high onto a small ledge, then reached far to the right and braced herself by pushing her hand against a crevice. She moved up, slow and steady, not looking back, not looking down, focused in the moment. The rock was rough under her chalked fingertips. She could feel blisters forming.
She was near the top when she placed her foot on an outcropping and felt a slight give. She had already committed to the move. A hot wave coursed through her when the rock broke away. She heard the hollow sound the broken piece made as it bounced down the rock face to the beach below.
Her leg dangled into empty space. Her arms held, though. She was able to look down to search for another foothold. She saw that the brown sandy ground had lost its texture at this distance. Ash, strong and steady when he was next to her, now looked small and unreachable.
Her pulse thrummed through her. A fall would kill her. She tried to remember the rope, thick and secure; her harness, adjusted to fit her exactly; Ash holding the other end of the line. Reason could not reach her. Her arms felt weak. Her other leg, the only thing holding her lower body up, began to shake.
From the ground she heard Ash’s voice. “You can do this,” he called. “Trust your instincts.”
Her eyes searched the rock in front of her: dark, grey, and menacing. Her foot scrambled up and down until it found purchase on a hold that felt tiny and tentative.
She held her body flat against the rock and let her muscles rest. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and leaned back slightly. The moves she had originally intended were just above her. She pulled her left foot up, relying on the unknown footing, and reached with her right hand. In one smooth motion she pulled herself back onto her chosen route.
At the top she could not see her next moves. They were beyond the edge of the domed rock. She felt around and found a well where her two fingertips fit. She hauled herself up in one last push of effort.
Exhausted, she lay flat on top of the cool rock. Her limbs were shaky and tired. Her heart pounded and her shirt was wet with sweat. She rolled onto her back and laughed at the grey sky. Slowly she stood. Her legs wobbled. She looked out to the beach, with its high bluff and deep green forest on one side, and the steel blue ocean on the other.
She closed her eyes and breathed in, filling herself with clean sea air. Her lungs were not big enough for the breath she wanted to take. She wanted to breathe in the world. She would consume it. Make it part of her. Devour it whole.
…
They walked up the path to Ruby’s front door to wait for dinner to be delivered from the Thai restaurant around the corner. The sun was low behind the craftsman houses of her neighborhood and the lone fir tree in her front yard cast a long shadow across the mossy grass. She felt pleasantly wrung out from rock climbing and in the comfortable silence she found the opening she was waiting for.
“Ash …” she hesitated. “Did you know I was going to stop at that coffeehouse on Fremont yesterday?” It sounded insane, but it was as if he had been expecting her.
He laughed, but it was shallow, not his usual deep gut laugh. “How would I know that?”
“I don’t know.” She ran her hand through her hair and tucked it behind her ear. “It was an odd coincidence.”
“I was there when you came in,” he said simply. His face was turned away from hers, looking at the college rental next to her house.
“Oh,” she said, still thinking that it was too coincidental. He hadn’t even bought anything, she realized. He had just been sitting there. But what was she suggesting? That he had somehow appeared there right before she went in?
Her key shook in her hand as she slid it into the lock of her wooden front door. Once inside she realized how empty and quiet she was used to the house being. Ash filled the room the same way he filled the cab of the little truck, with his height, and his voice, and his
She was near the top when she placed her foot on an outcropping and felt a slight give. She had already committed to the move. A hot wave coursed through her when the rock broke away. She heard the hollow sound the broken piece made as it bounced down the rock face to the beach below.
Her leg dangled into empty space. Her arms held, though. She was able to look down to search for another foothold. She saw that the brown sandy ground had lost its texture at this distance. Ash, strong and steady when he was next to her, now looked small and unreachable.
Her pulse thrummed through her. A fall would kill her. She tried to remember the rope, thick and secure; her harness, adjusted to fit her exactly; Ash holding the other end of the line. Reason could not reach her. Her arms felt weak. Her other leg, the only thing holding her lower body up, began to shake.
From the ground she heard Ash’s voice. “You can do this,” he called. “Trust your instincts.”
Her eyes searched the rock in front of her: dark, grey, and menacing. Her foot scrambled up and down until it found purchase on a hold that felt tiny and tentative.
She held her body flat against the rock and let her muscles rest. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and leaned back slightly. The moves she had originally intended were just above her. She pulled her left foot up, relying on the unknown footing, and reached with her right hand. In one smooth motion she pulled herself back onto her chosen route.
At the top she could not see her next moves. They were beyond the edge of the domed rock. She felt around and found a well where her two fingertips fit. She hauled herself up in one last push of effort.
Exhausted, she lay flat on top of the cool rock. Her limbs were shaky and tired. Her heart pounded and her shirt was wet with sweat. She rolled onto her back and laughed at the grey sky. Slowly she stood. Her legs wobbled. She looked out to the beach, with its high bluff and deep green forest on one side, and the steel blue ocean on the other.
She closed her eyes and breathed in, filling herself with clean sea air. Her lungs were not big enough for the breath she wanted to take. She wanted to breathe in the world. She would consume it. Make it part of her. Devour it whole.
…
They walked up the path to Ruby’s front door to wait for dinner to be delivered from the Thai restaurant around the corner. The sun was low behind the craftsman houses of her neighborhood and the lone fir tree in her front yard cast a long shadow across the mossy grass. She felt pleasantly wrung out from rock climbing and in the comfortable silence she found the opening she was waiting for.
“Ash …” she hesitated. “Did you know I was going to stop at that coffeehouse on Fremont yesterday?” It sounded insane, but it was as if he had been expecting her.
He laughed, but it was shallow, not his usual deep gut laugh. “How would I know that?”
“I don’t know.” She ran her hand through her hair and tucked it behind her ear. “It was an odd coincidence.”
“I was there when you came in,” he said simply. His face was turned away from hers, looking at the college rental next to her house.
“Oh,” she said, still thinking that it was too coincidental. He hadn’t even bought anything, she realized. He had just been sitting there. But what was she suggesting? That he had somehow appeared there right before she went in?
Her key shook in her hand as she slid it into the lock of her wooden front door. Once inside she realized how empty and quiet she was used to the house being. Ash filled the room the same way he filled the cab of the little truck, with his height, and his voice, and his
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