THE CHASM

By Tessa Harvey

    The man blanched slightly as more soil crumbled away near his feet. He smiled at her and he was gone. The girl waited, keeping as still as possible, not moving even when a harness appeared near her, and then there were strong men either side of her.

Infinitely slowly, they wedged themselves and helped the child into the harness, gripping her very firmly. Finally she was secure. The men signalled, and soon she was being hauled to safety. The men followed. An ambulance was waiting and her mother climbed in to go to the hospital with her, while her dad drove after them.
    The doctors kept Ariella in overnight for observation. The weather had been mild and there no signs of hypothermia. Her asthma was now stable. The doctor complimented her for using the inhaler cannister to flash light. It was how the searchers had found her.
    Both children returned to school after the weekend. Dylan had come with his uncle to apologize for his actions. When the parents saw how truly sorry the boy was, they had forgiven him. A few days later, they also agreed to allow him to enter the photo of their daughter with the sun setting behind her, but he destroyed the one where she was falling. It gave him nightmares.
    To Dylan's great delight, he won the school photo competition and shared the fifty dollars prize money with Ariella. He said: "I just wanted to walk with you, taking a photo wasn't planned."
    For a few days, the other students wanted to know all about the incident, but soon it was forgotten. Time marched on.
    It took longer for the event to fade for Dylan and for Ariella but then they were both at high school, working hard - and having fun.

    

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