I remember lying under a canopy of trees with you, side by side with our fingers touching slightly. The sun shone through the leaves and cast a mosaic of golden shadows across our faces. You reached your hand upwards and said, “I wonder what it would be like to live in the sky.”
I smiled and answered, “I don’t know. Maybe we should find out.”
And we did. We got up off our picnic blanket and walked out of the trees, until we were standing on the edge of a short cliff. A small breeze rushed past us, smelling of adventure and promise. Our clothes fluttered forward as if trying to take flight. You looked at me, and I back at you, and we both knew that we wanted to fly.
We stepped forward into nothing. And instead of falling down into a never-ending oblivion, we began to raise upwards. I grabbed hold of your hand in shock, watching as the ground below us became further and further away. The world span dizzyingly below me, and my body was shaking like I’d just been dropped into sub-zero temperatures. My breath came in short, ragged breaths- I’d never been great with heights.
You squeezed my hand slightly, reminding me you were here. The movement was short but caring, and i felt slightly better, holding on to your grip as tightly as I could. I closed my eyes and breathed in, then opened and looked at you.
You weren’t staring at the ground like me, your eyes widening in horror as you thought of how we could fall at any minute. You had your head craned towards the sky, looking upwards into the clouds. Golden rays of sunlight splashed across your face and lit up your smile, and your eyes glinted like a child as you looked around you in wonderment. For a moment I was captured in the beauty of your face, the wonder in your smile, the complete innocent curiosity in your eyes as they scanned around us. For a moment I was lost in the moment, in your eyes.
But then I remembered we were so high across the ground, and we could fall any second. With a short yelp I jumped forward and grabbed hold of your shirt to save me from falling. You laughed, tearing your eyes away from the sky, and tapped my nose. “Don’t like heights?” you asked with a playful smile on your lips, and I nodded worriedly, too afraid to speak.
You chuckled slightly and took my hands in yours, staring right into my eyes. Again, I lost myself for a moment. You seemed to have a talent for taking my breath away.
“Don’t focus on the fall, focus on getting higher. Look around you, this sky is too beautiful to be afraid of.”
I tore my gaze away from your eyes and gave a small look around me, careful not to look anywhere near my feet. I did have to admit, it was beautiful up here. The clouds were perfectly white and shaped the way a child would draw them. The sky behind was such an intense blue it almost hurt to look for too long. I could feel the sun beating down on the both of us, like a comforting hand on your shoulder. Feeling your hand in mine made it all seem safe.
“Do you like it?” you asked again, and I could feel the smile in your voice. You were as caught up in it as I was.
I nodded again, unable to keep a smile from stretching across my face. I felt giddy up here, caught up in this place only we knew about. “It’s beautiful.”
I felt your hand move to snake around my shoulder, pulling me closer to you. Your shirt smelled of pine needles, picnic blankets and summer. i could feel your heartbeat against my cheek. I closed my eyes and tried to take it all in; the smell, the feel, the noises. This was a memory I wouldn’t want to forget.
With your arms around me, I felt more confident to look down. I slowly turned my head downwards, and was surprised that the sight i saw moved me and didn’t scare me. Below me, the earth was a palette of greens and blues, a mismatch of colours like a paint-stained cloth. From this high, it looked beautiful too.
Suddenly, I wasn’t so afraid of the fall any more. I’d be falling into a sea of colour, of sunshine and laughter and soft clouds. I felt your hands on my hair, your fingers entertaining with strands gently. Your lips brushed against my forehead. The sun shone on the both of us. And I wished I could stay lie this forever; suspended above a beautiful world, in the sunshine and the clouds. Just me, you and the sunshine, forever.
