By Ashantia Fearon

As I plummeted, I should’ve been thinking about how much it would hurt when I finally stopped falling—or about how I could possibly survive this profoundly terrible situation. But all I could muster in my mind was how beautiful the sky was. 

Orange and blue streaks swirling together in a perfect cacophony of colour, casting a pristine illuminated reflection on the shining surface of the ocean.

 I felt the wind soaring through my hair, sending it into a frenzy of curls. But it didn’t bother me like it should’ve. I could barely feel anything—not my clothes touching my body, not the cuts on my face, nothing. My lungs felt light, as though every breath was a stream of water, coating their walls. Wherever my mind wandered, my eyes remained locked on the sunset, as though the second I looked away, it would crumble like an autumn leaf. 

The serene beauty of the sunset shattered to pieces when I looked down. A dark, waveless ocean sat ominously still, as though counting the seconds until it could engulf me into its velvety depths. I know nothing had changed, and yet the sky seemed darker, as though the contents of my mind had spilled into the sky like a stream of ink. The feeling of peace and elation cascaded to a deep, immense fear. The sea was dark. The kind of darkness you could only get from tearing the stars from the night sky. 

The fall had felt slow before. Every second stretching to a thousand. However, in the blink of an eye, I was hurtling downwards like an asteroid.

Spinning in every direction, I could see nothing but shining blurs of the orange sunset, swimming amongst the midnight blue ocean. My eyes couldn’t even lock on to the beautiful sunset, my only tether of hope. The cool air crashed against me like a tsunami in every direction. I was almost to the water and I began to panic. Despite the cold air that chastised my face, I suddenly felt hot and sweaty. 

The ocean reached up to wrench me into its velvety abyss. A hand of death, ready to drag me down and engulf me in an eternal darkness. 

As the ocean drew closer and the sky faded from view, I realized there was no hope. No chance. Realizing these would be my last thoughts, I tried to think of something profound, yet I could not. All I could muster in my mind was how beautiful the sky had been. 

Bracing myself for the impact, my body tingled with fear and… 

Nothing. 

I lay in the velvety plume of the ocean’s hand. The cool water swept over me, shining a magnificent sapphire. 

I looked up to see the same shining sky that had been my tether of hope and laid in the ocean that had saved me. 

–

Ashantia is a budding writer from England. She writes mainly fantasy and adventure short stories and is focused on capturing the description of whimsical and imaginative settings and stories to provide a sense of escapism for readers. In her free time she enjoys creating art, playing guitar and writing.