<Open your eyes>

“Uh… Ugh…”

He wakes up with a burning thirst.

He opened his eyes, but it wasn’t much different.

The man looked around desperately, his eyes continually trying to close in pain, unable to figure the source.

Despite his struggle, his vision did not improve.

In the blinding darkness where nothing seemed to exist, the man weakly arose.

“Shhh!”

As soon as he sat up, his weak body crumbled, making him lay back down.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

He was dizzy and felt a tingling sensation from the back of his ear. For a while, he did not do anything but only took a sharp breath.

How long has it been?

Only after his headache had subsided was he able to touch his face.

He felt the heat coming from his forehead and eyes on his hand; meanwhile, his cold hands cooled them down.

The man was embarrassed by the difference in temperatures, but he had to admit it did give him temporary pleasure.

“Um…”

For a while, the man alternately put his hands to his forehead, cooled off, and finally began to look at his condition.

As if he was mugged, every corner of his body was sore and stiff, probably due to lying on the cold ground.

He carefully tried to rise again.

First, he put one arm on the ground, and then slowly raised his torso.

“Okay…”

That was painful as if the abdominal muscle had been torn, but he succeeded.

He looked around again, but he still saw nothing.

Afterward, he looked up, but all he could see was darkness.

“What the hell is this?”

He tried to remember everything,

After finishing a part-time job, he rides his old bike going home, and he stops at an intersection.

He paused in front of the pedestrian crossing, opened his cell phone, and waited for a signal.

“Ugh…”

The man groaned from the sudden pain.

He cried in pain.

He was surrounded by darkness.

“Hoo…Whoo…”

He pondered for a moment, his headaches returned. He bit his lip and looked for his phone.

“Ah…I have it.”

He hurriedly took out his cell phone. He illuminated the darkness with his phone.

“Ugh!”

He was temporarily relieved before realizing where he was.

A ridge.

“Hoo…breathe…”

An endless abyss, with no knowledge of how deep it is.

Despite the weak light coming from the cell phone, the man imagined that a hole in his hand and foot were drilled with blood dripping from it.

He quickly lifted his head, but he had difficulty breathing.

The man once again checked where he was.

“This…”

At least a room width for a single bed or not, instead it was more like a lonely island in the middle of the cliff.

He checked for a signal. Unfortunately, there was none because of his location. He also tried opening his messenger for some reason, but it’s the same. He could ask anyone to help.

“Huh… Hugh … Hey! Is anybody there?!”

After catching his breath, he screamed as hard as he could. However, all he heard was his echo, going back and forth.

The man yelled once again.

“Is anyone here?! Help me!”

Again, there’s no answer.

“What’s going on here?”

Various thoughts began to fill his head. The man shook his head and let them go.

“There’s no time for distraction, right now you’ve got to think of a way out of here,” He said to himself.

He looked through his pocket. Besides a cell phone, the only thing he has is a paper receipt, his wallet, and a keychain of miscellaneous items. In his wallet is a bit of cash, an ID card, and a credit card.

The keyring consisted of a house key, a bicycle key, a locker key, and a multi-tool, and an ax-shaped toy decoration with the phrase ‘I’ve taken you.’

“what else…”

The multi-tool was too small to be called a swiss knife; in total, it had two or three.

He checked each tool.

The first thing was an embarrassingly small knife that wasn’t even sharp enough to pierce jeans,

He slid the knife back, and he pushed the edge to check the following tools: a toothpick and tweezers.

“Hoo….”

The man sighed lightly, folded the tools back into place, and put them in his pocket along with other belongings.

His situation was complicated, but he needed to rest. He needed to conserve energy, besides if he tried to move now, one small misstep could be fatal.

“If this is an accident, a rescue team should be sent soon. I’m better of saving my stamina for now.” He thought.

“Hoo…Sigh…Whoo…”

He took deep breathes, trying to calm his mind.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but the situation was too uncomfortable to rest.

A cold wind sends chills down his spine.

He curled up while holding his hands and biting his lips. He waited for that nightmare night to pass.

—

The man, who wasn’t fully asleep, was suddenly awakened by an alarm’s sound. Squatting like a shrimp on a narrow rock jaw, he opened his phone and checked it. It was six o’clock in the morning. But still, the place was dark with low visibility.

The looked up at the sky, but no light source could be found.

“What’s happening?” The man was becoming more anxious but decided to wait a little longer.

Two hours later, there was no change, and the darkness still surrounded him.

The man became worried.

He thought if anyone was wondering where he was or knew he was trapped between rocks dying…

“I’m dead and will be forgotten here.”

When those thoughts began to dawn on him, the man started to feel restless.

He still wanted to do so many things. He regained some determination.

“I need to escape…”

But how?

He thought for a long time, he took too long, and the morning was slowly ending.

He screamed periodically, trying to somebody know that he was here, but to no avail.

“Twelve o’clock….”

When it was noon, a bit of light started showing through.

However, when enough light came in to see, the man was once again surprised by the cliff’s appearance deep enough not to see the floor spread under his feet.

He wished he knew if the distance upwards was shorter than it was going below.

The man quietly measured the distance from the top. It was an estimate, but it seemed to be about the length of three or four adult men.

“Will I be able to…?”

His legs were shaking from the pain, but fortunately, nothing was torn or broken.

The man’s resolve waivered, should he try to climb up or should he wait another day?

In terms of time, twelve hours have passed since yesterday evening. Even famous people were rescued in less time than this.

The man, who was troubled for a while, finally became determined.

If he takes more time there, the surroundings will soon become dark; then, he will be there for another again and will have to wait for the surroundings to become brighter once more.

The man stood up with weak legs and once again hesitated, maybe he was too hasty?

But the man shook his head, and then, he reached out, looking at the irregularities on the cliff, which was faintly discernible.

Fortunately, the man had a little experience of rock climbing, previously participating in the sport. If he had no experience, he would not have tried climbing his way out. He has to try, no matter how bleak the situation appears.