One moment. Stop screaming. Okay. He screams again. Stronger. Further! There is no difference… But I am screaming very loudly. The entire Galatzó should be listening to me. I must have gone deaf from the blow. Or change. No, no, please. It’s a nightmare. Like when as a child I dreamed that a bull was chasing me, I became immobilized and tried to scream but nothing came out. The mobile. Where do I have it? If I can’t scream, they won’t find me. How long will it take for them to miss me? What if I can’t scream because I’m already dead? Or unconscious? Like that time I fainted in the hospital. I saw my father gesticulating madly calling the doctor. But I couldn’t hear him nor could I speak to him. I wanted to reassure him. He thought I was lost. I don’t want my parents to have to bury their daughter. How long have I been here? Is it already night? How the hell could you fall? How clumsy. How thirsty What a taste of mud. Where is my cell phone? And this horrible pain in my head. On the scalp? Like when they pull your hair until they tear it out. It must have been when he fell. The cursed mountain, the very… has grabbed me by the hair. It’s my fault. I knew how slippery everything is. Where do I take my damn cell phone? You can die if they pull your hair too hard. Or due to nail infection. Why do they beat me like this? It’s like I lifted them up. I hold on tight too, eh? That’s how your nails hurt from digging if they bury you alive, for sure. I’ve had a nice life. My girls, my beautiful twins. His piano performance… It’s next week. The bad mountain, that’s what people around here say, where the soul of Count Mal wanders. Help me if you exist, don’t let me die in this hole. Legends out! You’re going out. If you think, you are alive. The cell phone, where do I have the cell phone?
Okay, I don’t hear, I don’t speak, but do I breathe? Yes, but I breathe mud and die of thirst and my heart is going to burst. It’s from the blow, how far have I fallen when I slipped? There is no light above. What if this is a lunar well? Come on, there are no moon wells in the Serra de Tramuntana. How do you know? Spain is full, don’t you remember? But not here. Too much optimism can kill you, remember that… Your cell phone, look for it. Shout again. No, save the energy. My shoulder. I can’t move it. A little, just up to his pants pocket. What disgusting mud. If the phone has gotten wet, it won’t work for me. Please appear. Oh no, what is this elongated shape? Damn… the damned sun cream. Look pretty, you haven’t burned yourself, but you have fallen into this black hole. We must respect the mountains more. Don’t block yourself. Think, Elisa. The phone goes in the backpack. But I don’t carry it. I don’t notice her behind either. I will die here.
The legs. They don’t hurt me. I don’t notice them. I’m going to try to get up. Impossible. Maybe I’m dead. The dead don’t think. Think like a scout, like a soldier. I am able to move my hands but not my back or legs. They are still buried in this frozen mud. It’s very dark. I don’t have my cell phone. I don’t know if they’re looking for me. My girls. But I just fell and it was daylight. We arrived at 11, it wouldn’t be much later. What if I fainted after tripping and woke up in the night? So, see, you’re dead. Hours have passed and they haven’t found me. Because they have searched for me. As soon as Miguel and the girls saw that I wasn’t coming back, they would have called me later and notified 112. How long would it have taken? I had only gone back to the car to get the sandwiches. I should have followed the path and not taken a shortcut. I always think I know the mountain better than I know it. It was a short journey. I have to try to move. The backpack can be under my ass. There’s the cell phone and the water bottle. How thirsty
It is not a lunar well. I don’t fit in them. Or it is a wide lunar well. And I’m thin. The gym. That, let it be noticed. Try to get up and try something else. I can, I can. One leg does respond. The other one doesn’t. Yuck, that less pasty liquid must be blood. My own blood. Maybe I’ll bleed to death, they say it’s a sweet death, it makes you sleepy. Maybe it’s not mine. From an animal? Could this be a giant burrow? Some kind of trap? Maybe I just peed. WAIT, WAIT! I see light, I see light, I see light. No. I’m just imagining it. Forget it. It’s already night. The sun of Mallorca in winter is so clean and bright at this time that it would sneak through any gap. That, that, is coming in. The light is near. It is not a lunar well. How thirsty Wait, what’s that up there? Are they branches? Oh yes. I will live. My little ones, I still have so much to tell you. They can’t be left without their mother so soon.
I can with one leg. It comes out of the mud. It’s daytime. Yes ok. I haven’t fainted. I’m sure I just fell. Straighten up a little, see how far you can go. Don’t fall. My ass. Okay, another living part. But still moving is worse. I can’t stand another fall and something might fall on me. Branches? Land? If it comes off I’ll be buried and that’s it. But if I stay curled up in this fetal position, I’ll die too. Miguel will find another. It has good taste. Another girl will act as a mother in my daughters’ adolescence. They have nothing left to get there. Nooo! I have to be there. Not moving is giving up. Again, up! That’s what I would tell the girls. You’ll see when I tell them. Mom tripped and fell into a hole because she wanted to take a shortcut. You should never go off trail when hiking. You don’t have to go alone either. It was a moment. Get back to the car and get in. Ya, mom, they will tell me. You broke your rules. That’s right, my girls, I didn’t pay attention and here I am.
Wait, wait. What’s that? That…? My phone is vibrating. Silence, concentrate. It’s close. I am saved. I don’t see it. Sounds. Above. It’s a sign. For you to get up. Okay, okay, I get it, I get it. If I can! Oh, my head, what rubs against it? what’s here? Come on arm, help me. Thank you, Lord!, the backpack. Saved. My ass, again. It should be purple almost black. It was blocking my light. Here you are, here you are. My little mobile. But it’s only 11:45. The loss is Miguel’s. That? No coverage. It’s not possible, but you just vibrated. Come on, don’t cry now, Elisa, you’re almost there. Think.
We must respect the mountains more. Don’t block yourself. Think, Elisa. The phone goes in the backpack. but I don’t take it
The water is good but the lump in my throat won’t go away. Where did I read that a man put his cell phone on a drone to be rescued? I have to lift it, there is coverage higher up. To warn. They will only be telling mom how long it takes, she will be talking to work. Don’t wait for me. I grab the sandwiches, how could we have forgotten?, the happy rush and I catch up with you. Keep going up. Yes, that. Higher up. How am I going to get up again? Whatever hurts you, Elisa, you have to do it. It’s what you’ve been taught. What you’ve always done: be strong. You won’t stand up. Record an audio. My voice doesn’t come out. Writes. A wasap, an sms and raise the mobile phone to be sent.
«I fell into a hole when I slipped. I made a shortcut in one of the laps. I think broken leg. Look for me now. Call 112. I don’t know how much I can last. Little coverage. Who else? Can you send messages to 112? You should know. It doesn’t happen to me again. If I get out of here, of course. «URGENT: I am in the Galatzó, in a hole, near the usual parking lot, I have separated from Miguel and the girls.» To Carmen who is online 24 hours; to Miguel, who is also a mountaineer, and to Suki and Petra. Someone will see it. Flashlight. No, nothing about wasting battery. I see more or less. First the messages. Sound mode. Location activated. Prioritize. Above. Let’s go leg. Don’t fail me. Just one more time. Good. Let’s go mobile. Scream for me.
No, no, no. That’s impossible. I can’t stand up. I haven’t even had time to see if there is any line of coverage. You haven’t sent anything. I need more time on my feet. Impossible. Okay, cell phone, you go in your backpack. And you stay there, on the branch or stone where I found you. To one, to two and to three. Last effort. Good! Hanging. A little while and I’ll come back for you.
It will ring soon. What a dream. Don’t fall asleep, don’t fall asleep…
How long has it been? The mobile. I haven’t heard it. It hasn’t worked. I can’t get up. I will die here. How cold. I should have taken the raincoat. I have to record a message for the girls. Better an email and tell them that…
-Elisa, is he there? We are the Mountain Rescue Group. We have located his cell phone. Let’s get her out right away.
#hole
