Brief Eleven

The Big Fall

They all just kept falling. My brother fell first. Tony fell. Marla and Vince. And little Stevie. They kept falling and all I could do was just stand there and watch. Helpless.

With my brother, I was able to overcome my crippling fear and lean over and look. He sat there at the bottom, holding and rubbing his right ankle. "Could have been worse" I thought as he waived at me to show he was alright.

But the others? I have no idea. And that's when I started feeling scared. Terrified. I heard much later that Marla got married and had a son. The whole family left the country and moved to Istanbul. Or was it Innsville? A world away, in any case.

My brother made it too. His ankle is fine, but his head... He's got these...things...in his head. My God, things beyond me and most people. Things to make one terrified if one thinks about them too much. Was it the fall did this to him?

I'm not so terrified anymore though. Scared yes, but not terrified. I can lean over. And people don't fall anymore. No body falls.

And Marla, I hope you're alright, wherever you are. And all the rest of you too.