Staircase

The shadow slashed a long angle across her face. Blue eyes rolled up in their sockets, slowly and langorously until they couldn’t go any further. only then did she begin to tilt her head back, weak chin raising until her neck was stretched in a tense arc. There were no clouds today. A sky the size of the world and not a single whispy white puff across the blue. She wondered how many miles of the staircase she was witnessing. She tried to count the spiraling coils, methodically in threes until she reached well over a hundred but kept losing count around that point. It became difficult to see where the edges were despite how clear and blue the sky was. Marcus whined. With a slow sigh, she lowered her gaze to give him a disapproving look. She didn’t like her reveries interrupted. The calm she felt from looking up at the majestic staircase was one she could lose herself in for hours. Marcus, however, could not. Another subdued whine, eyes pleading.

“Alright, alright. Where’s your stick at?” she smiled. The dog wagged his tail, small body jolting into a sprint as suddenly as if he’d been wound up and just now let go. She watched the tall grass sway with the wind, a smaller rustling path cutting through it as the dog searched for his toy. Finally he came back to her, stick clamped between his golden teeth. “How far you think I can get it this time, huh? You think I can hit ‘em?” She grinned, taking the stick from Marcus and stepping back with dedication. Her arm swung back, muscles and mind taking a moment to focus before snapping forward. She watched with the same excited hopefulness as though she hadn’t tried and failed a thousand times before. The arc looked almost perfect, as far as she could see. The stick careened through the air, slowly twirling towards the staircase. She heard the faintest of sounds as it hit the bottom edge of the bottommost step. She gasped.

inspired by the art of jie ma