worth it

The soles of her feet were raw and muddy. For what felt like hours now, she had been stumbling through the twilight haze, treading upon sharp gravel that bit at her toes. Her legs were half-eaten by mosquitoes. The shadowy blanket in front of her nose was suddenly pierced by a needle of light, which she knew marked the bottom of the spiral staircase. At once, she clambered up - time was running out. With each step came a brush of a shoulder or an elbow against the wild winding stalks that chased the upwards path. Leaves prickled and thorns drew blood as she broke into a sprint. Her sight was growing clearer, which meant that time was nearly up. She threw herself forwards, a smug spike drawing a final gash into her cheek, just below the eye. The roof, on which she had landed, was brutally rough; now her chin was cut too. Brushing herself off with a blink, she took a seat. She stared off into the end of the land, radiating delight from head to toe.

Lying back, she sighed through smiling lips for she had made it just in time to watch the sun climb into the sky.