Everyone laughed. “If you want the technical answer, sunlight enters the cavern at a precise point under the cave’s mouth. As the light passes through, red reflections are filtered out and only the blue remain. Tiny bubbles cause the light to give it a silvery effect. You will fill up the rowboats four at a time and they will take you into the cave. Watch your step, please.”

We transferred to small, narrow rowboats one at a time. I held Nonni’s hand while Mom held the other as we got her into the boat. We sat in a line, our legs outstretched and straddling the person in front. The bottom was wet and moisture seeped through my shorts.

We circled around until the other passengers loaded and then headed toward the tiny hole in the cave.

Holy crap, it was small. How were we going to—

“Heads down!” the rowboat operator yelled.

We ducked and the boat shot through the narrow opening. When I straightened up, I caught my breath.

An eerie glow shone and rippled from the blue-green still waters in the cave, lighting up the darkness. The rock walls surrounded us in a tight embrace, and then the utter silence was filled with a rising song as the operators all began to sing together. The beautiful notes of Italian echoed and danced while the boat cut quietly through the water. I put my hand out and touched the water, which was cool and silky. My fingers underneath glowed.

The moment was brief but powerful, and soon we ducked down again and shot back out of the cave into the bright sunlight. I blinked and tapped Nonni on the shoulder. “Are you good?”

She twisted her head around. “Heck yes, I’m good! I almost cried when they started singing. Except my butt is soaked. I’m going to look like I had an accident all day.”

I laughed. “It’s so hot we’ll dry in no time. Or I’ll say your Depends leaked.”

She gave me a playful swat. “Hold your tongue—I’m not there yet.”

I gave her a hug from behind. When we reboarded the boat, everyone was chattering with excitement about the experience. Mom came over, her eyes giving me that pleading look I knew so well. “What did you think, sweetheart? Wasn’t it beautiful?”

I nodded. “Yep. Did you check your phone when we were in the cave? Or did it not have Wi-Fi?”

Her face fell, and I hated the guilt that flooded me. “That’s not fair,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I lied about having a headache. I didn’t want you to be angry, and there was a crisis. I already called Kate and told her no more emergencies. It’s not going to happen again.”