Alone by Arlo Evans

Extract from… The Star in Her Eyes

As I look up into the clear starry sky, the lights of the quiet city twinkling below me, I can’t help but feel happy. Balancing precariously on the edge of the balcony, forty floors up, all my worries seem to slip away, like they are nothing more than shimmering beads of water that seem to burst as soon as my fingertips reach them. I feel light and airy, as if I can glide up into the clouds without a care, like I can touch the velvety night sky, and be one with the stars.

I pretend that I’m a tightrope walker, stretching my arms out like wings as I place one graceful, pointed foot in front of the other. I giggle when I lose my footing and almost slip, and my stomach does a gorgeous loop at the prospect of stepping off of the balcony. I pretend that I’m a ballerina, attempting an arabesque. I giggle and stumble again. I look at the silent city below and smile to myself. I twist around like a cork and let myself fall backwards. I take one last look at the sky, the stars, and I close my eyes.

By Hollie Downie