Crunch. Crunch.

My footsteps reverberate through this vacant place. The sound of my heart beating stings my brain.

“Can you hear me?” I call out. Only my own voice responds. Where did you go?

Cold wind whips at my cheeks, my scarf billowing in the breeze. I pull it up to shield my face.

“Hailey!” I yell. You can’t hear me, wherever you may be.

Crunch. Crunch.

The snow glistens in the sunlight. Dangling icicles hang overhead, threatening to fall with every echoing footstep.

I trudge forward into the light. No signs of life. I see my skis jutting out from the powdery snow, the tip of each just barely breaking the surface.

“Hailey!” I call. “Can you hear me?”

Can you hear me? I wonder.

The mountain rumbles. I look back to the cave. Safety. Would it save me from a second avalanche?

I wonder.

I thrust my hands into the snow. I rip it away in handfuls, looking for any signs of you. I kick my way through the ice. Still no signs of life.

Where did you go?