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The summer of 2007. A thirteen-year-old girl follows her friends into Kentucky caves. She’s sharing a flashlight with two other girls her age, the flashlight being the only thing keeping the darkness away. Fifteen minutes pass, maybe more, and the exit of the cave can be seen again. The girl is struggling to keep up with her friends and is overjoyed to see that they are almost out of the cave. Her friends, holding the flashlight, begin to speed up, forgetting about her. She calls for them to wait for her, but they keep going. She freezes in place as the damp darkness begins to surround her.
Her heart beats faster as she loses the ability to see. Water, halfway up to her knees, seeps into her tennis shoes and soaks her socks. Silence drowns the echoes of the cave. The only light seems a football field away, unable to light her path. Her mind fills with all things able to happen between where she is and the light. She can’t see the rocks; what if she slips and injures herself? She can’t tell how deep the water is; what if she steps into a hole and, unable to swim, drowns before someone can help her?
She cries for help, for light, for someone to find her. Is there anyone left in the cave? Her friends have all reached the outside. Can they hear her anymore?
A man walks up behind her, places a hand on her shoulder. She looks up. He is the husband of one of her close friends and there is a flashlight in his hand, illuminating the path. The exit is now only a few strides away, with shallow water and few large rocks. She follows the light to the exit.
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One year later. Now fourteen, the girl walks onto stage and places the lyrics to “Amazing Grace” on the stand in front of her. With trembling hands, she grips the microphone and pulls it close to her. Bright lights shine onto her, heating her pink cheeks and blinding her from the audience. She can no longer see her friends filling up half a row of seats five rows away, but she can feel the expectant gazes of her watchers on her.
With nothing to guide her, she begins to sing. Halfway through, her voice cracks. She pauses, clears her throat, and continues again. She is suddenly aware of her body and voice, both shaking almost violently. She hesitates again and tries to continue, but her voice now refuses to come out. She wildly looks upon her audience again before grabbing her lyrics and running off the stage, barely aware of the people she is passing. She stops running when she reaches her original seat and sinks down into it, fighting back tears. She loses.
Cathy, the wife of her cave-savior, is the first to console her.
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Three months pass. The girl’s heart begins to race as she steps onto stage again, this one smaller but just as intimidating. Her fellow band members join her on stage, confident of her abilities. She sets her music on the stand in front of her and takes her microphone. Quickly, she glances over the crowd, just barely able to see them through the bright lights.
The guitarists begin to play. The drummer, the boy who asked her to join the band even after watching her run off the stage, begins to follow them, creating the beat. With the help of the lead guitarist, she begins to sing.
Four songs are played all the way through. The band leaves the stage. The girl joins them, heart racing, but a smile now on her face. The lights turn back on, and she finds Cathy. The woman’s eyes are sparkling with happy tears.
“That was wonderful, Ellie.”
 JediNikinaK · Thu Mar 26, 2009 @ 10:52pm · 0 Comments |
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