Blown Away

6: Of Falling, Fireflies, and Friends

"Zephyr, wake up!" I screamed, my words nearly silent by the torrents of wind rushing about as we fell. "Zephyr!"

I recalled after touching the stone, her eyes rolled back and all strength left her body. The stone must have some special effect on the winds. But right now that thought had to wait. I clutched onto Zephyr's torso and tried screaming again. My words echoed another desperate plea for her to wake. Otherwise in seconds we would be crushed by the land and sea below. The world swirled by us and fear was replaced by the desire to live. I did the only thing I could think of to wake her. My lips met hers and I pinched her bottom lip between my teeth.

Her eyes opened. Her grip tightened around my body. Then before we touched ground, we turned in unison across the bay skipping over stones and shores. We sailed through a wave crashing on the rocks. Droplets of water splashed our faces. Next we surged into town. Our bodies entered streets and beside businesses carrying in our wake gusts of wind. Newspapers slapped against mens' faces. Women carrying umbrellas to protect them from the harsh heat became slightly airborne. Any sand or water we carried from the shore covered cars, boats, and sidewalks. We were the strongest wind gust this town had ever seen.

My cries were soon replaced with laughter. For a moment I was having the time of my life flying through the streets I knew so well.

"Turn left," I said. "I want to show you something."

Zephyr followed my directions. We exited town and flew over rocky meadows. Trees sprouted every so often. Their leaves captured the dying sunlight and fluttered as we passed. Blades of grass slapped against the ground. Birds trailed behind us using the wind to their advantage. It was a sensation of freedom. A feeling that we were not only experiencing nature, but a part of it as well.

"Up there!" I pointed. "On that hilltop."

We slowed as we approached. A ruin of some building long since abandoned jutted from the hilltop like a thorn on a vine. With a soft landing, Zephyr lowered us until we stood at the entrance of the structure.

"What is it? Some dingy old building?"

"It's an old mill. It was abandoned when the river was dammed upstream. It's my favorite place to watch the sunset. Come on."

I began to climb the structure's broken stone walls. Each stone that poked out was another handhold and foothold for me to rise up. Of course as I reached the second story, Zephyr just floated to the top. I was out of breath.

"You know I could have flown you to the top," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah, but a sailor never became a good sailor on calm seas."

"But why struggle when you don't have to?"

I paused for a moment and fell on my back against the part of the old floor that still remained.

"Because we don't learn anything if we don't struggle. And it makes us better appreciate the good we have in life."

"Seems like a human trait I left behind long ago," said Zephyr as she joined me on the floor. We looked up at the sky together. The last rays of light vanished beyond the horizon. Final stretches of red and orange faded until just a dark blanket of stars replaced the sun.

"I got so used to seeing the sunset from the clouds," said Zephyr as she leaned in close, "that I forgot how pretty the clouds are from the ground. Even at night the way the moon illuminates them from behind reminds me of memories of a different time."

As the world shifted into night, crickets began to chirp, nocturnal animals started to stir awake, and around us glittering fireflies hovered. They filled the empty air with a gentle twinkle as though the stars had fallen from the dark blanket above to dance beside us.