Save My Soul

The Heady Belief [16]

16.

I lie in bed, curled beneath the blankets, staring at the moon that hangs in the cold pre-dawn sky. The tree outside my window has grown back its leaves and the moon rests on the uppermost branch like a pearly white sphere perched on a throne of foliage.

With eyes half-closed, I drowsily imagine climbing out of the window, wriggling up to that high branch, and flinging myself towards the great white thing, hoping that its curved form would twist about to catch me.

As if in answer to my silent question, the tree rustles and my eyes fly open.

There's nothing to be seen at first. Then the tree shivers tellingly and I lurch upright in alarm.

There's someone in the tree.

I throw back my blankets and stand upright, getting the sensation, suddenly, that I'm about to be shot at. I wrap my arms around my waist and inch forward slowly, my heart pounding in my ears. One of the branches quivers; another dips; the leaves rustle on. I finally gear up the courage to peer through the window, half-afraid in that moment that I'm going to come face to face with some kind of monster.

Instead I see black hair and a glimpse of familiar pale skin shivering in the arms of the moon-washed tree.

I pause.

Pulling loose the hatch, I yank up the window; his face jerks up.

"Jamie?" I say, leaning out. He is crouched a few branches out of reach, clinging to the trunk beside him. His brow is furrowed in concentration. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" he grunts and reaches up for the next branch.

"Well, what are you doing there?"

"Coming-" he grunts again as he lets his weight fall from his first perch. "I was coming to see you."

"Why?"

"Liza – give me a break, will you?" he says in exasperation and I press my lips together, letting him wriggle his way up the rest of the tree uninhibited by questions.

When he reaches the branch closest to me, he pauses.

"This seemed like a better idea from the ground," he says.

I look at the two feet separating us – filled up with empty space, bottomed by a ground that seems suddenly very far away – and say, "You could have come through the front door."

"I didn't want to wake your dad."

"He isn't here," I say distantly. Something in my voice makes him look up.

"Would you rather I go back down?" he says, making as if to turn away and I lunge at him, my fingers grasping at empty air.

"No," I say and even I can hear the note of desperation in my voice. He turns back, a little smile twitching on his lips.

"Move over. I'm gonna jump."

"From there?" I say, my voice too high, and he nods, making a shoo-ing gesture at me. "But... it's really high..."

"Come on, before I lose my nerve," he says. I back up slowly and he inches out along the branch closer to me. "Can you imagine if I fell from here?" he asks conversationally, craning his head to look down at the ground and my breath catches.

"Jamie!"

He laughs quietly. "Scaredy-cat."

Then, suddenly, before I can brace myself, he lunges forward and comes catapulting through the window.