The Spiral Staircase by JC Rosen

By Jessica Rosen

Floating stone steps spiraled into the impossibly bright sky from the desert floor. Not sure they were real, I reached out a hand. I touched them. Not a mirage.

She disappeared during the night. A ghostly trail of footsteps in the sand, lost on hardbaked earth and found again beyond. I followed. What else could I do? The sun sizzled, my water ran out, yet the dents in the sand led me on.

The breeze came, at first welcome. It became a wind, obliterating the trail. I wailed and fell to my knees, covering my face, desolation as much as protection. I dropped them eventually. The landscape before me was made of smooth dunes of sand and rock formations reaching skyward. Gritting my teeth, I trudged on.

In the distance, something caught my eye. Something out of place. A darkness in the shimmering heat. I veered toward it. The heat, my mind told me. The heat and exhaustion were creating a vision. Still I stumbled. I felt drawn to it. Hope dared to spark in my core.

As I approached, the something took form. Out of place, these stone steps, yet unmistakably here. I skimmed my fingertips over one. Smooth as marble, their darkness reflected the searing sunlight but held none of its heat. I stepped up, but gentle pressure kept me from going further. I stepped down, frowning from the sand and tipping my head back to peer upward. The stairway disappeared high in the clear, bright sky. I sat beside it. Lost to any explanation, I still felt the spark. I stayed. The sizzle of the sun gradually subsided.

I felt them before I heard them. A slight vibration in the stairs. Footfalls, many of them. Caught in the wonder of twilight, in a desert landscape dappled by moonlight, I rose and looked upward. The steps shivered their reflections of the soft moonlight. A shadow snaked down the spiral. I stepped away, but there was no place to hide. I waited and watched. Fear spoke but found no purchase. The spark of hope for her hushed it.

People. The shadow coming down was made of people. As each descended to the desert floor, a smile was cast my way. I watched as they stepped away from the stairs into nothingness, vanishing silently. Eyes wide, I glanced upward. So many, their garb reflecting different parts of the world. Colorful and flowing fabrics on one, drab and strict clothing on the next. Each peacefully smiling and stepping into a void.

My breath caught as I looked up again. She was there on the steps. The same peaceful expression, the same smile. The spark in my heart flamed. She was safe, she was well. I reached out for her. Her hand slid into mine as she stepped onto the sand. We moved away from the parade.

“You aren’t meant to be here,” she said calmly. “It isn’t time. Come, we will return.” I felt tears. We will go back, all will be well. I felt peace, felt joyful. They trumped my lack of understanding. She was safe and well. Safe and well, it sang in my heart, filling my mind. She led me by the hand into the nothingness.

The campsite lay beyond. She led me to the tent and tugged me down gently, brushing my cheek with her fingertips. “Remember me this way, Mommy. Safe and well. I love you.” Peace and joy stayed with me as she faded into the nothingness.

© 2010 Jessica Rosen