What are YOU afraid of?

     There are many kinds of horror that one could fear, but one that bothers me is the thought of being trapped in a tight space.


     I was talking to a friend who routinely goes caving. Underground caverns, waterfalls, and rock formations fascinate me. Stories I have read about underground worlds have captured my imagination. My friend described repelling down five different waterfalls, deep within the Earth, inside a ‘room’ almost too large to imagine. Beautiful formations and spaces to explore all intrigue my sense of wonder and adventure, but I will never see this place, nor will I experience its grandeur.

     You see, to access this cave, one needs to belly crawl for over one hundred yards through a very dark and narrow vent to gain entrance. I can barely entertain the thought of getting on my stomach to crawl into a space too tight for my body to fit through easily.

     If any part of me would touch the top or side of this entryway, I can sense the fear that would well up inside me, swelling my body, making me a human cork. Utter panic would rule my mind and body. I imagine myself dying in that vent before help could arrive.

     Drowning, burning to death in a fire, dying of a lengthy, painful illness might be inevitable ends impervious to one’s ability to avoid, but stuffing myself through a one hundred yard tube is a fate I’ll be sure to avoid.



Debbie 2009