29. Like a Bird
29
Like a Bird
I can’t believe I’m doing this. As the instructor clipped the last carabiner to Josie’s harness, she took a deep breath, trying to calm her thundering heart. From where she stood, the domes of the Eden Project looked so small, so far away, so far below her, while in front of her was only an arcing slope of wire that stretched out over the valley, so long that its distant end looked no thicker than a spider’s web.
Josie gulped again. A warm August sun beat down on her, making her brow bead with sweat.
I can’t believe I’m doing this.
She looked over her shoulder. Tiffany and Robinson stood there, watching her. Robinson had a wide grin on his face, while Tiffany looked distraught.
‘Mum, you don’t have to, you know.’
‘I know,’ Josie gasped, her throat dry. ‘But I promised Hilda.’
‘She really wouldn’t mind if you pulled out,’ Tiffany said.
Robinson chuckled. ‘Oh, she would.’
‘If this is goodbye, then you can have all my stuff,’ Josie said to Tiffany. ‘And Robinson … I’ll miss you.’
He grinned. ‘See you on the other side.’
‘Ms. Roberts, are you ready?’ asked the instructor with a grin. ‘It’s like flying. You’ll feel like a bird.’
‘I hate flying.’ She took a deep breath. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Go, Mum!’ Tiffany shouted, while Robinson, due to go next, just laughed and clapped his hands.
The instructors pushed her off. The wooden platform dropped away beneath her feet, and suddenly Josie treasured the feel of something solid beneath her like nothing she ever had before. Then, she was flying, racing along the wire at a terrifying speed, the ground far below rushing by beneath her, the wind buffeting her hair, chilling her neck. Her legs and arms flailed and she let out a howl that was both terror and excitement. It really was like flying; she had become a soaring bird.
And then the end was approaching, and Josie realised she didn’t want it to end, that she could indeed fly forever. As the wire dipped and the ground came up to meet her, she looked among the assembled people for the face she wished she would see more than any other, and she knew it was time for her flight to ground. As the instructors unclipped the harness and she stumbled jelly-legged away, people nearby clapped and cheered.
‘Hilda,’ she sobbed, the tears coming now, sobs shaking her chest. ‘Hilda … where are you?’
A cackle of laughter came from behind her. ‘Oh, Josie, my wonder, I’m right here.’
Josie spun around, nearly losing her balance as a wave of dizziness overcame her. She reached for a nearby fence post to steady herself, eyes scanning the faces nearby.
‘Right here, dear.’
Josie turned. Hilda stood behind her, face pale as she lifted her face to smile. Josie could never have said Hilda looked well, but since her positive result at the beginning of the month there had been a definite change. The hair might have gone, hidden beneath one of Tiffany’s hats, but the smile had returned.
‘How was it?’ Hilda asked, as Josie pulled her into a hug.
‘Absolutely terrifying, yet absolutely wonderful at the same time.’
‘Next time I’ll be coming with you,’ Hilda said with a defiant smile. ‘My treatment ends next month. It might have to be spring before I’m strong enough, but there’s a marathon I’ve got my eye on next March. Are you going to join me?’
Josie laughed. ‘I’ll think about it.’
‘Don’t think, just do.’
‘I’ll think hard,’ Josie said, laughing, still buzzing from the simple thrill of being alive. ‘Right. It’s lunch time soon. We’ll just wait for Robinson and Tiffany, then we’ll find somewhere to eat. What are you planning to have?’
Hilda grinned. ‘Everything,’ she said.
‘Sounds good. I’ll have one of those, too.’
END