As Allie waded through the shin
high grasses and prickly weeds her flashlight scanning back and forth, her feet
sore, she thought more and more that her quest was foolish. She should come
back in the daytime when she could see better. She knew she had to be close to
the meteorite impact spot. She'd been lying in her sleeping bag, watching the
stars when she saw the tell-tale streak through the sky, but bigger and
brighter than any she'd seen before. It disappeared, and just seconds later,
she'd felt the ground vibrate. She knew what had happened, and she felt she
knew which direction the vibration had come from. Now she couldn't help but
question how she thought she'd been so sure to head out in the dark of night.
To hell with it. She would go
back to camp and come look again in the morning. She was in the middle of
nowhere for Pete's sake. It wasn't like someone else was going to sneak in and
snag it out from under her.
She turned and started wading
back across the field. When she thought she should be getting close to the tree
line that would mark the edge of the forest she was camped in she swung the
beam of her flashlight up higher, looking further out. No trees. Apparently she
had gone further afield then she realized at the time. She kept walking.
Several minutes later she was
still walking and still no trees in sight. Now she's wondering about her
perception of the walk out. Her feet were sore. She stopped, turning slowly,
shining her light to the end of the beam. The field looked Identical in every
direction. By the time she had turned all the way around she wasn't even sure
she was still pointed the same way she had started.
Her legs folded and she sat
suddenly, tears overwhelming her. The tall grass brushed her face and stickers
poked her ankles as they lodged in her socks, and made everything feel just
that much more hopeless.
She knew when the sun came up she
would be able to orient herself and get back to camp. There was no point in
continuing to wander. Still, she let herself wallow and weep and feel hopeless.
Maybe she could wear herself out emotionally and she could fall asleep here in
the foxtails and weeds. The tears faded out, but her exhaustion manifested in
staring off into the dim distance with a blank mind. There was no sleep.
She didn't know how long she sat
there, it felt both an eternity and momentary. In time however, she noticed a
change. Treetops began to show against a slightly lighter sky. She stood up.
The tree line was off slightly to her right; she hadn't been so very off in the
direction she'd been headed. Just far off enough.
Bending to pick up her pack, she
saw it. A black rock in a shallow depression a foot from her bag. She'd sat
next to it all night long. She touched it tentatively. Quickly, pulling her
hand away assuming it would be hot, but it wasn't. She picked it up. A fine
soot coated the surface, and she smiled as it came off on her fingers.
Cradling the meteorite in her
had, not even bothering to put it in her bag she walked back to camp with plans
to nap and celebrate.
Writing prompt: Rock, change, lost
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