Falling

• Matilda Vorhauer, Grade 8
• Short Story
• 2021

He was trapped. The large cavern was cold and dark, clammy and empty. Sweat dripping down his forehead, he sighed, resigning himself to the truth that he would never escape. The only way to escape this nightmare was to die, although it would be slow and painful. He would rot down here in the deep caverns forever, and nobody would ever find him.
He thought back to the last time he saw the sun, what felt like forever ago. Going for his jog as he always did, he went a different route, and found a new path that wasn’t on the map. His parents would never approve of going down there. If it wasn’t on the map, its not safe. But curiosity had always been his biggest downfall. This time, however, was his realization that curiosity was definitely a sin.
Jogging down the path, he realized how solitary it had become. He could no longer see the other paths through the trees. He wondered where the path could take him, but it wasn’t long before he found out. A gaping cavern, which seemed to steep downwards, was right in front of him. Peering over the edge, he was careful to stay back, but in the end it didn’t help, As he started thinking about walking back to the main track, two hands pushed on his back, forcing him into the dark, dangerous cavern.
Now he found himself hundreds of metres below the surface, with two broken legs and no way to escape. He worried about his parent. Being an only child made him worry even more; what would happen if his parents, whom he loved so dearly, lost their only child? He was 17, but still knew they would be lost without him. They would know something happened soon, and how would they take it when their child never returned home?
As he pondered these thoughts, he tried to hold back his tears. His legs were throbbing and thinking about his parents mourning him didn't help the enormous pain he was feeling. He didn’t notice the glimmer at the top of the cavern, where he had fallen from few hours ago. As the glimmer became bigger, he looked up to see something very odd. His mouth fell open as a transparent, glimmering, light blue reindeer landed in front of him.