That Strange Falling Sensation

The cold winds tore through her soft, golden hair as she drifted beneath the night sky; gliding elegantly, like a bird, while she admired the billions of stars on the dark purple canvas. Hundreds of feet below, the brilliance of space was reflected in the ocean. Another dark mass equal in mystery and wonder, she thought. The power was exhilarating, coursing through her veins like electricity. She had never felt so alive before, yet the countdown that was her heartbeat had already ended.

The smell of salt filled her nostrils and the mighty sound of the ocean undulating merged with the frustrated whistle of wind in her ears, while the frost from being so high scraped her skin violently like fine, razor-sharp fangs. She realised, though, that her senses were no more amplified than they had been during her former life; she was just more in touch with them, more appreciative. The flying part on the other hand was, of course, all very new.  

As she broke through a cluster of thick grey clouds, she saw the ocean’s end: the white fringe of the waves brushing a rocky coastline as if she was being welcomed to land. There were more lights up ahead, too, but these lights were no mystery to her like the ones above. Tall structures of different shapes and sizes, each dotted with lights, came into view. Suddenly, as she was above land, she descended quickly, like a bird that had spotted a fish in the water. This was her first time, and while she was able to fly and do a number of other things she had never been able to do before, she realised that her true power was the absence of fear. Fear was the one thing that had always held her back. Now, she was fear.

Somehow, though, she didn’t feel quite in control: it was all automatic, reactive. This, she realised, was instinct. And having no more moral consciousness or the weight of such pointless thoughts meant absolute freedom. Who knew animals have been superior to humans all this time? she thought, as she realised that intelligence and emotion were the most limiting qualities a creature could possess.

Suddenly, she woke with a jolt, as if she were about to fall. It was a dream, she thought, but one that was both incredibly lucid and intense. But her skin was still as cold as death, and the sweet blood that ran from her blue lips and up her moon-white face was warm, as it dripped into the crimson-red pool below, above which she hung by her feet. She turned her head around and saw her new brothers and sisters hanging with her in the darkness, and from their blood-stained faces, it was clear they’d been dreaming too.