The Climb

You're trapped at the bottom of a manhole.  Isolated in complete darkness.  You don't remember how you got here but surely you must have fallen down.  The last you remember was hiking up a steep hill and admiring the sunset peeking at the top of the hill.  It was 7:00pm.  Almost there, you kept telling yourself as you caught your breath after every step.  This wasn't your first time up this treacherous hill, and although it got easier to climb every time, it was still one of the toughest treks in your life.

What am I going to do, you think to yourself as you stare into darkness.  Your phone is broken, smashed by the weight of your fall in your back pocket.  You attempt to move and feel the space around you in hopes to find a way out. "Ahhhhhh! Damn it!" you suddenly scream. You've sprained your ankle.  So now, you're not only trapped at the bottom of a manhole, but also handicapped by a sprained ankle.

What's that? A low rumble in the distance.  Your excitement grows and your eyes light up with hope.  You look like a cat in the darkness with shining eyes and ready to pounce on this opportunity to escape.  A light slips into the top of the manhole.  The rumble grows louder and louder!  It's a car approaching! This could be it - your ticket out.  VROOM!!  

Rejected. Your hope of escape rejected back into the bottom of the manhole with you.  Your face warms with anger and your eyes wet with disappointment.  You feel time is flying by and that you haven't progressed from your fall.  And so you begin to cry.  You cry hard.  You cry as if you'd cry if you knew you were going to die.  You want to die because there seems no escape.  It's late into the night and you wonder if anyone else will pass by and hear you.  "Help! Help! Heellpp!!" you scream, hoping someone will hear you. But no one comes.  You think to yourself How could I have let myself fall?  Why wasn't I watching my step? 

Your panicked breathing slows and your congested nose clears.  Nonsense! I will get out.  You begin to strategize again.  You think about how you would notice a cry for help from someone trapped in a manhole if you were someone walking along that hill.  You realize you forgot to check your pockets for anything that could help you.  Unlikely anything to help you climb out of the hole but you check anyway.  You feel around in your pockets. Some cash, gum wrapper, a hair tie...nothing.  Aha! Your keys.  You had totally forgotten about the mini flashlight on your keys that you once picked up at a job fair.  You forget if it still works.  And then all of sudden, a tunnel of light shoots out and you begin to wave it in the air.  A smile lights up your face.  Yo're confident.  You're proud.  You're ready to climb out of this manhole.

Footsteps approach.  

"I'm down here!  Help!  I've fallen down here!"

A woman's face appears at the top of the manhole.  "I saw your light from my window!  Are you okay?  Stay there, I'm going to grab some help to get you out!"

Tears stream down your face.  This time from relief and pride.  You did this.  You found your flashlight and thought to use it to win yourself another opportunity to escape.  And this time, you won.

A rope is lowered down to you.  You wrap the rope around your waist and arms.  Slowly, you inch closer and closer to the top of the manhole.  And finally, you breathe fresh air and see not one but many individuals at the end of the rope pulling to help you rise above the bottom of that hole.  They welcome you back.  They tell you how amazed they are by your strength and courage.

You ask for the time.  It's only 8:30pm.  It had felt like forever.

And now you know how to help yourself escape a manhole.  You've learned your weaknesses and strengths at the bottom of that manhole.  And tomorrow, you will climb that hill again.  You will get back up.  And it will be tough, and you will struggle, but you're not afraid to fall.