The Call of the Void

I am afraid of heights, probably not more so than most people though. I don't mind the height, I can gaze in the abyss just fine, as long as I know I have some sort of safety net, like a railing or what have you. Sean gave me the prompt "Write about your biggest fear" and since that was the first one that popped into my mind I thought I should write about it. But after further inspection I realized that my fear was pretty normal, so I decided to use a writer's best tool: the ability to delve into the world of the imagination to upgrade my fear to a phobia, acrophobia to be exact, the fear of heights.

It’s called l’appel du vide, the call of the void. The call is so clear and loud and yet it makes no sound, I want to jump but I know I shouldn’t. My eyes are fixated on the red rust of the abyss directly below my feet. I feel as if I’m not standing on the solid ground I swore I was on just a few minutes ago, that the ground was taken from me and replaced with this void that only knows my name. My feet tremor as they fight the pull of the void, cold drops of (sweet or are the tears?) roll down my face their saline content flowing into my mouth. There are faces clad in hats and sunglasses all around me, looking in every direction but mine, they don’t understand the danger they’re all in, that the void beneath our feet is calling out to each and every one of us, waiting to consume us. My love’s face was among them, but now I cannot find her. I need to find a railing to hold onto, some sort of safety net. My feet give way.

I feel the pull of the void crescendo faster and faster to the center of infinity, as my speed increases I can feel the time around me decrescendo to a standstill. The faces all turn to look at me, I cannot see their eyes but their mouths are open and long, their brows raised in the middle. They know the danger they are in. They now know the danger of the void, they have seen one of its victims, and they are too late. Still no sign of Amy, maybe the void already consumed her. The faces disappear into bright blue, I was alone. I close my eyes as my lungs exhale all their air in a high pitched scream.

Thud! I landed on something, something solid and hard. The air returns to my body, my diaphragm convulses over and over again just to be sure. I was safe, for now.

“Is she okay?” I hear a voice say.

“What should we do?” Another one says.

I caress the solid surface with my hands; it’s smooth and warm, and real. Memories began flashing back to me, but their details aren’t fully clear yet. Vacation is a word that sticks in my head, another: canyon. I open my eyes gazing into the bright blue above me, sky, that’s another word.

“Jessica!” I hear shout over the mummer of voices; it was Amy’s, “Jessica!”

“Amy, where are you?” I call out, quietly.

My heart rate slows. I’m safe, I think. The memories come back quicker and clearer now, like a film in my head. The Grand Canyon, that’s where I was. I came here with Amy to celebrate our one year together, I was initially hesitant but she won me over, she always wanted to visit. Stupid, I think as the world became clearer to me, I never told her about my acrophobia, not once since we began dating.

“Jessica,” I hear her sign in relief. Her face like an angel’s sent down to protect me from the damn tourist attraction we ventured on, the Sky Walk, “I thought I lost you.”

“I did too,” I say taking her hand. My feet still tremble, but as long as I have her I know I’ll be safe. “Can we get off this stupid thing?”

“What happened?” She asks as we transition back onto the dusty path.

“I may have forgotten to tell you something about me,” I say.