Falling Doesn't Hurt

The wind tears all around us, whipping at our clothes and obscuring our vision with our hair. It howls, the only noise now. We have been standing here for minutes, hours, as I wait for her to make her choice. My patience is slowly running out, but I don't let it show. If I do, she will never make the right choice and will forever leave me.

My eyes run the length of her body, from her beautiful head, over her face yet skipping her eyes, down her torso and onto her legs. Passed her legs and over the rocky ground, my gaze finally stops as I peer over the ledge behind me. A good hundred and fifty or hundred sixty feet above the ground, it was a sheer drop the unmoving ground below. It wouldn't hurt if we hit the ground from here because we would die before the pain truly registered.

A noise draws my attention away and back to her. Small hands, half raised as though to hug me, shake in the wonderfully terrible wind. She wants me to step away from the edge and go to her. That isn't how it worked though. She is suppose to come to me.

My head shakes and I whisper, "No, Love. Come to me. Play with game with me and then I shall take you home." I know she hears me even with the whirling torrent in our ears.

Her lips tremble as she takes step after hesitant step towards me. At long last, she stands before me, shivering from fear or the cold or both, it doesn't matter. She is beautiful, pale and small, a fragile look that is about her constantly. I think that is what led to this, that pathetic fragileness.

I smile reassuringly at her, gesturing for her to turn around. She does, as I knew she would. Leaning close, I breathe in her ear, "Love, what I want you to do now is close your eyes. Yes, like that." My lips brush her cheek before continuing. "Good girl. I'm going to move back soon. When I do, I want you to lean backwards. We are going to play a game called Trust. Trust me to catch you, Love."

As I said, I move back to where I had been before, my heels barely over the edge. Now, I only have to wait for her to obey. The question, that comes as a fear filled, raspy voice, floats back to me was expected.

"What if you lose your balance and we fall?"

Logically, anyone would ask that, so I don't get mad at her. Instead, I step forward once again and say, "This is why it's called Trust. How can we get engaged if you won't trust me with this? Relax…Let me hold you while you completely believe in me." She relaxes against me and I know I have her hooked once more.

Back in our previous positions, I see her take a deep breath, steadying and preparing her mind. I watch her body tilt back, ever so slowly. Just as she reaches the point where she won't be able to pull herself up, her shoulder blades connect with my chest. A grin splits my face as we go tumbling back and down. A scream is ripped from her when she realizes what is happening.

We are freefalling without anything to catch us but the unforgiving earth.

She twists and fights in my arms, obviously terrified beyond belief. My smiling lips find her ear, calmly stating, "I'm so glad you trust me, Love. We can get engaged now!" True joy starts to spread through me.

"What?! How can I trust you now?! You broke your promise!" She shrieks other hateful things at me, no longer fighting but clinging to me. She knows that it's hopeless, that we are going to die.

The warmth of joy vanishes quicker than it had come to me. She didn't trust me? Why…?

"Love…I kept my promise…I…I caught you." I try to tell her, but she refuses to listen. I can feel my heart breaking as she calls me a traitor, liar, and other things that stab into me. Tears threaten to spill over, but are held at bay as she turns in my arms to face me. My eyes close automatically and I cover her mouth with mine…


I make my way down the cold road; heading for the one who I knew would forever love me. The frozen grass crunches underfoot, soon replaced by the creaking of old and rotting boards, my eyes seek for the red hair of her. I spy her mother, who in return sees me and lets me in. I nodded my thanks, kick my shoes off, and head for her room.

Not bothering to knock, I swing the door open and jump onto the bed and into her waiting arms. I let the tears flow and sob out what had happened out on the cliff. She whispers sweet nothings into my ears until I calm down. One of her hands stays buried in my hair, the other one intertwined with my own.

"Music, did she mean that much to you?" Her voice is barely over a murmur.

I throw my head back onto her shoulder, laughing as I gaze at her face. "Nay, Hellfire, nay. She was just another pet…You would still trust me if it had been you on the cliff with me instead of her, right?"

Hellfire's loud laughter drifts around, high pitched and girly yet masculine in a weird mix. "Hun, of course, but only because I know we couldn't die." I pout at her, biting the finger she pokes at me.

Soon, we get bored and charge outside to play on the harden dirt. The cold air is almost painful to breathe, but not nearly as cold as my last pet's fingers had been before Hellfire had help pull me back.