CARLOS MARTINEZ is a native of Los Angeles. He received a degree in Film Studies, and his work with a theatre company included stints as a performer, writer and director. Carlos is currently working on a collection of shorts stories as well as scripts for film and stage.

                                                                         flight


Lucy stood at the edge; her pack still strapped on her back. She was fifteen. She peered straight down into the hidden bottom below, carefully, still a somewhat safe distance from the very edge. She had taken the wrong trail and gotten separated from her group. It had been a while since she had found herself where she stood. She had no desire to make an effort to try and find the others. She had no desire to locate the right trail that might lead back to where she had began her fringed journey. She had broken free from the reigns of her guides but she didn't feel the need to be in their safety. She felt safe feet from the edge of this historical grand gorge that greeted her in silent beauty. One strong gust of nature's breath would surely carry anyone into the canyon's mouth in death's flight.

Lucy gazed across the canyon and could see the wonderful hues that lay across the rock walls created by the setting sun. They were almost unnatural as if someone took the time to paint its beauty. Purples, lavenders, reds, oranges, and yellows. Ominous clouds hovered just above the horizon and hung just below the blue heavens on the opposite side of the bottomless pit. The dark clouds were unleashing their fury as lightning streamed down quickly. They flashed across the land in succession with such angered beauty. It was so silent where she stood. Nature's own firework show kept Lucy entranced as she took in the fresh air that blew across her
fresh face. Her hair whipping wildly. She felt liberated. She began to think that maybe she took the right trail after all. Fate had guided her to this point where she was allowed to no longer feel the burdens of existence. She didn't have to hear the critical statements or orders or judgements. She had found solace in the unleashing violence of nature. She could see the beauty in the
madness that spoke to her from a distance without a mere sound.

Lucy stepped closer to the edge and tempted her fears. Looking up she could see the clear blue of the sky. The domed façade that hid the unknown of the vast darkness that surrounded her. That surrounded the world. She unstrapped her heavy pack letting it down to the ground behind her. She closed her eyes and raised her arms to feel the delicate wind caress her lightened body. It felt pleasant. For the first time she felt free and unrestrained. She was there with herself, for herself and no one to tell her not to be where she was. No one there to scold her, to right her for being wrong, to criticize her for being her. The wind then kicked up
violently and blew through Lucy, her eyes still closed, arms raised and feeling the freedom of flight.

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© 2002 Carlos Martinez