[The #30WriteNow October Writing Challenge] On Self-Esteem

So I stumbled across this "Just Write" challenge via a fiery & passionate friend. I follow her twitter feed and she has a lot to say...Usually I just read & listen, nod slowly while I process, and nod some more. Yep, she's one passionate writer and one that I don't get around to reading as much as I would like to.

So when I stumbled across this #30WriteNow challenge that she put out there, I thought why not? It's hosted by Nicole Blades and Bassey and it sounded like a great way to stretch myself. I haven't really written anything creative or persuasive since oh maybe freshmen year in college? And I'm not telling you how many years ago that is...

When it comes to writing, I write a lot of requirements, specifications, technical mumbo jumbo. The same stuff that I detest reading... I know, the irony...Don't choke on your chuckle...Go ahead, let it out!

So here is my attempt in tapping into that creative side that's dusty and dormant...The prompt today is Courage and I am taking a spin on it...
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"Hello?" 

Those words echoed through the dark, cold cave rather eerily. It was barely audible, almost a whisper, but the sound was unmistakably from a young girl, no more than eight years old, wondering where she was. The cavern was engulfed in darkness, so that she couldn't see her hand in front of her. She felt lost. If she walked in circles, she could not tell. If only she could reach out and touch the side of the cave and just inch along, but the wall never appeared. It always seemed just beyond her fingertips. Just one huge cavern of dark that never ended. 

In anticipation she held her breath; maybe there was someone else here, or another living being. If only there was a sign of a mouse scuttling by, or a bat swooping through...but it was just dark - a vast vacuum of lonely.

Exhausted and scared, she finally sat down. The cold, rocky ground sent a shiver up her spine. If only she had a way to make fire; if only she had a way to warm her ice-cold fingers; if only her friends or her family would come rescue her; if only...oh - if only so many things...

Sunlight came crashing through the blinds, flooding the bedroom with golden rays of warmth marking a new day. The alarm clock went off, while E mechanically hit the snooze button. Laying awake, E counted the seconds that would slowly pass until she hit 300...the mark of when the alarm would sound again. As if on auto-pilot, E put on her suit, straightened her hair, and gave her whole assemble one more check in the mirror. 

After taking the train into the city, she finally got off her stop and walked into a huge, black-marbled building...When the receptionist looked up quizzically at E, all she could muster was a "Hello?"