After three days of hiking into the mountains of a remote area of Idaho, Whitley came upon a strange clearing littered with clothing. Some were very old, often in the state of rotting away. Other items were more recent but weathered. As she walked along, she catalogued the items. A pair of work boots of 1920s vintage. A fur-lined coat that hadn't been made since the 1900s. A pair of Keds sneakers circa 1960. Some late 19th century Levi pants. And an Eddie Bauer backpack from the early 1990s.

"Curious! I wonder why so many people left their clothing behind," Whitley pondered as she approached a spring in the middle of the clearing. "Those waters look refreshing," she smiled. Accepting the liquid invitation, Whitley plopped her backpack to the ground, stripped to her underwear and dived in.

As Whitley swam around, her body, once weary from the hard hike through the wilderness, soon felt revived. But she was unnerved as, in heading back to shore, the distance seemed to lengthen. And on reaching the shore, she found her backpack almost as big as she was. Pulling out a small mirror, Whitley received a huge shock. Staring back at was the face of a baby girl.

"This spring must he the fabled Fountain of Youth," Whitley thought. "They never found it in Florida because it really was in the backwaters of Idaho. That explains all the abandoned clothing. Other visitors over the years left them because they no longer fit the youthened people. But why hasn't anyone ever reported this finding to civilization?"

Resolving to return to town to report her discovery, Whitley tried to pull her backpack behind her, but she had become to small and young to budge it. "Then I'll go without it," she decided. But she saw three paths leading from the clearing. "Which one is the one I came in on?" Whitley thought. But her memories seemed to becoming cloudy. "Maybe that one," she thought, choosing wrong. But it didn't matter. A bright yellow butterfly swooped before little Whitley's nose. Giggling, she toddled after the insect into the high altitude forest, leaving behind her grown-up clothes for those arriving in a few years to discover and wonder about.


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