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In Flight

This is for the Vocal "Sky's the Limit" Challenge

By Mike Singleton - MikeydredPublished 12 months ago 3 min read
10

This is for the Vocal "Sky's the Limit" Challenge that you can read about below.

The prompt for the story is:

Write a story that takes place entirely in flight.

In Flight

He should never have done that.

In his training he was told not to do that, he told others that they should never do that. It is tempting to do that but dangerous, everybody is tempted, but you must never ever do it.

He shouldn't have but now he had and he was in flight, flying, like a bird, although in one direction, and that direction was down.

He remembered the joke, it's not the fall that kills you, it's the ground, you need to beware of the ground.

Taking everything in, he was shocked about how much seemed to be crammed into his mind, he thought of his wife and daughters and how he would never see them again. They had pleaded with him not to do this but it was something he had to do. Everyone had said he was mad but he felt driven, and the more he had talked about it the more he felt that he could not back down.

He had trained and was sure he was disciplined enough to do this and had been confident as he took the first steps.

But he succumbed to temptation and he did what he should not have done and now he was like a wounded bird whose wings were useless, the buildings a blur at each side of him as he flew without control.

He knew how this would end, he knew the naysayers had been proved right. Oscar Wilde came to mind, "I can resist anything but temptation" and that had certainly been true in his situation.

He couldn't stop, the wind blew on his face and he became more and more frightened and closed his eyes, he didn't want to see what was coming, but he knew it would be here much sooner than he wanted, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

His face was hurting and he was crying, but the tears were blown from his face as they dropped from his eyes. He couldn't feel regret, he couldn't feel anything, this was all on him. He was still flying, he was still in flight, and he was fully in fear of his destination with finality.

If anyone could see they would expect him to be praying, but he had never been religious and no god and band of angels would come to save him even if he prayed and they existed.

He knew his wife and daughters would be distraught, but thank that non-existent deity they were at home and would only learn of this when he finally hit the ground.

He didn't know whether he was traveling faster but was sure he had read somewhere that you reach a final velocity, but, again it wasn't the speed that killed you, it was when you finally hit the ground.

The regrets were here, he could not say goodbye to his wife and children, to his friends, all of whom had warned him off doing this, and would be left to deal with the aftermath. Tears flowed and disappeared once more.

And what was it that he had been tempted to do, and given in to?

A tightrope walker should never look down

Addendum

A couple of months ago I had a fall and was shocked at how much went through my mind before I hit the ground. This is part of what inspired this story. I hope you thought it was at least OK.

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10

About the Creator

Mike Singleton - Mikeydred

Weaver of Tales, Poems, Music & Love

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Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

Top insights

  1. Compelling and original writing

    Creative use of language & vocab

  2. Easy to read and follow

    Well-structured & engaging content

  3. Excellent storytelling

    Original narrative & well developed characters

  1. Expert insights and opinions

    Arguments were carefully researched and presented

  2. Eye opening

    Niche topic & fresh perspectives

  3. Heartfelt and relatable

    The story invoked strong personal emotions

  4. Masterful proofreading

    Zero grammar & spelling mistakes

  5. On-point and relevant

    Writing reflected the title & theme

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Comments (8)

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  • Dharrsheena Raja Segarran12 months ago

    The whole time I was questioning 'Dude what did you do which they warned you not to do' and the ending surprised me! I remember fall you had and the thoughts that went through your mind and it's amazing how that inspired this story! I loved it!

  • Dana Stewart12 months ago

    I definitely guessed wrong. Good yarn, Mike!

  • You really surprised me there at the end Good Job!

  • Morgana Miller12 months ago

    I love the way you carried the question, “what did the narrator do?!”, throughout the story. This was really impactful and never something I would’ve thought of for the prompt! Really great read.

  • Lori Melton12 months ago

    I love this story so much, Mike! The tension, the raw emotion, the thoughts flowing through his mind- excellent job my friend 😊❤️

  • Mariann Carroll12 months ago

    I remember that story, when you fell down from your walk. free fall is pretty scary and it seem to take forever. Unique take on the challenge . 👍👍

  • Donna Renee12 months ago

    Oh my gosh, the ending!! 😱. This is a great one!

  • -Beware of the Ground😊😉

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