He fastened the rope to a stanchion, secure
An incredibly long length of sisal
Then dropped the rest into the bottomless pit
He had to find out
Began to descend, repelling against the wall, cautiously
He could smell the moisture in the earth
The filtered light revealed striations of color
The geologic story of the ground
Until the light faded a he moved deeper and deeper
Black crowding around
A flexible blanket of sightless reality
Flowing over his frame and coating his body
The depths sucked all sensations
No sight, no sound, only the rough rope in his hands
The walls disappeared as well, left him dangling
Down he went and down some more
Until he reached the end of his rope
Feet hanging in space
Dangling at the end of his hopes
Only two choices remained
Climb and return to where he was
Or let go, risk the unknown depths
He would let go, why not, he needed to move on
Not return to where he had been
He felt free, a wonderful sense of renewal
Letting go of it all into the blackness
Not knowing what to expect
He didn’t know that the floor of the pit
Was only two feet below him
He touched gently down on the floor of the pit
He had reached the bottom
Taking a deep breath began to relocate his thoughts
He could feel the graveled floor through the soles of his shoes
Felt a movement of air against his cheek
Let the breeze direct him to a vent in the wall
A narrow slit in the side that opened into a passageway
He entered
His arms outstretched, his fingertips
Could barely touch the sides of the vent as he walked
His head bumping the ceiling at times, small scrapes ignored
The vent was straight a reminder of a volcanic flue.
He moved cautiously
Until moisture again reached his nose and
In the distance a glint of reflected light shone on the tunnel wall
He continued to move slowly, discovering his bearings
Unsure of what he would find
The light grew brighter, the sound of water moving, waves
All of his senses began to reengage to awaken
And then a brilliance of sight and sound assailed him
As he exited onto a sandy beach
The sun radiant as he shaded his eyes, adjusted
The smell of ocean, seaweed, and fish flowed over him
He let the gentle waves surround his feet and legs
Felt the breeze caress his face
Absorbed the warmth provided
He was unsure of where he was but it felt right
Unsure of where he would go next, left or right
But felt secure that each would be good
He smiled, took a deep breath
Fresh air in his lungs and shouted HELLO!
To no one and to everyone
His skin tingled, goose bumps
A new direction to begin anew, left or right
Just go.