Awaiting Silence

There’s quiet, then there’s silence. The kind of silence that as soon as you stop whatever you are doing, it presses upon you. Like a blanket, it surrounds you. It becomes part of you. The only sound you can hear is your own heart beating, your own breathing… and it. Nothing else. It simply waits.

I descended on a Friday into a well-mapped cave. After two hours, I entered the area called the ‘Needle’; A narrow path that you have to squeeze through without your pack. In particular I had to pull my supplies through with a strong rope.

According to the map, I had two more miles before I emerged; One hundred yards from where I entered. I examined the map and expected the next marker. The steep grade and sheer rock wall indicated, never came. Instead I found myself in a large cavern. The smell of dirt, stale air, and mildew flowed through my nostrils. Something was wrong.

I used my flashlight to survey my surroundings. Five entrances -- or exits -- stared at me. One of them I’d just walked through, and the largest lay right in front of me. I’d taken too many steps into the cavern. I couldn’t determine which one I’d emerged from. In all my years of spelunking, this was a new wrinkle. I had to decide – Go back through a passage I think I went through, hoping to retrace my steps, or go on. I decided to go on.

My light fading, I’ve wandered around for twenty hours, dropping birdseed. I keep coming across my own trails. I’ve come to realize even if I got on the right path, my light would not last.

I sit here writing this, barely able to read it. The silence engulfs me. It waits for me.


299 Words
Flash Story Must contain: Needle, Strong, Wrinkle

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