Head In The Clouds - Kim Hurt

Photograph On Paper
16x24
 
Flying
by Marie Q Rogers
​
She sat on the ground. The earth was cool. Grass tickled her bare legs. She closed her eyes and breathed in air scented by surrounding vegetation. The sun warmed her back.
Looking within, she centered herself amid the gyrations of thoughts and strove to bring herself into balance. Monkey brain flitted hither and thither, caught by worries, flashes of inspiration, solutions to problems. Set them aside.
A shudder vibrated through her, every nerve cell and fiber in her body, resetting her systems. Melting into the earth, she found peace. Her pores absorbed minerals. Her blood became living, flowing rock. Eons passed.
A flash of light! She burst forth with ecstasy, lungs taking in a substance lighter than air which filled the hollow of her bones, buoying her. No longer bound by earthly restraints, she rose into the air. Released from doubt and pain, she hovered above the earth. The blue dome of heaven stretched to infinity, welcoming her with open arms. She was flying!
She dared not look down. The earth below was but memory, a collection of stories, their pull like gravity. Air filtered through her pores. Wind scattered her molecules to the corners of the sky. A realm previously unknown to her opened. She relaxed into the possibility.
“Don’t look up.” No longer alone—the voice interrupted her reverie. “Just keep flying.” To where? A wisp of cloud brushed across her eyes. A hand reached down and clasped hers. She felt no pull but was immediately surrounded by translucent beings.
“What are you? Cloud people?”
A musical twittering like the bubbling of a brook.
“Who are you? Where did you come from?”
“You know us. We are always with you.”
“In the clouds?”
A chorus of twitters. “All around you. All the time. You need only pay attention. We are your angels and ancestors, your dragons and unicorns. Always ready to give you guidance.”
She sat on a cloud and discoursed with them. Time meant nothing. 
But space? She looked up. The noonday sky was filled with stars. Nothing weighed her down. She rose toward them. But, alone again. The beings were gone. Disappointed, abandoned, she began to sink. “Why have you deserted me?”
The only reply, a faint, “Don’t look down.”
But look down she did. Below her, the earth stretched beyond the limits of vision, green and brown and blue. Above, clouds occluded the stars. She was still flying. How long can I remain in this state?
At that moment, the tremendous height astonished her conscious mind. How do I get down? For the first time, she felt fear.
Something within her woke. “I am dreaming. I can’t die in a dream.” Released, she began to fall. Too fast! The earth’s arms opened. Breathing in lighter-than-air, she settled, softly, onto the ground, wrapped in a cocoon of mist.
“Don’t worry,” the voices whispered. “We are always here for you.”