Freefall By Chrissi Sepe
She sits between her husband and her brother-in-law, all of them strapped inside the gigantic red metal ride that’s attached to a sky-high pole. It’s an action shot someone snapped on their way up. Six legs dangling, the men’s feet in socks, hers barefoot. All three faces have the same giddy expression. I am jealous. I wish I were having some barefooted fun at a carnival. I see her the next day in the hallway.
"I saw your pictures on Facebook."
She stops and smiles. "Oh, you mean from the carnival."
"Yes. I saw you, your husband, everyone. Your daughter was on the kiddie rides. Everyone looked like they were having such a good time!"
"Yeah, yeah, it was fun," she answers stone-faced.
"And I saw you barefoot on the Freefall."
"Yeah. They made me take off my flip-flops." She pauses a moment, looking deeply into my eyes. "You know," she says, taking a deep breath, then looking down at her shoes. "All I kept thinking of on the way up was that the ride was going to snap, and we were all going to come crashing down to the ground. I cursed myself for ever getting on that ride. I was so scared my daughter was going to have to stand there and watch all three of us die right in front of her."
"Oh," I say, nodding nervously.
"Look," she says. "I’ve got to run. I’ll be back in an hour."
I watch her sprinting down the hallway, her long hair swinging behind her. She turns the corner, her high heels clicking loudly. So much for barefooted fun.
Welcome Chrissi Seppe! Thank you for participating in Flash Fiction Friday. This piece is a good reminder that things aren't always as they appear ...
Tell us three things about yourself Chrissi.
1. I write because I am often dissatisfied with life so I need to transform it into the way I wish things could be.
2. If I was a character in a book I would be Holden Caulfield - always on the outside, looking in.
3. My superhuman power would be to be invisible so I could listen in on people's conversations and actions to write about them more easily.
To connect with Chrissi and learn more here are some links.
Website: http://chrissibliss.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrissibliss
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