She laughs and I look away

A short story about shame and the ground

“Come one, just this once.”

She laughs and floats three feet above the ground. “Sorry, this is just so much fun!”

She laughs and I look down.

“People are staring, please come down now.”

She laughs and turns her body away from me, facing the spectators. “Let them! They're just jealous.”

She laughs and I turn my face away from her.

“You always ruin our day. Can't you be normal, for the sake of Pete?”

She laughs and floats a bit closer. “Oh dear, life is just too short for me to stay on the ground!” She takes my face on her hands and leans in for a kiss. I push her away, flustered.

She stops laughing and looks at me with a confused expression on her face. “What did I do? Are you ashamed of me?”

“Why don't you stay on the ground? Why don't you stay here with me?”

She laughs. “Oh dear, the ground is just no fun! Why don't you float with me?”

“I can't. You know I can't fly like you.”

She stops laughing. “You can, you just love the ground so much that you're afraid of coming with me.”

I look down.

"You're not going to say anything? Well you can stay there, I'm not going to let you hold me down."

She laughs and floats away.