"Darry, don't be so boring. I know that you're a science wiz but how about you leave that stuff back at school, OK?"

With that he started a serious sifting effort, complete with the occasional "ouch" as his fingers ran into a chunk of rock. Darian joined in and after about ten minutes Jason pulled out a small, triangular piece of stone from the dust.

"Hey, take a look at this. Do you think it might be an arrowhead?"

Darian took the stone in her hand. It was fairly flat and was the right shape but the edges were smooth, not chipped as they should be if it was an arrowhead. Even in the dim light of the cave Darian could see the expectation in Jason’s eyes.

After holding the stone in her hand for a few moments she seemed to make up her mind about what it was.

"You know, Jason, it's hard to make out for sure what this is here in the cave but I think it is an arrowhead. I think you have found something special here and should keep it."

Darian handed the stone back to Jason who rolled it around in his hand looking very pleased with himself.

"Thanks Darry. Now we have something to show Annie. Are you ready to go back?"

"Yes, I think we should." They both stood up and were about to walk out of the cave when Jason glanced down at the floor of the cave.

"Hey Darry, the spot is still exactly inside the circle that you drew. Guess the earth stopped rotating, eh?"

He chuckled as Darian stared down at the spot of light. She just shrugged her shoulders.

“I guess I’m not so smart after all” she said.

They made the return trip fairly quickly, half crawling, half sliding down the hillside before running across the grass to the bank of the creek. I was still sitting there and didn't get up until they had jumped across the creek, this time putting a bit more effort into it and landing beside me without incident. Jason immediately pulled his precious find out of his pocket.

"Look Annie, we found this fantastic cave and inside it I dug this up. Darry thinks that it is an arrowhead."

He held the stone out for me and I took it in my hand and stared at it intensely.

"I wish I could have been there. Maybe I would have found one too."

I couldn't disguise the disappointment in my voice as I handed it back to him.

Jason’s eyes sparkled as he closed my hand around the stone.

"Yes, but this one is for you Annie. I want you to keep it. That's why I dug around in that dirty old cave for so long; so that I would have something to bring back to you."

I bit the corner of my lip.

"Thanks, Jason. For a big brother you're alright."

Jason smiled and put his arm around my shoulder. Darian joined in and the three of us walked back through the woods to our house, stumbling around trees and nearly falling down several times because we refused to let go of each other.

Over the next couple of years we had other adventures but none were quite as memorable as the trip to the cave. Jason and Darian chose never to go back there again. They told me that the memory that they had of it was too precious to take a chance of spoiling. And I was sure that an actual visit would never be as good as hearing the story over and over.

When Jason graduated from our elementary school and entered the local High School things changed. He started spending more time with his High School friends and less and less time with us. It was a natural progression, but it sometimes made me wish that we could get back to the 'good old days' of water fights and secret 'missions'.

After running through the story in my mind I sat quietly for another minute or two. Then I stood up from the bench, stretched and walked over to the spot where Jason’s memorial was located. He had been killed in a skateboarding accident when I was 12.

For many years I had been very angry with him for being so reckless and leaving such a big hole in my life. I missed him terribly every day. But as I grew older I realized that the memories I had of Jason meant that he would always be with me.

I looked down at the bronze plaque adorned with an image of Jason riding on a skateboard. Even the cold metal couldn’t disguise the fire in those eyes. The epitaph engraved into the plaque read “He had the courage to live life to the fullest”.

I reached into my pocket and started rubbing the smooth, triangular stone that I kept with me at all times; the stone that Jason had been so excited to give me all those years ago; the stone that I knew was not an arrowhead even though Darian had said it was so that Jason would feel it was something special.

I could no longer be angry with Jason. I loved him for who he was in life and I will continue to cherish who he was for as long as I live.

Life is precious because it does not go on forever. That is what I have come to realize.

Jason’s was far too short; but he took from life everything that it had to give and he gave to others all of the love that filled his heart. For me and for everyone else that had the privilege of knowing my brother that has to be enough.