could she stand another day of freedom? she awoke to the predawn blue. insistent augury of calamity. now the calmness broke, she got out of the white bed and floated out on the wooded floor. setting yellow moons against the midnight, she took a cup of warm fluid and settled in to wait. what could reach this height, the luxury of a liner embedded into a romantic european city? everything is so well-understood and charted here. they have words for everything - weltschmerz and fernweh. well, what of lung-freezing freedom, the shock of anti-gravity. when not even freefall is inevitable, one has to be inventive to choose.
she pulls on a navy tracksuit. ponytailed, she slaps the keys into her thigh-pocket and strides out. soon she’s sweating and running, the city pulls away from her feet. there’s no one on the street, it’s armageddon. she’s running away from her, her life, the place, the position. everything loses substance around her, her feet seem to pound her up and away.
soon she’s at the river and she slows down, this is another place. old ladies walk their dogs and meet her eyes in silent greeting. admonishing her to nod. this is how it is here, they seem to say. you better have a reason for being here, get yourself a dog. she looks forward, couples roll by. blading their mutual satisfaction into the path. no, no that’s for them - she shakes her head and begins to trot. looking for a place to be alone again.
she peels her clothes and walks into the water, the shock pleasuring her. her tension abates, she loosens up and plunges in fully. her lips slacken and she draws a deep breath of gratitude for this. redeemed.
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