Violet

Violet was a curious young girl with short black hair and brown eyes. She was an imaginative little child who would love to explore. One day when her grandparents were napping Violet decided to explore the backyard. The backyard at her grandparent’s house was large and only a small white picket fence kept it closed off from the rest of the land. The rest of the land was all trees and tall grass and fireflies that liked to sneak into the yard at night. Violet walked to the white picket fence and looked out among the trees. It was one of those moments where you take a deep breath and you feel like you could live in this moment forever. Violet threw her head back, looking up at the clouds and smiled in complete bliss. Suddenly her feet lifted off the ground and Violet began to float in the air. Her bliss was replaced by shock and fear and her body dropped back to the ground. She sat there on her hands and knees breathing in and out her eyes wide. Violet had just learned she could fly.
                Violet never told anyone about the day her feet lifted off the ground, but she had been trying ever since to do it again. But nothing compared to that small perfect moment. For years she hoped that birthdays, and Christmas’s, and family get togethers would make her as happy as that. But those kinds of happy were different than what she had felt that day. That day she felt the kind of happy you feel when you realize that life can be absolutely amazing.

The second time Violet’s feet lifted off the ground was when she was seventeen. At this point she had convinced herself that the day she floated was just a silly daydream she made up in her head. She convinced herself that it had never happened. She didn’t realize how wrong she was until she kissed Ethan Grove for the first time. She had a huge crush on him and it was her first kiss and her whole body floated up in the air, while her lips stayed put. Her surprise of being able to fly grounded her once more and she was glad that Ethan kissed with his eyes closed. Violet now knew that flying was real and that it took a certain kind of happiness to trigger it.
                Ever since that day Violet has practiced and practiced and gotten much better. But she could only fly in secret; in places she knew no one would see her.
“Hey Violet what are you doing after work today?” Her coworker Maddie asked her. Violet was now in her twenties flying became a regular thing, especially on days when she was going to be late to work. She knew that it was risky, but she broke the rules every once and a while.
“I’m volunteering at that Easter Event for kids.” She said. Maddie sighed.
“DANG IT! I need someone to babysit Max for me.” She said.
“You know..I could always bring him along. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.” Violet offered. Maddie’s face lit up some. “Hey that’s not a bad idea! Okay cool. I’ll drop him off around 4 does that sound okay?” She asked.
“That’s perfect I don’t have to be there till 5:30 anyway.” Violet said.
“Thanks so much Violet!! You’re the best!”
When she got off work Violet walked a ways until she reached the same route where she liked to fly home. She was glad she lived in a small town with lots of open sky, and trees to hide in.
She stood for a moment with her palms open and thought of memory that made her happy and suddenly she was flying high above the trees. She laughed as her body soared through the sky. She flew as fast as she could making sure to look out for her surroundings. Her short black hair rustled along her neck, tickling her. She giggled some before swooping lower near the trees. The birds always kept their distance, but it was an amazing feeling flying in the same sky as them. Violet closed her eyes for a brief second, taking in the beauty of it all. When she opened them again she realized she had swooped to close to the ground and before she could stop she plummeted right into someone.
They crashed to the ground tumbling in the tall grass below. Both of them grunting as they lay there.
“WHAT THE HELL?!” The other voice asked. Violet sat up as fast as her body would let her. A young man around her age with orange-red hair sat next to her. He had grass sticking in his short wavy hair and a small cut on his face.
“Are you okay?!” Violet asked. The ginger man just stared at her. “Yeah I guess so..where the hell did you come from? It’s like you just fell right out of the sky!” He said throwing his hands up.
Violet blushed some before coming up with a clever lie.
“I was climbing that tree!” She said pointing up. “I was swinging from one branch when I slipped and I tried to catch my balance but I just fell.” She said. He looked at her unconvinced.
“Yeah okay, well why didn’t you scream then? Plus you hit me like a freaking bullet!” He said. Violet now realized he had a bit of an accent, maybe Australian. In that moment she realized how cute this boy was.
“Well I don’t know I was climbing that tree pretty fast, so you never know.” She said. The boy stood up, looking at the tree and then back down at Violet.
“Whatever you say. What are you doing climbing tree’s out here anyway..especially in that.” He asked.
Violet looked down at her work clothes, that were now stained by the grass.
“Oh..uh it’s kind of a long story.” She said. “And you know I could ask you the same thing!” She said.
The boy laughed some. “Yeah well I kind of live out here.” He said. Violet just stared at him confused.
“Live out here? Like in the woods?” She asked.
“Yep. My tent is right over there.” He pointed to a spot a couple feet away where a large tent was set up. A whole campground was made for him in that tiny spot.
“Oh..” Violet said. She felt bad for asking. “Uh well I better get going.” She said.
“Wait..what’s your name?” He asked her.
“Violet.” She said. He held out his hand.
“My name’s Tucker, just wanted to say thanks for falling on me. It’s definitely going to be an interesting story to tell.” He said smirking. Violet’s heart seemed to skip a beat and she knew it was love at first sight.

Later on in the week Violet had gone back to that same forest where Tucker lived and tried to find him again. This time she walked instead of flying, knowing better.  But when she came to his tent he wasn’t there. “Tucker?” She called out, but no answer. Sighing Violet turned around and stopped dead in her tracks. A bear was sitting there staring at her. She thought she might die of fear right then and there and save the bear some trouble. Her breathing became erratic as she stood there silently not making any movements. But the bear just sat there until finally turning and walking away. Violet slumped to the ground in shock, thankful that she was still alive. For a minute she was confused, the small town where she came from did not have bears, so why was one in this forest? Maybe she had imagined it. But her heart was beating so fast.
“Violet?” Tucker had come out from behind a tree not too far from where the bear had vanished to.
“TUCKER! Be careful, I just saw a freaking bear!!” She said. Violet looked at him and almost melted. He was shirtless and looking at his body made her want to drool.
“A bear? No couldn’t be. There’s  no bears around here” He said. Violet noticed his ears turning red. It was the same thing that happened to her ears when she lied. Suddenly an idea dawned on her, it was far-fetched, but it was possible. Maybe Tucker was the bear all along. She didn’t know how, but if you she could fly, anything was possible.
“Tucker..I’m going to ask you a strange question and even though we don’t really know each other, I want you to answer honestly okay?” She said. Before he could answer Violet spoke.
“…Did you transform into that bear?” She asked. Tucker couldn’t hide his reaction and Violet knew it was the truth.
“How-but..wait.” He stuttered.
“Tucker..it’s okay. I’m different too.” She said stepping closer to him.
“You can shapeshift?” He asked her. She shook her head no before thinking of a time when she was most happy. Her memory drifted back to the day she met Tucker and saw that wonderful smirk of his and she floated high above him.
“JESUS!” He exclaimed stumbling backwards. “I can kinda fly.”
She lowered herself back to the ground.
“I knew you didn’t fall out of that tree!” He said excitedly. “I can’t believe this. The irony of it all. The two weirdest people in town finally meet.” He laughed. Violet put her hand on his shoulder.
“Tucker, what if we’re not the only ones?”