Prompt was ‘landscape and emotions’, so I chose a photograph (similar to the one above) and came up with the idea below.
Parts of this story are based on true events: We had been climbing – Via Ferrata – in the Dolomites, Italy, and when the heavens opened, the speed at which the ground became unstable under our feet, was terrifying.
I like this idea of groundhog day, the question of what is dream and what is reality…
I close my eyes, the rhythmic sound of breathing beside me lulls me to sleep…
My body is cold and stiff when I finally awake to the morning sunrise.
The rugged mountain vista greets me as I step outside the tent. The air humid, electric even, signs of an impending storm. Packing up my rucksack, we set off along the trail, weaving its way passed rocky outcrops littering the path like discarded toys.
The terrain steepens along the edge of a gorge, the ground parched and cracked from months without rain. It is eerily still, only the sound of our footsteps on the baked earth to accompany our thoughts. The air hangs limp around us, a cloak of stifling oppressive heat, sweat beading in the small of my back.
Thunderheads work their way ever closer.
Suddenly upon us, they unleash their contents with torrential ferocity as the wind whips up, whistling through the gorge. The path takes on its own entity, like a water snake, shifting and morphing below our feet.
The route has become treacherous, so steep
I am almost crawling, every move now frantic as mud and scree slips through my
fingertips.
I stumble and began to slide backwards. Crying out, I slip several metres down
the bank, wildly digging my nails into anything I can find to slow me down.
My actions fruitless…
I feel myself weightless before plunging into the freezing torrent below.
My scream
manifests as a gurgle, muffled as water fills my lungs. The cold like an icy
hand gripping at my throat as I am tossed around in the turbulent waters. My
head breaks the surface, I gasp, drawing in precious air before the current
grabs me and pulls me under again.
Limbs now numb, my vision blurs and
everything goes black.
A sudden white light and I shield my eyes, temporarily blinded.
I sit bolt upright, my nightshirt sodden with sweat, heart thumping erratically inside my chest.
A hand reaches out, resting on my back.
‘Are you ok?’ His voice oozes concern.
I nod and lie back down, it was just a nightmare.
Closing my eyes, the rhythmic sound of breathing beside me lulls me back to sleep…
My body is cold and stiff when I finally awake to the morning sunrise.
Copyright © 2019 Lottie McKnight. All rights reserved.