My struggle begins at the vertical end of the earth. Higher than Everest, much higher, where the air is so thin, I can hear the moon rise. So high, the clouds glow brighter than the sun. And then I slip, down, down to earth.
I look back and its a push, a person among the clouds, its a people, a presence, I dont rightly know. Fairly certain its not God. But theres a force, holding a payload, that pushed me. I squint against the brightness, but no faces appear.
The payload. There is a thin transparent cord of indeterminate plastic, tied to my feet. the cloud flutters and hovers as I descend. The cord is my connection to source, I am its elastic limit
A desperately cheerful voice fades as I fall - You can be anything you want
I try climbing back up, but im too heavy. Apparently I cannot do anything I want
Earth is a long way down. After a while, my mind drifts with my body, and I forget where I came from, where im going, why... I see pieces of paper floating by, no wait, its money. I make a wild swing at them, grab a few.
Soon my hands are filled with notes. there isnt much else to do. Thats when I notice others, they swing by on identical payloads.
Its a wide-eyed little schoolgirl, with pigtails and the sweetest smile
Give me a quarter of those notes, and you will get what you want, right here, down this fall, a few minutes later, you don't even have to move
But im already moving
You dont have to move out of your way, I mean
Oh thats convenient, but how do you know what I want?
You want more notes, you want to slow down this fall
I think about it. You are right, and right, I give over the money.
She follows me down the fall for a minute, singing a happy song. The fall slows down
She snags a note or two from the wind. I politely wait for her to offer them to me, but her song is not yet complete. I politely wait for her to finish before asking ...
Oh heres Didi, he'll take care of the notes for you now
Didi is taller and his smile is less sweet, but hey, he's still company. I notice more notes are missing from my hand. I must have dropped them when I wasn't looking. I try to catch some drifting notes but if I open my hands, the notes I have slip out
I think hard and try to remember how I did it the first time. Didi is silent beside me, he catches all the money that slips from my hands, and all the money that flutters by, its a kind of magic to watch him work, his hands are already full, but he always has room for more. He doesn't smile or sing though,
The fall starts getting faster and the landscape blurrier, as I wait for Didi to hand over the notes
Its been another spell of forgetful time, my hands are empty, I look from side to side, Didi's gone. I dont remember where he went, or when.
I start grabbing at the notes again, and my hands are a bit quicker, a bit more desperate, I cannot explain why
Soon it will be earth time, I dont see how I can survive this fall. My hands are full of notes again, and they are clenched into fists
More people on threads start appearing again, sure enough
This time its a puppy, sad eyes and furry tail wagging hard, that catches my eye
I use the last of my strength to start swinging around on the rope, listening for water
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