Prompt: Falling, Falling, Falling
Describe what it's really like to fall in love.
This was such a touchy-feely prompt, and I don't, as a general rule, consider myself a touchy-feely kind of person. But, when I go back and read some of the stories I've written over the last couple of years, you would think I was this overly emotional, falling in and out of love quick and fast, kind of a girl. Haha. That is so not me.
Some people say love is like being willing to fall off a cliff, making that exhilarating leap, and trusting that someone will be there to catch you at the bottom.
I disagree.
I like to think it's more like an unsure trek down a flight of stairs, like when you live in a fourth floor apartment and you have to carry boxes down to a waiting car. Maybe you stack the boxes so high because you want to get as much done as quickly as you can. And maybe you can't see the stairs under your feet because of that. So, you're cautious at first. Blindly putting out one foot and feeling for a change in elevation until you feel safe enough to transfer your weight and take a step. You get more and more confident as you go, walking faster, taking the steps as they come. And then, maybe as you get near the bottom, you start to second guess yourself. That swooping nervousness starts passing through your stomach when you worry about missing a step. The boxes wobble as your muscles spasm throughout your arms. You slow your descent, frantically toeing the air above each stair to ensure your safety. And at the last step, just as you are breathing that sigh of relief, you skip it, not realizing that there's just one more surprise in store, boxes flying, arms flailing, knees buckling, feet sliding out from under you to land face first in shock.
That's love.
It's tentative, slow, unsure, when it first takes hold of you. Then comfortable and familiar, easy as a holding hands. Then, wham! It hits you out of nowhere and leaves you bruised and broken.
This was such a touchy-feely prompt, and I don't, as a general rule, consider myself a touchy-feely kind of person. But, when I go back and read some of the stories I've written over the last couple of years, you would think I was this overly emotional, falling in and out of love quick and fast, kind of a girl. Haha. That is so not me.
Some people say love is like being willing to fall off a cliff, making that exhilarating leap, and trusting that someone will be there to catch you at the bottom.
I disagree.
I like to think it's more like an unsure trek down a flight of stairs, like when you live in a fourth floor apartment and you have to carry boxes down to a waiting car. Maybe you stack the boxes so high because you want to get as much done as quickly as you can. And maybe you can't see the stairs under your feet because of that. So, you're cautious at first. Blindly putting out one foot and feeling for a change in elevation until you feel safe enough to transfer your weight and take a step. You get more and more confident as you go, walking faster, taking the steps as they come. And then, maybe as you get near the bottom, you start to second guess yourself. That swooping nervousness starts passing through your stomach when you worry about missing a step. The boxes wobble as your muscles spasm throughout your arms. You slow your descent, frantically toeing the air above each stair to ensure your safety. And at the last step, just as you are breathing that sigh of relief, you skip it, not realizing that there's just one more surprise in store, boxes flying, arms flailing, knees buckling, feet sliding out from under you to land face first in shock.
That's love.
It's tentative, slow, unsure, when it first takes hold of you. Then comfortable and familiar, easy as a holding hands. Then, wham! It hits you out of nowhere and leaves you bruised and broken.