Flight

“Three...Two...One...JUMP”

No sooner had the whisper escaped her lips, the young girl found herself hurtling down to the earth below. The cloud she once called home getting more distant with each passing second. The air screaming past her ears was an oddly familiar sound, but this was no time for such thoughts. She knew what she had to do.

With practice movements she oriented herself to face the wind, and uttered the one word that came to her mind...“fly”. In an instant, her once perilous dance with gravity became a display worthy of the world's greatest stage. The wind that once beat against her skin now cradled her form as she bounded through the open skies.

Below her, the quilted landscape of farmland stretched into eternity, the contrast of colour being the only mark of where one farm ended, and another began. She closed her eyes, and pictured the farmers, looking up from their work to watch her performance, and wondering if they too, could one day break gravity’s embrace. But for now, it was only her, and she was going to make the most of it.

With nothing but a thought she climbed higher into the sky. Emerging above the clouds to take in the breathtaking views. The sun reflecting off the clouds creating vast orange swirls stretching into the sky. She circled them, taking note of each intricate swirl, writing it down in an imaginary notebook as if she were an archeologist, viewing a temple lost to time.

Her mock study was soon broken, and a flock of birds burst out from the spire, carving their own pattern into the ancient, orange stone. She swiveled, fascinated by the bird’s perfect formation. For a moment, she considered joining them, to experience the world in a flock, but that was not her place. She shook her head, it would only disturb their natural order. Instead she decided to follow, keeping an eye on the way they moved, the way they changed places, sharing the burden of the wind. She smiled as she passed them, flying into the distance towards her next adventure. The land beneath her blurring as she flew faster and faster.

It was at that moment she noticed it, a strange shape in the distance. Dark, cold, and getting closer. She stared, paralyzed by an unknown force, as the shape rushed up to greet her. As it approached she sensed this meeting would be an unwelcome one. The only thing she could do was close her eyes and wait for the inevitable.

With a crash the girl awoke, startled from her unceremonious meeting with the floorboards, the cold surface confirming its presence with unwelcome force. The girl struggled for a minute, untangling herself from the auburn blanket that failed in it’s oath of protection. She took a moment to look herself over. The bruises from today were already beginning to form. She traced her fingers over them, the tender skin betraying the innocent appearance she was supposed to have. A shout broke her thoughts, her parents were fighting again. Their voices penetrated the room from every direction, mixing with the storm outside to form it’s destructive corus. Lightning flashes illuminated the room, making twisted shadows dance across the walls, their entropic choreography a perfect visual for what she imagined on the other side of the door.

The girl pulled herself back onto the bed with a strained effort, making sure to wrap the blanket around herself, re-affirming it’s oath. She did her best to make herself comfortable, and closed her eyes, knowing that someday, she’ll be free. Someday, she’ll get her chance to fly.