The Slope and the Ladder
11 · 11 scenes
- I · XI
The Mountains Like a Map
From above, the mountains spread out flat and quiet, a map of ridges seen from the air.
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II · XICross Country Skiing
Skis hiss across the snow, the open track running on between the white slopes.
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III · XICabins on the Slope
A ski track threads between cabins, a slope passing through the small wooden houses.
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IV · XICrowded in the Cabin
Everyone squeezed close inside one cabin, warm and packed together, talking of scores.
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V · XISkiing Down, Then Back
Skiing fast down the slope, then turning around to climb back the way the car waits.
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VI · XIThe Cousin Who Did Well
At the cabins again, more tests, and the cousin moving through them, doing well.
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VII · XIThe Spiral Stairs
A row of family halts on the spiral stairs, stopped before a door that will not open.
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VIII · XIInside the Apartment
Through the door at last, and the air turns sharp with faces gone hard.
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IX · XIThe Wide Cave
A tunnel grown vast, a storage space too wide and too high, an open field at its mouth.
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X · XISmall Creeping Animals
Small ratlike shapes creep across the cave floor, scattering close.
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XI · XIThe Ladder Up
Deeper in, a ladder rises to a level of metal sheet, the top never reached.