A City of Lights

Wrote this for a contest, kind of dark flash fiction

She sat calmly on the edge, the world around her seeming to sit at a standstill. The cars moved below, but from up here they looked as if they only went at a snail’s pace. Her reflection could be seen in the glass behind her and the pools of water gathered on the cement surface. The city glittered beneath her, a perfect fairy land of lights.

          

She was up here for a reason, this beautiful city would be the last thing she ever saw. The wall of dark clouds above echoed the turmoil boiling within her. There was a storm brewing in her heart, one that was a long time coming.

          

She rose to her feet slowly, no one below even bothering to notice. She stepped to the edge, peering down. Her toes touched air and she shuddered. This was it, the one way she would obtain true freedom from the torture. She closed her eyes tight, breathing in the scent of rain. No turning back now.

          

She inched one foot off the ledge and spread her arms like wings, letting herself tumble over. She opened her eyes as she flew, watching the faces of the men and women in their apartments as she fell head first to the ground. Down all twenty stories, her hands slowly pulled together as if attempting a dive into a pool. She plummeted to the cold, wet sidewalk below, and then, just as suddenly as she had been born, she was no more.

Reviews

[icelandicblue]

Although the reader knows it's coming that last line into the wet concrete was still very jarring. I couldn't help but wonder if she had changed her mind on the trip down. You gave the fall depth by adding the details of what she saw- I like this.

[Ignacious Lamont Crowle..]

Very good. My first thought was of the first Lethal Weapon movie, which is awesome :).