Fear The Light

A safe place

The cavern was the size of a large master bedroom. The caverns shape was unusually round with smooth walls and floors. Cautiously I stepped around the room peering into each of the four openings. Inside the first opening to my left there was a medium sized pool of water, as I stepped closer the humidity and warmth of the room rose. It was a small natural spring. Kneeling down to get a clearer look at the water it was crystal clear. My fingertips dipped over the edge, the sensation of hot water making me jump. My leg trembled as I stood. The ground sloped down just enough; any drops or small puddles of water would run down to the adjacent wall dip which all drained out into a small hole twice the size as my fist. I walked the three meters over to the hole looking in, just dark little hole, it appeared similar to a shower drain. A cold drip of water stung me on the back of my neck. My eyes growing worried as they scanned the room once more, only now noticing the stream of water flowing down the wall four feet from the hole. I touch the water. Cold. It was a fresh water stream. From the appearance it had been there for a very long time the stream lines were deeply engraved so much so that it was as if a bowl of stone was placed beneath it, catching some of the water.

My mind fluttered back to the other openings. Leaving the first opening I made the short distance to the second. This one wasn't very big, maybe the size of a walk in closet. It was just as unusually round as the others with a smooth floor,with two holes both the size of basketballs. I travelled over to the third opening. This one was the same size as the main cavern, all relatively smooth with no tunnels or holes. How cozy, I thought as I skipped to the last opening. It was an adjoining cavern. I was breathless. This one was at least the same size as my old two bedroom apartment in the city. The ceiling had a few holes that I could see the sky out of. The light spots lit up the whole room; none were big enough to fit an animal or a person through and it didn't appear to let any water in either. My eyes scoured the walls and floors no other holes, no nests, bats, or spiders, some greenery had crawled in and around the smooth walls making it look like something out of a fairytale.

"Finally a safe place" I gleamed as I couldn't hear any echos from my voice either. It really is perfect.
Once I returned to the caves mouth the rain had began to come down slower, it won't last much longer. Tossing down my bag I got to work.
First I had to clean up. Can't risk any chance of one of those things finding me. The fire was doused. My footsteps covered. And all my belongings were packed away. I began to bundle the burnt and charred wood, they'll be useful for later tonight. After a half  an hour I was done, there were no traces of me ever being there; with faint traces of campfire smoke gone I headed back to my refuge. Ever so often I would leave a small carving in a discreet place, just as insurance. So to not get lost. To the naked eye the signs appeared to be just brittle rock or maybe even small animal markings if you stretched it. Once back in the cavern I started on a makeshift door for the opening. The opening to the small tunnel was so unnoticeable to begin with it wasn't hard. After finding some large pieces of dried wood and foliage I prepared a small door. Staring at my success I tried it out several times even putting force on it. It was strong, and was now completely invisible. Sliding the door back into place and barricading it with a few rocks and a door stopper, my pace quickened as the need to sleep began to creep in. Gripping the bag, dumping out and unbuckling everything I began to sort things out and find places for them. The first opening I was naming the bathing room, the second was a restroom, the third I dictated my bedroom and the fourth was the open area aka living room. The flames of the fire lapped at the fresh and old wood, the smoke trailing up and out of the living room. The leaves and vines filtering it clear. Trotting into the bedroom and unrolling the sleeping bags I prepared my bed; making sure my clothes were near by. Sitting back on the corner of the blanket I took a breath. I feel dirty. The temptation at a warm bath was too much. Clutching my towel, shampoo, an axe and change of clothes I tip toed into the bathing room.

After testing the water repeatedly I stuck my foot in only to realize that there is a large ledge. It reached from the rock edge to six feet across only to stop just a foot from the wall. After jumping out multiple times for rocks I had successfully made a small rock cover around the hole. The water wasn't effected by the rock cover but it did stop me from accidentally slipping into it. The small rock cover was two feet high and one foot wide. Finally being able to relax, I slipped out of my clothes leaving them by the opening next to my fresh clothes. Putting down the axe next to me I filled up the empty water bottle with the warm water and grabbed my shampoo. Sitting down a few feet from the spring I began to lather my body and hair, making sure to rinse with the water from the bottle I had filled previously. My previous conclusion was right, any soapy or dirty water wouldn't drain into the spring but down the trail way down the wall and into the hole, like a shower drain. Once I finished washing my hair and body repeatedly, I finally felt clean, I slipped into the water. It reached my chin but with a couple large boulders it was then level with my breasts. I was able to sit down with my head resting on the stone edge comfortably. The cool stone was nice. It's been a very long time since I had been to a spa but this was almost better.

After awhile I reluctantly got out, making sure to dry well before putting on my clean clothes. Slipping on my shoes I grimaced. Sweaty, and cold. Wandering back to the "bedroom" I slipped off my shoes and crawled into the cozy sleeping bag. With my appetite nonexistent I fell asleep to the distant sound of morning birds and sunny skies.