Blue sky shines through the gaps in the leaves of my tree.I’ve always lovd this tree, tall and gnarled, with a special first knot about three and a half feet off the ground that’s a perfect start to my climbing journeys. Its branches are all perfectly positioned, strong and sturdy.
The sky was robin’s-egg blue and the leaves sparkled golden, but I was too upset to care or to see. I kicked off my shoes and touched a toe to that first knot, my special good-luck charm.
He broke up with me. I couldn’t believe it. We had had such a great thing going. I loved him more than life itself. I loved him as much as I loved this tree, my sanctuary, my paradise.
Not any more.
I climbed higher, faster, groping for a branch here and swinging up one there. The higher I climbed, the more delirious I felt.
And now here I was, I’d reached the uppermost branches. I could see for miles around. Wind teased my hair, flushing my face with joy and with magic.
I could live.
Here I was, in a paradise without him. So be it.