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Prompt: There’s no prompt I just wrote this.
So there I was, minding my own business, hiking up this mountain, right? When I feel this shaking under my feet, and suddenly I feel like I’m losing my balance, but I’m not losing my balance, the earth is moving under my feet. This little section of trail starts to slide down the mountain, taking me with it. I know!
So I’m tumbling down on top of a tidal wave of dirt and rocks, somehow staying on top, I get knocked into trees, somehow I lose my backpack, branches scrape across my face—yeah that’s why all the bandaids. I was terrified, honestly! Never been in a landslide before, never want to be again.
The dirt, rocks, and I come to a rest at a little valley between these mountains, I guess a tiny crick flows down, but anyway there was nowhere else for the rocks to go. I was waist-deep in dirt, pinned against a big rock. When suddenly, thunder claps and it starts pouring rain. “GREAT,” I remember saying. No, I wasn’t happy at all, this day had gone from bad to worse. I think, I’ll just hold tight, you know? Someone will find me, and come and unstick me from the dirt and rocks. They’ll see the missing bits of the trail and they’ll know to come checking if anyone got swept away with it, and they’ll find me. You know, reasonable things to think.
I was soaking wet, the dirt was getting soggy, the crick was starting to pool up on the other side of the mound, so I’m thinkin—oh great, if things don’t start moving I’m going to start sliding down even farther. I’ve got to do SOMETHING. And I think—I’m more stuck than a bug in amber, I’ve got time. So, wouldn’t you know it, I just grab a pebble and toss it out of the way; then I grab another. I start digging myself out with my own hands, in the dirt and rain and everything.
And it took forever! No one ever came, I just had to keep digging. But you know what I told myself? I’m gonna climb this blasted mountain, I said. I came to climb a mountain, by golly I’m going to climb it. And with each handful of dirt, I thought about what it’s going to be like on top of that mountain, about how I’m going to enjoy it up there.
After a couple hours I was able to start wriggling out, I pulled one leg out then the other. Yeah I was beat up, lost my pack, scraped up beyond recognition, bruised and battered. But if no one’s coming to help I may’s well make my own fun. And so I marched straight up the mountain, right where the landslide had taken me. And up, up, up, I climbed, because by golly I’m not gonna hike the same trail twice to get to the same spot. And then I went the rest of the way up the trail, like normal, rain and everything. And yeah, it wasn’t fun, and everything about that experience was awful. But at the end of the day I said to myself, I’m not gonna let this thing stop me from getting what I want. And by golly when I get it I’m gonna have one heckuva story to tell. And yeah, so that’s why you found me up here watchin’ the sun come out.
Really? You think so? You think there’s deeper meaning to all that? I dunno, I couldn’t say. I’m just a stubborn cuss too dumb to stop climbing a mountain. Don’t need to be more complicated than that.
(612 words)
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You ever hiked a mountain, real or metaphorical?
What’s your favorite parable?
Top hiking snacks?
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy! Come back next week for another writing exercise!
Have you taken a look at the section called “The Volume” recently? All my longer-form stories are kept there! Be sure to take a look and catch up on any stories you’ve missed!
Thank you and God bless!
https://open.substack.com/pub/indianamichael/p/always-watching?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=2jzix
As requested. :)
Hahah, I love this! :D
And to your questions—
1. Yes, and I’ll post a relevant picture on Notes, cuz I’m not able to do here!
2. Far too many, a whole bunch of stories my grandma used to tell.
3. Long-expired Snickers, because that’s the only energy-rich snack you get high up in the mountains!