Eilir and Gethin were eating breakfast when Bernd turned up at Carreg Fawr. ‘Today we explore the Seal’s Cave, ja?’ he’d asked. ‘Wenn du willst,’ Gethin had said, ‘if you like!’ They put some bread and cheese in Bernd’s rucksack and set off to explore the east side of the mountain. Ann shouted after them that they needed to be careful on the sheer slopes above the sound; the last thing she wanted was to scramble on the scree to tend broken legs!

From high up on the north side of the mountain Gethin spotted Seifion, fishing from a shoulder of rock in Bae’r Nant way off below them. As they came over to the east side they saw a man sunbathing; he mumbled something about being careful on the narrow paths. Across Cardigan Bay, Cader Idris proved a worthy throne for its mythical giant and the blue of the sea was spotted with bright sailcloth. When the path dropped away steeply, Bernd betrayed the first clue that the expedition was more dangerous than he’d anticipated: ‘You’re sure this is the right way, Gethin? If we fall here then – das isses!’ Gethin reassured him and suggested that they ease themselves down the steep, scree path on their bottoms. After ten minutes they reached Seal Cave.

Bernd looked disbelievingly at Gethin…. ‘But this hole… it’s too small… you’re sure this is the place?’ Gethin remembered that he had thought the same thing that first time with Seifion. ‘It’s just the entrance that’s small, then it opens out….’ And Gethin disappeared into the blackness with, ‘Come right behind me. You can hold on to my leg if you’re frightened….’ And then he felt the German boy’s hand around his ankle. Half way along the pitch-black tunnel Gethin heard the wheezing and snorting of the seals echo from the underground chamber. He whispered into the darkness behind him that if they stayed as quiet as possible they wouldn’t scare the seals. When they both finally pulled themselves from the tunnel onto the wide, flat rock and looked down into the cave, well-lit from a large jagged opening just below the water’s surface, they saw two seals basking on the rocks just feet away and another deep in the water, an outline against the water-filtered light. They hardly dared to breathe and marvelled at the wonder of it all.

After ten, perhaps fifteen minutes, Bernd had asked, in a whisper, whether they could swim with the seals. Gethin remembered that he and Seifion had swum in the cave a few times, but that the seals were usually frightened off. ‘We can try….’ Gethin whispered back. Bernd stood up and as he took off his clothes Gethin saw that his body was already that of a man. ‘Come… let’s swim,’ he whispered, beckoning Gethin to undress. Gethin followed him into the water. The two basking seals snorted, wriggled from their rocks and dived deeply, circling them both before making for the under-water exit to the open sea. The boys were enthralled and hugged one another, each discovering the other’s excitement. They swam together… touching… exploring one another’s bodies…. And they kissed. On the wide, flat rock above the water they lay in one another’s arms for a long time, their bodies moving together. Bernd’s sigh, when it finally erupted from somewhere deep inside him, echoed around the cave before dying away into Gethin’s low moan.