Dancing on a High Wire

Dancing on a High Wire (144 Words)

Maybe it was a mistake. But Chloe had been walking on a tightrope her whole life. Her parents’ kingdom prized that kind of elegant toe-stepping, and of all her siblings Chloe was the most skilled. Now she was walking that familiar “wire” again to familiar music. But it wasn’t all the same.

Chloe could see for miles, up so high. She could see the sea sparkling under the morning sun. And she could see the little bright green flag on the mast of one small sailboat, a signal and a hope. Chloe remembered those moments stolen away in secret, moments free of slippers and ribbons, when she had felt real—when she had felt like a woman for the first time in her life.

That little green flag was a promise. Chloe braced herself. But years of performing had taught her how to jump.

***

Written in response to Michael Parkes’s beautiful painting, “Tuesday’s Child.” Check it out and support the artist!

Also written in response to the Daily Post’s Daily Prompt, “Bubble.” Image (c) Art.com.