Sunday, January 10, 2010

Entry #99

Silhouette
by Christopher Mitchell


The sky over Devil’s Courthouse is leaden. The snow is a few hours off and the wind is whipping. I am not sure why I did this hike. I just had to get away for awhile. And I knew my message was here. I was at loose ends and really did not have a clue why.

“The view from up here is amazing.” I thought as I finished my sandwich. As I pulled on my pack, I look over the cliff. A hawk is hovering a hundred feet below my perch. The slow pulse of his wings and ease of his gliding impress me. What little sun there is shines off his dark brown feathers as he slowly rises to my level.

As the bird rises, a voice comes from somewhere. “The snow is temporary. The sun is real. Come and join.” I wonder where it had come from. Every time I have come to the Courthouse, I always wonder if it is my time to be judged. Lord knows, I have sinned much. Would this be the day of reckoning? I step closer to the edge of the precipice. And I notice that I now have feathers.

I can join my brothers in the sky.

24 comments:

Preeti said...

Liked the descriptions. The fact that you were perched above the flight of the bird, watching it glide, is quite an appealing visual when imagined. Nice. :-)
Also liked the stepping over the edge outcome. was it an inevitability?

Lena said...

Nice imagery. A very well created picture.
Don't know if the stepping over is a blessing or a mistake for your characyer though.

Anthony Rapino said...

nice story, I also liked the descriptions.

AM-C said...

Nice!!!

JaneyV said...

I liked the progression and the fact that the hike had some purpose. I just hope his wings were fully formed before he jumped from that precipice.

Aimee Laine said...

I was prepared for the jump not that there could be a happy ending. :) Great!

Aniket Thakkar said...

Does that mean, I'll get wings once I reach hell too? Awesome!

You just made my day! ;-)

Craig said...

There can be great danger in great beauty.

Sarah Laurenson said...

Love that he has come here before and not gotten the wings. But he keeps coming back.

PJD said...

echo Aimee. I like the description of the place and the hike. I know a place like that, but without snow, where you can stand at the top of a cliff and see the birds circling below. It's very cool. I'm kind glad I never found I had feathers, though.

Bernita said...

The Jumper's cousin.

Scribblers Inc said...

The devil's courthouse...what I would pay to be there!! :)

Amazing ending.

Mithun Mukherjee.

Kartik said...

To heed a calling! Lovely!

laughingwolf said...

weird, but likable...

Laurel said...

This is a frightening compulsion told beautifully.

austere said...

Must admit I didn't expect that ending...

Very nice.

DILLIGAF said...

A frightening compulsion indeed...unless he really had gained wings!...Then a magnificent way to end!!!

Very well written!

Deb Smythe said...

Love the symbolism. Great writing, as well.

james r. tomlinson said...

Nice courtroom drama. Where else would the Devil's Courtroom be? Your choice of setting is logical.

Chris Eldin said...

A literal calling. Nice read!

catvibe said...

Well, I think your character here has a little problem of recognizing the difference between fantasy and reality. I am seeing him lying on the ground under the cliffs and it isn't pretty. But it is certainly a fantasy that I've had, especially when on a cliff looking down at the birds gliding on the air currents. I'm left with a deep curiosity about the Courthouse. Would love to know more about that...

Christopher Mitchell said...

Thank you so much for the kind comments.

For those who asked, The Devil's Courthouse is near Brevard, NC in the Pisgah National Forest. It can be acceessed at Mile Marker 431 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It has always been a source of inspiration for me

Anonymous said...



my caveat

Something I Would Keep


Something I Might Tweak


Dear Entrants #1-105,

I have read your pieces so that I can fairly participate in the Readers' Choice vote. (I read all of them through last week, before I started commenting.) I will be coming back around to offer my keep/tweak comment, but I didn't want anyone to snark.

Cheers,
Aerin (#236)

BTW, it's perfectly fine if you still want to snark, but this way you can choose a more appropriate subject, like the Golden Globes or those wretched Old Navy dummies.

SzélsőFa said...

i liked the flow of the story and the character. i think the end is sad, yet inevitable. i liked the 'calling' as a theme.