Catch Me, I’m Falling

…and release! Tumbling through the air, weightless, she was as close to true flight as anyone could ever hope to achieve. No harness to slow her arc, she reveled in the moment. The air caught the fabric at her shoulders, lightly, and wings made of gossamer webs flared behind her.

Tonight the creak of the rigging would be washed away by the roar of the crowd but that made no difference to her. She never heard anything during these precious seconds of freedom, of untainted joy. The jealousies and petty quarrels, the choices and expectations and boring routines were left behind at the platform.

Then she straightened, reaching for the sure safety of his hands as gravity drew her back into its stern embrace. One heartbeat. Two. By three he'd be there.

Four. Panic turned her words to a scream, leaving her last, desperate plea unvoiced…