_____Light salmon colored sands formed a hardened floor, shiny and smooth. As I entered the donut-hole cavern, a silvery flash zipped across my shoulder. Cornsilk rays from the declining sun hit a reflective surface far ahead. Rainbow bands glowed in several small nooks. With minced steps, I proceeded to the center. Dozens of eggshell marble slabs were embedded like a grand archway of ladders. By the exit, at eye-level, stick-figure persons honored concentric icons chiseled into the walls. This was a holy place to someone, once.
_____I whispered, "You and me, God. Okay?"
_____Skulking forward onto a vast flat shelf, I spied a sea of lavender clouds stretching into eternity. Auburn rings of the dying sun sat above a fretted black horizon. It would be night soon. Inching closer, I peered down into a thick valley of petrified woods, the last of my road.
_____"It figures."
_____The grandeur of the area distracted my attention like a succulent lure over a hidden snare. I caught myself from slipping and retreated far from the crumbling ridge. Raising my hand to my temple, I felt a pulse race. My guts sat in a cradle of barbed anxiety. Maybe I should have taken a right at that last fork.
_____"Stop it!"
_____Pop always said three things killed a person in a survival situation: comfort, passivity, and foolishness. At the moment, I was fighting to urge to embark on all three.
_____"Okay, Fidelli, what about survival?"
_____Water, food, shelter. The club soda, candy, and interior of my car were inadequate. As I turned around, I spotted malachite marble creating a cathedral opening. The fissure's opening reflected distorted images like funhouse mirrors. If I had to go on foot, what better place to act as a garage than a cave? Drifting sand blew inwards. Cautiously, I peeked inside until my eyes adjusted to the inner shadows. Just within the decorative mouth, shriveled tan stalactites dangled on either side like decaying canine teeth. I paced past the marble entrance and tan walls. Solid granite took over. Trickling noises directed my ear to a small cavern on the left. A narrow waterfall flowed from a triangular portal.  NEXT

 DAMSEL IN THE ROUGH