It doesn't take much to fall

The wind buffeted her from all sides, but it wasn’t near strong enough to knock her down. She was the girl on top of the world, and nothing could topple her. Her heart pounded in anticipation of what she would achieve, she felt stronger than she ever had, and her mind was sharper than ever. She gazed down at the city below her, the glittering lights seeming far from her vantage point on the tower. The sky seemed so close, and she grinned at the twinkling stars. She felt that there were no limits to what she could do and that nothing would stop her, not now, not ever
The stars were so close
Reaching for a support beam, she pulled herself up, slowly climbing higher and higher. The stars were so close, calling to her, telling her she could do it. They were right there-
And then she fell
She wasn’t even sure how it happened. She hadn’t slipped, she hadn’t let go, but suddenly she was falling
The wind was so powerful that it was painful, tears stinging her eyes as she fell. She couldn’t tell what was up and what was down, the lights of the city similar to the lights of the stars. Desperately, she tried to control her fall, to right herself, anything to make the fall less painful, but she couldn’t fix any of this. She was out of control, something she hadn’t been in a while. 
It scared her
The fall was much longer than she expected. For the first time, she realized how high she had climbed and how far the fall was. The wind whistled in her ears, the stars flashed in and out of her sight as she tumbled, and the distant noises of civilization came closer. She found herself wishing for the impact so she could see the stars
The stars. Now they were so distant when they had been so close
Lost in this train of thought, she barely had time to prepare before she hit the ground, pain shocking her body. She had no idea how long she lay there, but as everything set in, tears she promised not to cry found themselves rolling down her cheeks and dropping to the street below her. Her sides silently shook as she cried, her breath coming in short gasps. For the first time in a while, everything was out of control. She had fallen, everything was gone, and there was no way for her to fix it
With an aching chest, she put her arms over her head, crying until the ground was soaked beneath her. She didn’t want to get up, and everything still hurt from the fall, but she shakily managed to get to her feet. She looked up, seeing the tower she once stood at the top of. The wind was different, down here: it was calm, more of a warm breeze. Nothing enough to knock her down, but nothing to even remotely challenge her. She remembered the days she spent climbing, how close the stars were, and how the wind always gave her something to push back against. It was comforting, in a way. While the wind was harsh and cruel, it was always there to remind her of everything she had to fight to get up there
But now it was gone. The wind left her, the tower was so far, and everything hurt so badly from something that wasn’t even her fault. She was still hurting physically and emotionally, the agony sending her to wander the nearly empty streets. 
After hours of wandering, the loneliness set in. She had no one. They had all abandoned her, simply because someone new and better came along. But that was fine. She had lived without them, and she’d do it again.
Except that she didn’t want to. But she knew she had to. 
From inside out, the cold got to her, her heart turning chilly as her fingertips went numb from the stagnant, bitter air. Her lungs ached from crying and the frigid air and the lights she saw from the tower were far less abundant than they seemed. With nearly nothing to guide her or stop her from tripping on the uneven road, she struggled onward, her eyes bloodshot and her feet numb. 
Eventually, she found herself at the base of the tower she once neared the top of, looking forlornly up at the low clouds that hid the top of it. Already, vines were climbing up the bottom of it, the girl realizing how long she had wandered without purpose for. 
The thought of climbing the tower both excited and caused fear for her. The thought of being so close to the top caused her heart to race in exhilaration, but the thought of falling terrified her to no end
The stars were so close
Then they disappeared. In one blink, the stars were hidden
But she loved the stars. They were enough to get her going
Fixing her gaze on the spot where she knew the most beautiful star was shining in the sky, she began climbing once again. 
She would see the stars again
Category:Literature
Category:Original Stories
Category:Fiction