The small crevice that formed the only entrance showed no evidence of the light which must be entering through the other gaps in the stones. It was black as if opening directly into the depths of the earth; an entrance to the underworld, curiously still and silent, as though condensed with age into a heavier mass from its surroundings, looking as though one might cross the threshold of ordinary matter by going through it. If she stared at it long enough she would never be able to go in, or it would never lead into the small space inside the Quoit, but would give way beneath her and leave her falling into blackness, into a kind of frozen inertia, pressured as if by prehistoric earth shifts and lava bubbles.
'Can you hold the flash for me a minute?' Paul was moving his gear round to the seaward side of the Quoit, which still had a slight glow to the stones from the fading light in the sky.
'Do you think it's dark enough now?' Jessica asked.
'Dunno. Go inside and see if there's anything happening.' The light of the flash bounced on and off the stones, as Jessica forced herself to climb in. A hard earth floor, some smaller boulders in a cramped space. Four triangles of blue evening sky where the uprights met the roof. It was anti-climactic, but not comforting. Jessica stared intently at the walls and ceiling, bracing herself lest something happen.
'See anything?' called Paul from outside.
'No.' Or was the top stone rippling? Was it rippling because she was staring at it for so long, or was there some kind of objective rippling effect? What was it, what was it? Something almost sub-sensory seemed to be rising up out of the stones and through her whole body and consciousness, a tidal rise that could very easily turn in her to panic. One was simply unused to sensing this much age, this much time passed, it took over the senses.
copyright: 2015 Diana Durham
'Can you hold the flash for me a minute?' Paul was moving his gear round to the seaward side of the Quoit, which still had a slight glow to the stones from the fading light in the sky.
'Do you think it's dark enough now?' Jessica asked.
'Dunno. Go inside and see if there's anything happening.' The light of the flash bounced on and off the stones, as Jessica forced herself to climb in. A hard earth floor, some smaller boulders in a cramped space. Four triangles of blue evening sky where the uprights met the roof. It was anti-climactic, but not comforting. Jessica stared intently at the walls and ceiling, bracing herself lest something happen.
'See anything?' called Paul from outside.
'No.' Or was the top stone rippling? Was it rippling because she was staring at it for so long, or was there some kind of objective rippling effect? What was it, what was it? Something almost sub-sensory seemed to be rising up out of the stones and through her whole body and consciousness, a tidal rise that could very easily turn in her to panic. One was simply unused to sensing this much age, this much time passed, it took over the senses.
copyright: 2015 Diana Durham
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