Blackheart V: EASY | LUCKY | FREE (Prologue)
Jul 21, 2020 16:00:17 GMT -5
Shadowlove, Carter Shaw, and 1 more like this
Post by Lissie Hope on Jul 21, 2020 16:00:17 GMT -5
The cliff rose from the mountainous jungle, protected by a palisade of dense tree trunks and a curtain of vibrant emerald fronds. The thick leaves shielded me from the heat, but the towering stone wall glistened in the sunlight, dazzling like jeweled ores when a cloud separated for just a moment, blinding my pupils. I ran my chalked fingers along the ridge, feeling an indention in the earth.
This was nature’s playground.
My boney fingers gripped the surface of the rock, forcing the muscles in my forearms to stiffen. I dug the toes of my shoes into a crevice and pulled myself higher, feeling my biceps tightening. I could hear the flowing sapphire stream coursing through the ravine below, the scent of damp moss flooding my nostrils.
For many, this climb would be insurmountable.
But it didn’t matter that I was doing this alone.
Right now, nothing could stop me.
JULY 2019
Why are we doing this? Who the fuck climbs rocks??
We’re doing this because you need to get stronger.
I bench more than you!
I don’t mean physically, Lissie. I’m talking about in here.
Robbie Hope slaps the top of Lissie’s helmet, and tightens the harness around the shoulders. A few days before, Lissie isolated herself in a hotel room following a quarter-final loss in the Action Wrestling United States Championship tournament. She had so much confidence going into the gauntlet, having been named one of the top contenders and hyped as a future champion. She was only three months into the business, and had already left a lasting impression; but still, that loss was devastating.
I don’t want to see you in that pit of despair anymore, Lissie. Everyone loses in the wrestling business. It’s not supposed to send you spiraling. It’s supposed to open your eyes.
Oh, they’ve awakened me, brother. I see what these people are all about, and let me tell you something… I fuckin’ hate it.
You can’t let them sink you. You have to rise above it. You have to climb out of it. And that’s why we’re here.
I… uh… I don’t really like heights.
I know. Here, clip this on.
It was a carabiner attached to a rope, fastened at the top of the cliff.
Y’know… so you won’t plummet to your death.
This is supposed to calm my nerves?
You’ll be fine, Lissie. When we get to the top of this rock, you’ll get all the answers you need. C’mon, one foot in front of the other.
Lissie childlishly pouts, and Robbie smiles, grabbing her hand in encouragement.
And bitch, you wish you benched more than me.
The loose rock crumbles from under my feet, and I hear it ricochet off the jagged stone wall I’m scaling. I’m unharnessed, and free, feeling the cool breeze on my exposed arms. The dust stains my skin and runs down my limbs with moisture of my sweat, as if tears were pouring from my entire body. In some ways, it was.
All I have is this rock; and it’s a long way down.
I have to trust that the ledge supporting my weight won’t break from under me, even if I can’t see it; otherwise I would’ve fallen into the creek below by now. And who knows when anyone would venture down this path and find me; who knows how many people have climbed this rock since the last time I was here.
I have to believe there are hand and foot holes above. I’m committed now. My adrenaline courses through my veins, assuring me that I can achieve the impossible.
Can I finish the climb?
There was a time when I couldn’t.
He showed me that I can.
Lissie, you’re doing great! We’re almost there!
I can’t believe you made me do this! I fuckin’ hate you so much right now!
Use it! Use that hatred. Remember every face who’s doubted you. Who’s criticized you. Berated you. Their faces are on every one of these stones, and you’re leaving them all behind! Let’s go, Lissie. Don’t you dare stop!
She could feel her limbs tightening up. Her hand begins to vibrate, crumbling the aged rock into pebbles, plunging into the creek below.
R-Robbie…
He could hear the terror in her whimpers.
I can’t feel my arms.
Shake them out, one by one.
She followed his instruction, and nearly lost her grip.
ROBBIE! I CAN’T!
C’mon, Lissie! You can do this! One step at a time!
Lissie regained her footing, and released all of the fear paralyzing her. She was not going to let the serrated escarpment tear her will apart. A peaceful calm overtook her, deaf to all of Robbie’s enthusiastic cries, and she pulled herself up, inch by inch. Finally, her hands capped the crest of the rock, and she sat at the tip, overlooking the infinite woodlands.
Thank you, Robbie.
I always believed you could do it, sis. You need to believe in yourself a little, too.
My muscles are more durable these days. My experience has obscured lapses in judgement. I’ve gotten better, and faster. Smarter, and more disciplined. There’s a strength in my conviction that I didn’t have until I began to believe it. But my heart? My soul is hardened, as impenetrable as this stone wall. No longer as malleable as a rubber band stretched so far, it’d burst.
If it was, I wouldn’t’ve ever had the confidence to climb up this rock by myself.
Alone.
Am I alone?
Or is he right here with me?
I sit on the edge of this cliff and I wonder what it’d be like to land at the bottom. I sometimes wonder if this is all for naught, but I don’t have him here to talk me back. Instead, I only have his reflection and his wisdom, and it pushes me forward. I can sit here with a smile, because I have allowed myself to believe that I can achieve the impossible.
To some, this climb is easy.
To others, making it to the top is pure luck.
But for me? I’m free.