Never Higher

Flash Fiction

Talia as a child spun and pondered and ached.

Wanting a father was Talia’s greatest dream.

Her mom softly counseled that a new father wasn’t likely, though Talia was still young enough to believe unicorns and mermaids were possible too.

Second, she wished for a trampoline. That was even less likely, her mother knew, but she was more reluctant to discuss it, embarrassed by her own financial shortcomings.

Talia grew up, her childhood dreams left vacant.

But now, Talia’s children had a father they loved. Talia’s children had a trampoline, though they were not enthralled by it, given more to books and musical instruments.

Talia’s husband took the children camping, and Talia stayed home. She wanted her children to experience the bond she once craved.

Talia stared at the unloved trampoline, then at the moon, glowing through the large windows of the beautiful home she had provided for her children.

She kicked off her shoes, strolled outside, climbed onto the apparatus with a smile.

She bounced aimlessly, just bouncing, smiling, content. Everything she had longed for, her children were given without asking.

Everything she once pined for was her children’s reality.

She bounced.

She smiled.

She believed a backflip was in order.

Higher she bounced,

Calling up a small river of courage, she bounced upward and tossed her weight backward on a soulful moonlit night in a quiet suburb…

There are those who are happy to tell you that tomorrow isn’t promised.

There are those who cautiously remind you life can be cruel and inexplicable.

No one was in Talia’s backyard when her knees flew joyfully and free above her head; no one to comment, no one to view. 

There were no mermaids, nor unicorns. 

There was a simple anomaly within Talia’s head, an unseen villain with a complex name, derived from the Greek.

Somewhere in the middle of that backflip, Talia’s mind ceased to exist, her body ceased to function.

But she was airborne when it happened, at the apex of joy and the pinnacle of fulfillment.

***

Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash