This is a new challenge from @kaliju.
We are to use an original photo and then do a freewrite (minimum 300 words.)
This week's topic is a rather nebulous: Nature.
Let's see what I pull up out of my image files...
That will do. I think this one is Fall Creek Falls on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge. (It's been a few years!)
Freewrite about this waterfall...
Karla walked slowly up the steep path. She kept her wary eyes open for poison oak that was warned about at the trailhead. She'd only seen the stuff once, and didn't really want to see it again - or if she did, she'd rather see it before walking in it this time...
Why she chose this particular walk today was questionable, even to her adventurous mind. Was it because she wanted to torture herself? Was she trying to prove that she was fitter than Jeff, who scampered up the trail ahead of her? (If so, she was failing miserably.) Was it because of the reward at the end of the trail? (Assuming she made it without mishap this time.) One thing was for sure, it was sure the antidote to any ill-advised romantic moments along the way. With the way her breath burned her lungs right now, the only kiss she might be up for was the "kiss of life" if she didn't get to the top soon!
The fact that Jeff's legs were at least 12 inches longer than hers didn't help anything. They levered him up the hill so much easier than her short ones did! She just hoped that when they got there, he wouldn't say anything about how slow and out of shape she was.
"Eyes bigger than your stomach?" he asked, sitting on a large stump.
Karla didn't say anything for a moment. She was too out of breath.
"Sit down and have a bit of chocolate," he said, offering her half a king-size bar of nutty-chocolate heaven.
Her eyes were the only thing that could answer as she munched away, her body desperate for nourishment.
He laughed slightly. "How about a drink?" he said, handing her a sports drink designed to replenish her better than water.
She nodded, and gulped the first swallow, then sipped a bit more politely thereafter.
"Thank you!" she finally managed to say.
"You know, you didn't have to go to this length in order to impress me," Jeff said kindly.
"I thought the guidebook said this was an easy walk," Karla said.
Jeff laughed again. "I think you misread. This is one of the harder ones! The guidebook can sometimes be a little confusing."
"Oh," was all she could say. She was still working on catching her breath. "How much further is the waterfall?"
"I think it's just around the next corner, actually. I think you can make it," he said encouragingly.
Karla nodded and stood up.
"Are you sure you're ready?" Jeff asked.
"I think so," she replied.
A few minutes later, around an outcrop, the waterfall began to emerge. "There it is!" Karla said, feeling a rejuvenating sense of accomplishment. She hurried faster now.
"Be careful, it will be slippery!" Jeff cautioned her.
Karla got as close to the waterfall as she dared, getting caught in the cooling spray. "So, this is why you go hiking!" she said.
"Pretty much," Jeff said standing next to her in order to take a selfie of the two of them, in front of the waterfall. "Now, it's part of history."
Lori Svensen – A'mara Books & Viking Visual
Banner by @shai-hulud
