Hidden Window

The mountain kept a trove inside

That was known only to the three

Closest friends know that their greed

Had burdened them with things to hide

The entrance was a hidden window

Punctured through a narrow vein

To crawl inside as light would wane

And come to pitch in caves below

In secrecy, they would converge

To split the rocks and mill to dust

Revealing spoils within the crust

From when those peaks had first emerged

Blurred intent through eyes that stung

Their fingers cut upon the slate

While stale air would suffocate

And sap the vigour from their lungs

The taper's flame was just enough

To see each pick from fall to rise

So desperate that they find their prize

Before the wick would finally snuff

But when one paused to heave a breath

Their friend's hand would conceal, it seemed

Which caused a thought, had something gleamed?

And trust began to sense its death

What if he knows that I saw?

And what if he decides to strike?

And what if it was nothing more

Than light's deceit and failing sight?

From just a flicker in the mind

The thought would twist, consume, then grow

And with each wave, doubt would erode

Till all he knew confirmed his bind

Those ancient paths bore only fear

That, left unchecked, had overflowed

To shatter balance he had known

As shrinking walls began to near

In pebble's bounce, the avalanche

In falling, drop the bursting dam

He gripped the pick, and looming, then

Swung an arc that killed his friend

He barely saw their third had fled

As febrile haze evaporated

And with it, certainty faded

Abandoned now for churning dread

Endless whispers from the void

Each offering narration

He searched the body frantically

And begged for vindication