… I heard a soft crack, to my horror the earth opened up! It wasn’t just an insignificant hole but a deep hungry abyss, black as night and with no hint of depth or bottom. Terrified I scrambled to slow the descent. My arms stretched almost beyond endurance, clambering for purchase on the rim. My feet dangled in the air seeking a bottom that wasn’t there. As I clawed to the surface, using muscles I didn’t know existed, my mind went into overdrive.  Thoughts of headlines from the local paper passed through my mind, “A skeleton found in the spring, suspected to be that of the ole widow woman, was stripped clean by carnivorous animals and vermin.”