Your ears perk at the howl of the wolves far off beyond the cave entrance. The shrieking calls echo off the stones, amplifying their shrill and bloodthirsty calls.
Such a peculiar thing this archway is. It sits so naturally hidden but always present at the corner of the eye – as if placed there since the beginning of time. Maybe it had been. It had taken years for you to see the truth of its being.
It had been an arduous climb through caves and cliffs that had so long offered both protection and peril. The aching in your feet pulses rapidly, incessantly radiating up from your calves through your core.
They told you not to undertake this journey, told you it was dangerous, that you would regret it, that nothing would come of it.
The warnings seem so odd as you stare out of the cave’s darkened depths into the bountiful, lush valley beyond.
Their mocks and jeers seem as distant as the camp deep in the darkened heart of the mountain. That place is so devoid of warmth that you wonder why it now tugs at your heels.
Will they believe you? Why should they? They never have before. Why waste your precious breath screaming what they will never hear anyway?
You pause. The aching in your feet roots you to the spot. Night is coming quickly, and with it will come the wolves.
You give your cave one last scornful look. Dark. Endless. The sun will never pierce the stone.
You take a step, and for the first time, the aching is gone.
The cries of the wolves subside into nothingness.
After all, were they not so far away?
You step out of the cave.
And into the light.
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A/N
Thank you to Mike Singleton - MikeyDred for hosting this challenge as the fearless leader of the Vocal Social Society!
Another thank you to Scott Christenson. After a brief chat on Discord, I've been meaning and wanting to try my hand at something in the second person as a form of practice. I hope you all enjoy this bit of practice from me.
Mike's entrance here:
And a piece from Scott:
All of my works can be viewed within my library:
About the Creator
Matthew Fromm
Full-time nerd, history enthusiast, and proprietor of random knowledge. The best way to find your perfect story is to write it yourself.
Here there be dragons, and knights, and castles, and quests for entities not wishing to be found.
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Nice work
Very well written. Keep up the good work!
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Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
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Comments (8)
excellent work! is this based on Plato's Allegory of the Cave? now I have that Mumford and Sons song stuck in my head lol
You did a wonderful job with imagery. And a different take on Mike's challenge!
What a wonderful take on this challenge. You painted a beautiful picture with your words
Relatable to every soul who reads it, even the ones who have never stood in front of that kind of doorway in the physical sense.
I’ve seen quite a few tales on this challenge and this is my favourite so far. So much of it resonates. The way you weave in the immense difficulty of leaving behind the known (in spite of it being everything you don’t want) and moving forward with courage and (rather than hope) logic and higher wisdom. Place is so devoid of warmth…. tugs at your heels. This is undoubtedly my favourite line. It tells so much story in such few words, whilst also being wise. Great job Matt!
This another excellent story, totally love your take on the challenge
I really enjoyed this. You did a wonderful job describing the state of mind of the character!
What an amazing piece, love the symbolism! Great work!