“Close your eyes. Feel the levers of the earth move with you,” Moria deposited the words like diamonds lined on velvet cloth.
Lianne obeyed the first. Tried hard for the second. But all she felt were the tremors in her body, bare skin shuddering against penetrating morning chill. And the fear.
“Breathe in the cold, breathe out the worry.” The old woman’s voice affected little compassion, yet there was no shaming in it. Just instruction.
Lianne tried, but her shaking only intensified. Perhaps I am not ready, she fretted.
“You are ready,” Moria stated.
Lianne gasped. Could her mentor read her mind?
“No, but I’ve seen enough initiates.”
The elder’s chuckle, puncturing the solemn task, somehow eased Lianne’s mind. Her body calmed. Her eyes relaxed behind the wrap. Her toes curled around the softness of the mossy ground. The bottom step offered a damp welcome.
“Better. Now climb.”
For Crispina‘s Crimson’s Creative Challenge
Na'ama Yehuda 
A beautiful description of the tension and elation of aquiring a new skill. I can almost feel the moss with my toes. 🙂
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Thank you! Old places have this vibe about them, and I liked the undulation in the staircase. It tells a deeper story, it felt. So … that’s where my mind went.
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So wonderfully descriptive. I could feel her trepidation, the moss under her feet.. Wonderful.
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🙂 Yay! So glad it was palpable! 🙂 The photo speaks, doesn’t it?
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It truly does. I haven’t given up on maybe doing it one day 😉
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We each do what we can as we can … I used to write a blog-prompt-response every single day. Not anymore now. Life’s too busy and I’m in front of the screen too many hours for telehealth work. So … it’s been whittled to a few a week. Sometimes three, sometimes more. Last week I didn’t even get to check the FF one … Sometimes it works. Sometimes it don’t … However it works, eh? xx
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I remember when you used to post more than one per day! I thought… bloody hell, when does she find the time? And with prompts, we try to participate – though I’ve cut that back big time or I’d never get a darn thing done!
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Yeah, I had a time when I did a bit too many prompts … 🙂 Those were the days … 😉 I actually think that the balance of ‘almost every day, sorta’ is a better balance than every day (let alone more than one a day). So though I’m known to still post the occasional double, most of the time it is more of a catch-up day than any every day, eh?
In fact YOU were helpful in that regard, when your own post about not putting yourself under the pressure to post every day, resonated with me. See? You is very good influence! 🙂
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I think each person does what they can. On the multi-posters, I figured out how to get just one of their posts per day so I’m not overwhelmed (since I get emails and don’t use the Reader). Yet there are some that I’ll go and see a few of their posts anyway – when I feel like it!
Oh! I did? Oh my! As long as you are happy with your choice!
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Eeezatly! To each their own – in writing, and in reading others’ work. We do what works, which can shift and change from day to day and week to week besides. Yep, me agree! 🙂
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Assolutamente! Hey, writers want to post twelve times per day? Good for them. As long as they don’t expect me to read all twelve 😉
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Me agree!
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Oh, this appeals to me. Lovely
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Yay! Glad you liked it. Such fantastic stairs!
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Indeed, yea. My eyes are always on the look out for something… different
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And, very often, you find it, to our benefit! 🙂
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Thank you, 🙂
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🙂
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