ll find us. They’re probably already searching. There’s no phone reception in here. Let’s sit down, wrap ourselves in the horse blankets — stay close so it’s a bit warmer — and think.”

And so we sat there, wrapped in blankets, trapped in the cave. So many thoughts ran through my mind.

Gillian: “You know… I still had so many plans. For the ranch. For my life. I wanted to be happily married one day — and have a whole stable full of children… And now… maybe that won’t happen…”

Jamie looked at me seriously.

Jamie: “That sounds like a beautiful life plan. I’d like that too. Let’s continue it… We could be married and take care of our stable full of children together. One day we’d be grandparents and— Wait… what was that?!”

From outside the cave, we suddenly heard loud noises — engines and voices. After the avalanche, the rangers had been inspecting the area. They noticed that both cave entrances were blocked. In the snow, they found faint hoofprints leading into the cave. They immediately called in a team with heavy equipment and began clearing one of the entrances. They had found us.

Ranger: “If you hadn’t spotted those tracks, who knows what might have happened.”

Relief washed over me so powerfully that I simply threw my arms around Jamie.

Gillian: “Jamie, we were so lucky. I’m so glad you were with me. I can’t imagine if something had happened to you. Thank you for calming me down… and for being there for me.”

Jamie smiled softly.

Jamie: “Well, I didn’t exactly have many escape options. I’m just glad nothing happened to you. Though it’s a shame we didn’t get to finish our life plan. I’d do anything for you, Gillian.”

Something had changed in that cave. A connection had formed between us — something I couldn’t quite name yet. But his last words stayed with me.