Page 22 of Nixx
“Ouch. I didn't see you. Where were you?” the little girl asks me.
“I was next door, but you didn't see me, you were looking at the sky.”
“It's true, I was looking at the sky, I didn't see you. But where are your wings?”
“My name is Sarah and I have no wings. And you, what is your name and how old are you?”
“My name is Loony and I'm almost three years old. And your wings, why don't you have any? Did you lose them?”
“I didn't lose them, I never had them. I've got you; we'll try to get to safety.”
I try to move along this wall while holding Loony firmly by the wrist. The rocks are very sharp and my hands and arms are already scraped in multiple places.
As I try to regain a less dangerous space along this cliff with my burden, the prospect of dropping the child or of a fatal fall for both of us, makes me more and more anxious. I am not particularly athletic and my arms tremble under the effort that I impose on them. While vertigo worsens my stress.
Come on, girl, you can do it. You're not going to give up now.
With my left hand, I grasp the rock near my head and try to find another, wider support for my left foot. But all strength seems to have deserted me and I realize that I will not be able to continue to maintain my body in addition to Loony's along this rocky peak with the only strength of my arms.
“I—I apologize,” Loony says as she looked up at me with her beautiful, tear-filled chocolate eyes.
“If you can't fly, why did you jump off the cliff?”
“I wanted to learn to fly, it didn't seem that hard and I wanted to please my mom!” she says with a shrug.
I can see a small protrusion a little below, on my right, on the side where I am holding Loony.
“I'm going to lower you onto a small platform. You will let yourself go and wait for me until I can reach you.”
“You're not leaving me alone, are you?”
“No, I promise, I might cut you some slack, but I'll get to you as soon as I can.”
I reach out as far as I can to the right and hold her at arm's length. The little protrusion is slightly below us. I have no choice but to let go of her and give her some momentum.
I consider the risk of her landing badly and falling. But if I don't do something and quickly, we'll both crash down this cliff! I hold on as tightly as I can with my left hand and with my right arm, make a slight swing, then let go.
She falls over the ledge but nearly loses her balance. My heart races for a split second, finding a calmer rhythm when she steadies herself and gets to the bottom of the narrow ledge.
Phew, she is now relatively safe. But I'm not. My left hand is bleeding profusely and it won't be long before I let go of my grip.
“Are you jumping to come with me now?” she asks me.
I see a small notch on the right to put a foot, before arriving on the projection. I have to act, now! I launch myself and land as best I can on this ledge, scratching myself more during the maneuver. And hitting my shoulder hard during the landing.
Loony took refuge at the end, leaving me the place she could. We are now huddled together. I do not doubt that one of her people, flying nearby, will see us and give the alert at some point. We just need a little more patience.
I also have to fight the black spots that are starting to cloud my vision. I shake my head to regain my senses.
“You won't tell my dad, will you? He's going to argue with me.”
“I don't know your dad and I won't say anything.”
“My father's name is Zull. He's a great warrior. You know, I've never heard of an Eriane without wings. How do you fly?”
“Well, I'm not an Eriane, so I don't fly.”
“Damn, that's so weird. And your hair is also too weird in real life, it's orange. And your eyes too, they're not like ours, they're green.”
