Summary:  After an accident takes place, involving Ben, he is rescued by someone from his past.

Rated: K+  WC 2600

The Power of Love

  “Ben, Ben, follow me, I’ll show you the way”, came a voice from long ago. It was a voice that Ben had not heard for many years, and yet it sounded as though it had come from deep within his very being.In the twilight of early morn, while still enveloped in the shroud of sleep, Ben lay in his bed and listened again for that voice from long ago. Twenty-two years had passed since Marie had been taken from him, twenty-two years since he last heard her sweet voice. He tried to fall back into that sleep, in hopes of hearing her voice again, but sleep wouldn’t come. Was Marie trying to reach through to him from the Other Side? Was this a message from long ago? Ben knew that he couldn’t lie in bed all day, hoping to hear a voice that might have been simply a dream. He had a ranch to run, and there was work to be done.

*************

On an early morning ride across the Ponderosa, Ben Cartwright looked out at the vast and almost endless sea of land, that he called home. The air was cool, but the sun felt warm on his face, and the sweet smell of field grass and pine trees permeated the air, and he was grateful to be out amongst nature and all its splendor, and to experience another new day on this land.Ben truly loved this land, and was committed to protecting it in every way possible. It had been his dream to come west, to make this his home, and he never once regretted the long journey he made from the East, to settle here. The journey had been hard and tragic in many ways, and he had made a promise to Adam’s mother, Elizabeth, that no matter what happened, he would go after his dream. And the years that followed were filled with good times and some bad times. No journey of this magnitude is ever without some peril. The thousand square miles that encompass the Ponderosa are, not only, a tribute to Elizabeth, but also to Hoss’ mother, Inger, and to Joe’s mother, Marie. And of course, this land is Ben’s legacy to his three sons.

Ben and Buck made their way through meadows and along the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe, which is the western boundary of the Ponderosa. The lake was as blue as sapphire, and its incredible beauty was one of the many things that drew Ben to this area. There had been many fun family outings here at this lake and he and his sons cherished the happy times they had there. It was here that his eldest son, Adam, had taught his middle boy, Hoss, how to fish for some of the best trout in the world.

Ben rode on along the shore and up the meadow, and was thoroughly in awe of the beauty of this land, until suddenly he heard a sound from the distance. He rode on across the meadow and up an incline to get closer to the sound. Was it an animal, or someone in need of help? There it was again. Cautiously, he rode up through the trees and rocks, pulled his gun and dismounted. He stopped and listened for the sound again. Ben knew that there were no caves in this area, so he was not concerned about that. He walked up a rocky incline that was sparsely surrounded by trees, stopped and looked all around for signs of something amiss. Overhead, a hawk flew in search of food. Maybe it was a deer or an elk. He walked on ahead only to find a large rock face surrounded by trees. He walked on around the rock and listened, until suddenly, his foot slipped on some wet grass. Just then, the ground beneath him gave way completely and Ben felt himself falling. He hit the back of his head on the way down, and landed on his back, taking with him loose dirt and small rocks. The impact caused him to blackout and lose consciousness.

*************

Later that day, Hoss was busy in the barn taking care of a horse, that had an injured fetlock.

“Hey Joe, hand me that liniment over there on that shelf”, said Hoss.

“You think Pa will be back in time to go to the big dance in town”? Joe asked, as he tossed the bottle over to Hoss.

“I don’t know, but he’s gonna be mighty upset if you don’t get your chores done before tonight. In fact, he’ll probably make you stay home, just because you didn’t get ’em done.”

“Who me?” cackled Joe, “I’ve got plenty of time to get that stuff done before Pa gets home.”

“Uh huh, well, you know how he gets about us neglecting the chores”, said Hoss, looking back at Joe.

“Don’t you worry, big brother, I’ll get them done in plenty of time, you’ll see”, replied Joe.

Just then, Ben’s horse came trotting into the yard, without his rider. Hoss ran out to stop the horse, who was sweaty from his run.

“Joe! Come here, quick!” demanded Hoss, “Something’s happened to Pa!” Hoss and Joe inspected their Pa’s horse and looked for signs of foul play. “I don’t see any blood on the saddle, nor has Buck been injured.”

Joe started to saddle his horse. “I’m gonna ride out and look for Pa!”

“Joe, wait! With Adam in San Francisco, we’re gonna need extra help”, said Hoss.

*************

“Mon cher, over here.” Ben knew that voice. His Marie was the only one who called him by such loving French words. Why was he hearing Marie’s voice? Had he died and gone to Heaven, and was he actually in the presence of his wife, Marie? The impact of the fall had knocked the wind out of him and he had blacked out, but for how long, he didn’t know. He came to, and tried to open his eyes, but he only saw darkness. The back of his head hurt from the fall, as well as his back, from the impact.

“Ben, follow me.” The voice echoed softly inside the cavern, into which he had fallen. It was dark and damp and the hard rock surface where he lay felt cool to his back. Instead of trying to get up and out of there, Ben felt very tired and his energy drained, and wanted to just close his eyes and stop trying to struggle. A situation like this could cause one to panic, but, for some reason, Ben felt an underlying calm. Hearing Marie’s voice did give him a sense of comfort, even though he knew it was impossible to hear the voice of a person, who he knew for sure, was dead—or was it?

“Ben, mon cher, follow me.” Ben slowly tried to sit up and look around. How long had he been there? He didn’t have any recollection of time in the dark cavern, so for that matter, he could have been there for several hours.

Out of blind faith, Ben started to move toward the voice he kept hearing. Now, his eyes had adjusted to the dark surroundings and he was able to make out the faint outline of the underground cave with a small stream running through it. Of all the years he had lived on this land, he had no idea that this was even here. He had literally, stumbled into this area.

************

“It’s getting dark, Joe. We can’t see the tracks to try to retrace back to where Pa might be.”

“Where did Pa say he was going, this morning?”

“He said he was planning on an early morning ride, just for pleasure”, said Hoss.      “It’s impossible to see anything in the dark now, we’re gonna have to make camp and start looking early in the morning.”

“I can’t just sit here and not keep looking”, said Joe. “For all we know, he could have been bushwhacked while riding on his own land. And then again, he might have stopped off at the Simpson’s ranch.”

“He might have, at that. But for Buck to come back home without Pa…I’ve got a real bad feeling about this, Joe,” said Hoss.

*************

“Ben, Ben, follow me”, came that voice again. Ben opened his eyes and saw an apparition of a woman in a coral evening gown. She was beautiful and he wanted to follow her. He tried to get up and move toward the woman. It was still very dark in the cavern, but he could see just enough to move along the edge of the water.               “Marie”, Ben called back to the woman. “Marie, is that you?” Just then, the apparition faded away. How surreal this was to Ben, to be seeing and hearing his Marie down in this dark cavern. Was she really here with him, or was he just dreaming again? How in the world did he get himself into this mess, he’d never know. As he sat in the rock cavern looking into the darkness, he thought about the first time he saw Marie, on his trip to New Orleans. She had nearly run him down with her horse, as he tried to cross the street. He would never forget her beauty, nor would he ever forget the tragic day she came riding up to the house and fell to her death. That moment would stay with him the rest of his life.

All Ben knew now, was that he had to find a way out of that cavern. Even his sons probably didn’t know about this place and would have no idea about looking for him here. He looked around the cavern and once again saw Marie’s apparition, beckoning him to follow her. Doing so would do one of two things—either lead him to another opening in the cavern—or to his own death.

*************

Before sunrise the next morning, Hoss and Joe were in search of their Pa. They rode along the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe and looked for signs that might lead them to some kind of clue. They did find horse tracks and tried to follow them, but lost them when they vanished into a wooded area.

“Those tracks look to be fairly fresh ones,” Hoss said, as he moved slowly along the lake. “Looks like the horse picked up speed toward that wooded area over yonder.”

“I’ll check up ahead”, said Joe, as he proceeded on.

Hoss and Joe followed the tracks, but as they went on up into the trees and rocks, they had a more difficult time following any signs. They dismounted and came to the big rock face that was surrounded by trees and looked for signs of their Pa.

“I don’t see anything around here that looks like there could have been trouble, do you, Joe?”

“No, but whatever it was could be gone by now. Let’s look on up ahead.”

Hoss and Joe continued on, and even walked passed the spot where Ben had fallen into the cavern. There was no sign of any place in the area where someone could have fallen through the ground, so therefore, they had no indication that their Pa was, at that moment, below ground. Not even did they find an opening in the ground, through which someone could fall. So, they continued searching the area for some kind of clue.

*************

Ben was now on his feet, and moving toward what looked like Marie. He was certain that it was Marie, because she kept talking to him and beckoning him to follow her.

“Ben, I want to help you. Just follow me, and I’ll show you the way out of here”, said the woman, who spoke with a New Orleans French accent. Ben continued to follow Marie, for he had complete and total faith in her. He would go to the end of the earth to see and be with her again, not taking into account the impact it would have on his sons and the future of the Ponderosa. The cavern was dark, but he walked on, until finally he came to an opening, that lead him up a slight incline.

“Just a little farther, Ben, and we will be out of here,” said Marie.

Ben followed on, until he saw some sunlight shining through an opening in the ground. The opening was small, but he was able to climb through on his hands and knees. As he emerged from the cavern, he stopped to shade his eyes, which had become accustomed to the dark. He looked around and called out to Marie. She was no where to be seen. He sat down on the ground to gather his thoughts and realized that Marie really wasn’t alive again, but that her spirit had made itself known to him while he was down in the cavern. The power of Marie’s love for him had guided him out of the darkness and back to the sunlit surroundings he knew and loved so well.

Just then, Hoss and Joe came from around the rocks and saw their Pa sitting on the ground. They hurried to help him up and checked to be sure he was okay.

“Pa, are you alright? We’ve been searching since yesterday for you,” said Joe.

“Help me get him up on his feet, Joe! Pa, are you hurt anywhere?” asked Hoss.

“I’m okay, boys. I took a fall and ended up in a cavern. It was dark and damp, but I am glad to be out of there, now,” said Ben. Then, for just a moment, his thoughts went back down to the dark cavern, where he had seen and heard Marie. Who would believe him if he told about seeing and hearing Marie? They would probably think he had lost his mind.

“So, how did you find your way out, Pa?”, asked Joe.

“You’re not going to believe this, but, your mother helped me get out of there. She lead me through the cavern and to that opening over there,” replied Ben, as he pointed to the area in the ground, where he left the cavern.

“I don’t see any opening in the ground, Pa,” said Hoss. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine, really I am,” replied Ben. “It was just over there…”. Ben turned and looked back at the area, where he had crawled out of the cavern, but didn’t see any sign of how to get back down there.

“I think we had better have Doc Martin check you over, Pa,” said Joe. “If you hit your head, you may have sustained more injury than you think.”

Ben realized what had really happened to him. “No, son,” said Ben, “I feel fine. You see, I believe now, that your mother did appear to me at a time when I was in possible danger. I don’t think she has ever really left us. I know she has been there with us all these years, as your mother has stayed close to us, Hoss. Even in death, those closest to us, always stay with us, to help us through life. The power of love always follows us wherever we are in life, and, no matter what happens to us here, we are never completely alone.”

THE END

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