The Cave, the Candle and the Rope

The wax spilled over, out of the small cup that had been melted into the top of the CANDLE, and drizzled down over her fingers like baby snakes. The heat from the wax stung at first, but then radiated into her fingers, bringing a welcome flash of warmth in this cold, dark place in which she found herself. The sudden blackout attacked her corneas, but dancing before her in the blind darkness was a bleached outline of the CANDLE. It was the only thing that she could see within the confines of the CAVE walls. Eventually the image dissolved into the dark that began closing in around her, covering her like a damp blanket. She began waving her hands wildly about her, as if to fight off the invisible cloak. Her only success was slamming her hand into the CAVE wall, which braced her from a certain tumble to the rocky floor. Reaching for the CANDLE, she peeled away the waxy reptiles (which scattered quickly into the darkness), placing it snugly into the waistband of her blue jeans. She reached back out for the wall, and started moving slowly down the passage, using her hand as a guide along the rocky curtain that separated her from the outside.

As she stumbled and tripped along, she began to see a bit of light--or the appearance of light at least--somewhere off in the distance. She blinked her eyes rapidly, as if to test the source of the light. Maybe she was seeing things again. But the light remained, and as a final trial, she shut her eyes hard--so hard, in fact that she began to hear a buzzing in her ears. She opened and attempted to focus, and the light had not faded. A yelp erupted from her throat, and skipped on up ahead of her and out of range down the craggy hallway. Removing her hand from the safety of the wall, she began to chase it, not focusing on her footwork as she ran. The light became brighter and broader as she neared. A running start is what she was told that she would need, and a roaring of a running start is what she had achieved. It was a miracle that the ROPE didn't twist and tangle in her feet, but that was forgotten now, and she focused on the swelling circle of light ahead of her. The chill of the CAVE had succumbed to a humidity and warmness, which was quite welcome to her dry throat and heaving lungs.

At that moment, an excitement and sickness crept up from the ground, through her legs, and stopped just under her stomach. It stayed there, treading, like children paddling in a shallow pool. The light was all around her now...she threw her arms out to her sides...her head flew back...her eye lids sank shut and she jumped.

The immediate cessation of her pounding footsteps on the CAVE floor only heightened the magnificent sound of silence that followed. And then wind. Glorious wind, whistling through her ears and running like mad fingers through her hair. A sharp and abrupt scream erupted from the children paddling within her, rushing up out of her throat, shattering her teeth and escaping through her lips. She found that she could only muster a single outburst, however, as her heart had made its way up to the space between her windpipe and voice box, muting her cries. The sensation was almost too much to bear...a feeling of not being able to stop what was happening overwhelmed her and she began to go limp. And just as if this was anticipated, a sharp *snap* of the ROPE pulled her exploding heart and other dislocated organs back into place. She was overcome by a feeling of relief that had mixed with sweat and began to pour out of her--embracing her; calming her. The CANDLE took a chance and made a jump for it, wiggling out of its confines, and spiraling toward the shiny blue water below. She bounced around upside down until a voice from above yelled the all-clear and the ROPE began to retract, back into that deep, dark CAVE.

Word Count 697