waffles
Serrated rock coated her fingertips. The razor-sharp points that encrusted the deep craters along the walls of the cave threatened to slit her fingers open if she moved too quickly. She tenderly glided her fingers along the points. Pressed against one side of the wall, she crab-walked her way through the slender portion of the cave. Jagged bits of rock scraped the length of her back, snagging and snapping strands of her hair. Occasionally the cave would generously offer some reprieve allowing what seemed like an extra few inches to move with less restriction.
The batteries in her headlight died and never-ending darkness lay before her. It didn't matter if her eyes were open or closed her sight was smothered in a thick blanket of darkness. Every so often she was hit with a waft of rust so potent the taste of metal bathed every breath.
She was alone. Terrified. Hungry. She just wanted to get back to her friends, regain her sight, and return to good ole fashion walking. "Whose dumb idea was it to go spelunking?" she thought. She was intrigued by the activity and was on a try ‘anything once’ kick, but if she knew she'd get separated from the group, get unreliable gear, or be stuck between a wall of knives she would have voted for the 5k run her friend Mar suggested instead. The gurgle of her barren stomach crowded the tiny space around her. When I get out of here I'm dragging the girls to the 24-hour diner just past the hotel and gorging on waffles dotted with strawberries and icing sugar. She could see the waffles now. As the thought bubbled in her mind her right boot sunk into a pool of water, fully submerged soaking her boot and sock. Kerplunk. She took another step and found herself in ankle-high water. The heat of anger rose from her still gurgling belly. Blazing its way to her face. Not only was she confined in a straight jacket of a cave, hungry and blind - both her feet were soaked. She breathed a heavy ragged breath and sighed. "I'm getting out of here," she thought. "I can do this," she muttered. "I CAN DO THIS," she yelled. Suddenly she heard a feather of a voice call her name. Ellie. The weight of it was so tender it seemed like a call in a dream. Ellie. There it was again. She sloshed through the pool of water careful not to make too much noise. The voice kept calling her, the voice on the other side unknown. It penetrated her, taking over until all she could see, hear, taste, feel, and smell was that voice. Guiding her along the rocks was the sound of her name soothing every jagged point that passed her fingers. Within what seemed like seconds the cave walls swelled and Ellie abandoned her crab walk. A speck of light, tiny as a grain of rice pinned to the corner of her eyes, came into view. The more she walked the wider the grain of rice became. The voice grew in weight from a feather to a leaf, collection of papers, then a landed on her ears with the weight of a ripe watermelon.
The light was faint but after being in the dark for so long, it stung like staring straight at the sun. Cheers bellowed and Ellie was enthralled in hugs. “We were so worried,” gasped Mar who still had her arms tethered to Ellie's neck. "Are you ok?" the tour guide asked. Ellie looked at him blankly "Waffles."