"Take my Hand" by Victoria Bellamy

Sitting on the sofa in front of the TV Kathy listened to a news reporter informing viewers of the main headlines. Kathy wasn’t listening however, since she neither cared nor wanted to listen to a report about what happened in a politician’s life. It’s just unnecessary she thought, and even if I did want to know I wouldn’t want to hear it at six-thirty in the morning. After getting dressed and trying to tame her wild red hair and wake up those sleepy green eyes, and eventually finding her mobile in amongst last nights dishes, she left for work.

Kathy worked on the other side of London in a company called Gymstart which supplied equipment for public and private gyms and also health centres, Kathy worked as their primary sales manager (also their only sales manager) and help consultant. The pay was good, although like many people of Kathy’s age she imagined herself somewhere a lot different in life, she had always wanted a husband, children a nice house and all that other stuff modern women were supposed to want.

But ever since she was a young child she had loved the surreal, loved to consume herself in fantasy novels and imagine she was princess, locked in a tower by an evil witch only to be rescued by her handsome prince. Kathy had never grown out for her love of fantasy and in those little moments of freedom she still had, she indulged her passion by imaging, just like she had as a child.

**********

The streets of London were very busy and the underground station was filled with early commuters. Once she had taken her normal train, she had a ten minute walk to her office. As she came out of the station she took a right turn and walked into a large crowd of commuters, Kathy sighed and slowed herself down to their pace. After a while she began to stop thinking and just walk, but it was only then that she realised that she had gone way past her office and that she didn’t know where she was.

She left the crowd of commuters and backtracked slightly to a junction, and she was about to cross when she collided with someone standing in the middle of the pavement.
“Oh, sorry,” she mumbled and was about to move away when she stopped and stared at the man before her. He was not smartly dressed; in fact he was quite the opposite. He was dressed in a grubby shirt and ripped trousers and was gazing up into the sky. He apparently had no idea that it was November and about five degrees, she was about to ask him if he was cold when he turned towards her and she nearly fainted. He had flawless and shimmering purple eyes that were especially prominent since his skin was so pale, Kathy was about to turn and go on her way when he spoke:
“Would you come along?” Kathy didn’t know whether this was a question or not but before she could stop herself she said,
“Sorry, what?”
“Would you come along?” he repeated gently
“Come where?”
“Take my hand,” he commanded softly, Kathy didn’t know what to do but before she could respond he spoke again “Live while you can, you don't know that your dreams lie right in the palm of your hand,” he reflected sadly.

Suddenly Kathy felt her fantasy spirit stir within her after years of lying silent. The old voice at the back of her head was whispering to her as it had when she was a little girl, her imagination was waking. The man held out his hand, Kathy hesitated for a moment and then breathing deeply she reached over and took the man’s hand. Before she could refuse she was pulled into a tight embrace by the man and was gasping for breath. She glanced around at the people around them; nobody seemed to notice that she was being strangled and just walked on by.

Then without warning, the man leapt into flight, the ground speeding away, her surroundings becoming a colourful blur, Kathy tried to see details in the blur but they were going so fast and the force of the sudden wind hurt her eyes, so she squinted instead, she didn’t dare close her eyes for missing her greatest adventure. After a while they began to slow and Kathy glanced white lights dancing round them in a white and blue background, it was ages before she realised they had wings.

She gasped and let out a surprised shriek, the man who was still flying was apparently unaware that his companion was screaming with delight. Kathy’s spirit began to soar with the joy of being free for the first time; everything seemed more colourful and vibrant. The white lights were now gone replaced only by darkness, then emerging out of the darkness came a gigantic white sphere, the moon. Kathy let out a terrified shriek as a star exploded above their heads.

They were floating through the stars passing enormous plants, Jupiter, Pluto and then finally the sun. Glistening and shining like a bright light bulb illuminating the abyss for at least as far as she could see. Kathy was just admiring it when the man let go of her and she began to fall, she glimpsed the man’s face and it was streaked with tears. Kathy kept falling, down and down into nothing but blackness. Just when she thought she had reached the bottom she stopped and found she had closed her eyes. She opened them to a familiar ceiling, the one that belonged to her bedroom. She got up and stared at the clock it read 7:10 am Tuesday 7th November.

Forgetting about her flight, Kathy jumped out of bed and stuffed some toast into her mouth, got dressed and hurried out the door. She leapt onto the first train she could get on the underground and almost ran the ten minute walk to her office. Then she realised that she was at the same junction as she was when she met the man yesterday. She glanced around for the man but when she couldn’t see him she moved through the crowd to the spot where he stood the day before and gazed up into the sky. And there he was smiling from a cloud, and then he was gone, vanished into the heavens. Kathy stared for minutes more gentle tears rolling down her cold cheeks, then without warning she turned and disappeared into the crowd of commuters.

**********

Fifty years later, a graveyard in a remote and isolated corner of London had one lonely visitor. A man stared down at a new tomb and wept silently in the cold morning air. The inscription on the tomb read:

Kathy Jenkins
1976-2056

“Live while you can. Your dreams are in the palm of your hand”
Anonymous

The man reached into his coat and pulled out a white rose that was glowing with an unknown light. He knelt down and placed it gently on the cold stone slab, then without speaking he unfurled his gigantic ivory wings and took off into the dawn sky, his tears evaporating in the crisp wind.