asterism
- a group of stars.
- a constellation.
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“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” Kelly said as she clung to a rock wall. The harness keeping her attached to the line was not comfortable, her arms ached, and it was way too dark, even with her headlamp.
“Don’t worry, hon, I promise it’ll be worth it one we’re there.” Mark replied.
She noticed his voice getting slightly farther away, even as he spoke, showing that he was still descending. She grumbled. Some boyfriend he was. He could not even bother to remain in one place while talking to her. Okay, so that would mean remaining suspended from a rope in a deep cave, but still. It was the principle of the thing.
She kicked away from the wall just enough that she could start going down at what she hoped was a controlled rate. She was glad she had worn gloves, otherwise she would be having some severe rope burn by now. Probably have worn the skin completely off.
“How much further?” She asked.
“Not long. About a hundred feet or so.”
“That’s not long?”
“Compared to how deep these caves could be? Yes. Especially since we’ve already done down about two hundred.”
Kelly looked up, suddenly aware of how far away the surface was. She then looked down and saw him slide further down the rope. She bit her lip, considering climbing back up. But she was closer to the bottom at this point. Besides, she needed his help to get her back up. Maybe should would take up his offer to go to the gym when they got home.
She took a deep breath and kept going. Sooner that she would have thought, her feet touched stone. It was slick with moisture, very uneven, and did not give her nearly the same level of comfort the ground at the surface did.
“See, that wasn’t so bad.” Mark said as he unhooked her harness. She just glared at him. “Come on, our destination isn’t too far.”
“It had better not be through any narrow tunnels. Or filled with bats. Or anything slimy.”
“It’s not. It’s a clear path right there. A bit of a decent, but no different than going down a ramp.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder and led her through the cave. A few minutes later, it opened up into a vast, open cavern. Stalactites and stalagmites were plentiful, and the sound of dripping water echoed off the stone walls. As Mark looked around, the beam of his headlamp glinted off small deposits of reflective minerals.
“Okay, we’re here.” He said. “Now, turn your light off.”
“What?” Kelly asked sharply. “There is no way I’m going anywhere in the dark.”
“Trust me, turn it off. It’ll be fine. We don’t have to go anywhere.”
He clicked his own light off. She sighed and grumbled as she plunged the cave into darkness. She waited several seconds for something to happen, and was about to turn her light back on when the room changed. Somehow, the minerals in the walls began to glow. Each one was not very bright, but there were hundreds of them. Kelly gasped at the sight.
“Oh my god.” She said. “They’re like stars.”
“See? I told you it would be worth it.”
She looked in awe at the glowing pinpricks of light. It really was like the night sky down there. She even swore she saw constellations if she tried hard enough.
“It’s beautiful.” She said wistfully. “I never thought it be like this.”
“Yeah.” He agreed. “First time I saw this place, I knew you’d like it.”
She ran her hands over the nearest wall, feeling the bumps and grooves. She traced one of the glowing minerals. She could almost imagine she was touching a cold star.
“Oh god, I had to take pictures.” She said suddenly. She fumbled around in the dark until she found her camera. The light made the star-like stones wink out, but they came back soon enough once she dimmed it.
“See? I told you it’d be worth it.” He said.
“Okay, yeah, you did. And it is.” She admitted.
As she took her photos, she lost herself in the light. She even forgot about the climb back up.
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I wonder if this kind of thing actually exists. It's be pretty neat if it did.
