Challenge Entry - Climb

Single Frame Stories Prompt: Climb

The word was a simple, monosyllabic one. However, the image that sprung to mind would not be simple to create. It was a view from the bottom of a steep cliff.

When I was a teenager some friends and I went swimming. Swimming was the simple part; the hard part was getting there. See, the spot was hidden down a back road. It required knowing which dirt road to go down, which area of trees to park in, and which way to walk through the woods. Then, there was getting to the water. When the walk through the woods ended, you were at a cliff that over looked a lake - a lake that had huge rocks slightly jutting out and just beneath the surface. Still, my friends and I didn’t travel all that way in just for the view.

Each of us stripped down to our swimsuits, took a deep breath, walked a few steps back, and individually made a small run followed by a big jump. Falling, falling, and falling past the jagged edges hoping to land in the water that was said to be over 100 feet deep with scarcely a thought of what would happen if we hit a rock instead.

We’d play in the water, swim around, and watch someone else jump. Eventually we’d have to climb up the bluff to either jump off again or to leave. The climb was treacherous and steep. I remember watching one guy scale up the wall, paying special attention to his hand and foot placement. I climbed up, trying to follow where he had gone, while another guy followed behind me.

Up the rock wall, finger and toes my only safety net, I ascended the wall in a little blue swimsuit. There was a guy below me “in case I fell” (as if he could do anything if that were to happen) and to keep me safe. Of course, being teenagers and in our swimsuit (and considering the comments later), there was more than my “safety” that he had in mind being below me.

Still, those were the days of youthful fearlessness. Of a time when energy and strength were not a consideration when it came to planning a day’s events; the only thing to consider then was whether or not it would be fun.

I wanted a picture from the base of a semi-sheer cliff or bluff. I wanted that particular climb, that moment, that feeling pictured, expressed, conveyed. The strength and the fun and the fear…

There were a few places I could go to get something similar. However, I had no time nor desire to go on a lake or hiking this week. So that image will remain in my mind.

A few days later I thought of the local landscape. I considered a photo of the horizon, or perhaps just a distant mountain or hill. I could add text that reflected being over the hill and the climb. I had ideas of the climb up or the struggle to climb back to the other side once you are “over the hill.”

That, however, did not happen either.

For a moment I toyed with the idea of ladder with a corporate theme. That, too, did not pan out.

Finally, I entertained the thought of skipping this week’s Single Frame Story.

Then, late Friday afternoon/early evening, I found myself with a little bit of time. I recalled Girl wanting to take photos at a specific location earlier in the week. So, I told her to get ready to go and grab her camera. I’d take her to the spot she wanted to go and then, if there was still enough light, I’d try a few places for mine.

We were at her chosen location when it happened. I saw the potential in the area she wanted to take pictures. It was not near the depth I had envisioned, but maybe…

As I stood at the edge, one step away from a short but steep drop, I tried to figure out the easiest way for me to get to the bottom. I also had to decide if I was willing to actually lie in the stream to get the right perspective. The, I realized the rocky bottom view was all I needed. My entire concept for the word “climb” changed in an instant. Climb was suddenly what one had to do once they hit rock bottom.

Once you have lost it all, and then some, you have a choice. You can sit there, cold, hurt, feeling lost, alone, and maybe even sorry for yourself. You can blame the world and others for your fall. Or, you can get off your duff and struggle to climb out of the hole you’ve found yourself in. It is not an easy climb. It often takes more strength than you know you have, energy you feel you could use elsewhere, time you don't want to spend, and have moments where the path seems impossible and impassable. You may even stumble and slip back down. It just may be the hardest thing you ever do. So much so, you could even have to ask for help along the way. However, once you make it, no matter how difficult the struggle, you know the battles that still lay ahead are but hills compared to the cliff you just scaled.

Therefore, I offer this small visual representation of the struggle that some of us know… No matter what or where your rock bottom is, may you one day understand the worth of the climb.

(Note: Girl in photo composite is my daughter)

~B