Chapter 16

Onode had already fetched the cable and I helped Francis tie it around his body. I triple knotted it to be sure that it was secure. I held the end of the rope in my hand and had to carry it on my way up.

I was almost envious of Francis’s wound once I started the climb. It was terrifying! I was very aware of where my hands and feet were and how many steps I had climbed. The more I clambered, the further away the top seemed to get.

Onode wasn’t far behind me. He had said that if I was to fall, he would catch me. The idea of him being able to catch me, as well as keep me aloft, seemed ridiculous. The prospect of his entire existence seemed ridiculous. I kept climbing and holding on for dear life with every step I took. The urge to look back to see how far I had gone kept reentering my mind but I ignored it, knowing it was a dreadful idea and kept on.

After a mile long climb, I realized I was finally almost at the top. I pushed myself and my body to keep going and my anticipation got the better of me. My left foot slipped and I looked back it and saw how high I was.

Crap, crap, crap! I am going to die!

This is it, this is the feeling you get right before you die!

I twisted my head back to the dirt and started wheezing frantically. My heart became a hummingbird’s in that moment.

“Yer almost der! Keep goin'!” Onode yelled behind me.

I took a second to recompose myself and shakily pushed my foot onto the next step, then to the next, and eventually to the last. It took some upper body strength to pull myself onto the earth and out of the pit.

Once I was on land again, I spread my arms and legs around it and thanked God that I was still alive. My breathing went from excessive to slowly back to normal. Onode’s face peering over mine got me out of my trance.

“Yer did it Misses Ralella! Yer fan needin' some aid now he does.” I nodded and sat up out of my lying position. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized where I was.

It was… beautiful. That didn’t feel like a good enough word to describe the magnificence of this place. It needed a new word entirely that didn’t exist until I set my eyes on my surroundings. It was like something out of a dream.

There was a minuscule bungalow across the way and every tree was as tall as the mine was deep. Their leaves was a rich emerald. Looking away from the trees I noticed the flowers. Lavender tulips stood well over 10 feet in the air and I ogled at them in marvel. Butterflies whipped around them with twinkles of turquoise waving as their wings. Everything was so sharp. I felt like my entire life had been in low quality and now I was seeing high definition for the first time. It was almost like I could feel the colors vibrancy.

I was in such awe that I had forgot about Francis. Rope still in hand, I stood up and walked in a circle beholding all my eyes could capture, mentally taking pictures for a later day.

“Where are we?” I asked Onode in a whimsical voice.

He answered, “Dis place,” He waved around the forest, “Be Bridgemill.” Then he held up his hand to show there was more to what he was saying. “But dis kingdom,” he smoothed the grass before grabbing a handful of the dirt to present to me, “Be Falloch.”