by Jason Adams

Created on: June 24, 2008   Last Updated: April 13, 2012

Hidden

Nicole stood on the rise and peered into the short drop below. She was in unfamiliar territory; it was like nothing she had seen before. Dirt and pebbles cascaded down the face of the rocks as she slowly descended along a dirt path.

This was her first time venturing so far from the mountain, her home. The soft grass she had always known was missing beneath her feet. The trees from which she ate gave way to giant boulders that provided very little in the way of shade.

She glanced back from where she had traveled and saw the mountain towering above her, breaching the clouds. At its base the lush green trees of the valleys reached up and hugged the mountainside, their limbs embracing its paths. It looked as if the forest was trying to pull itself up the mountain, toward heaven. But it all seemed so far away.

She had never dreamed of leaving the valley. She had never thought to venture away from the mountain. In fact it was her very dream to reach the top of that mountain, for there it is rumored lay the gates of Heaven. Everyone knew that paradise can be found at the zenith of the mountain. She had never seen it. She was unsure if anyone ever had. The higher one climbed upon the mountain the harder and steeper its trails became. Yet all the people in the valley still tried to reach its peaks, but to no avail.

Nicole had come to this desolate wasteland for just that reason. The night before, she witnessed a star fall from the mountain, and she knew it had to be from heaven. She watched as it sped toward the earth and saw its light disappear beyond the valley and into the dead canyons beyond. She had to find it.

She trekked onward as the sun moved across the sky. As time waned she wished more and more that she had just one tree to shade herself from the harsh sunlight and perhaps its scented blossoms could hide the horrible stench in the air. She realized then the smell was smoke. She sprang into a run and her eyes beamed with excitement. No sooner than she had started she could see the rising smoke beyond a nearby cliff. Perhaps there the star landed, or maybe it was a fire made by someone who may have seen where the star had fallen. She forgot the heat and smell and ran towards the smoke's source.

She came upon it with a start. All before her the ground was black. Her jaw dropped wide at the sight of charred rocks and scorched dirt. Smoke rose in large puffs around her. She moved onward despite stinging eyes and straining lungs.

She was scared, yet at the

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