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?