Figments & Fragments

Flight of Fancy

Did you ever go for a drive just to experience the sheer joy of motion? My dad used to take us for a drive sometimes when I was a little kid, just to take a look around. I didn't really care where we went, it was a treat to get out of the house and go. This was before we had the internet, VHS tapes, or even cable TV. To see the world in those days, you had to actually go outside and look at it. And watching the countryside roll by was the only streaming option available.

The car could get a bit 'close' after a while, so if it was a hot day, we'd use what my dad called 'four sixty' air conditioning: 4 windows down at 60 mph. I loved to hold my arm out the open window and feel the air rushing by as dad drove anywhere at all. And I didn't need aerodynamics equations to understand the concept of lift, I just stuck my hand out and felt it. I'd cup my palm to approximate the shape of an airplane wing and feel the upward force generated by our horizontal velocity. I could control the amount of lift by adjusting the shape and position of my airfoil hand. That experience gave me a hint of what it might feel like to fly. It also infused my dreams.

I've had a recurring dream of flying for more than sixty years now. The images and feelings are always similar but each time feels new again. Months or years may pass in between, but it always returns and it’s always welcome. In the dream, I am suddenly struck by an amazing thought. I realize that if I hold my body just so, find the correct angle, and bend slightly to make an airfoil shape, then I can catch the wind and fly.

In the dream world, the impossible becomes real and I can float away on even the slightest air current. At first, I rise only a few inches off the floor before setting down again. But soon I'm gliding around the room on the breeze from an open window or riding the gusts from a box fan. I swoop dangerously close to walls or furniture as I learn to harness this newfound ability. And then I somehow find myself outside.

The expanse of air and sky provide a glorious freedom to soar away from all earthly constraints. It feels completely natural to seek out a sunny area and catch a thermal updraft. Fields and streams dwindle to irrelevance, just a backdrop to the splendor of flight. And all the while, I'm aware of the need to adjust my airfoil body to tame the air currents and use them to go where I will. It's not hard work, but it is a constant effort to sense the wind and outwit its whims. I'm not on some passive magic carpet ride, I'm actually flying. Just for the sheer joy of motion.



Author's note: ▼

Written for the August 2023 round of:

FORUM

Out of The Fog Contest-Opens Dec. '24!  (E) A contest that comes out of the fog now & then, as if in a dream. #2002225 by 👼intuey

I want to hear your dreams. Not just the run of the mill dreams, where you only remember bits and pieces. I want the dreams that have made an impact on your life. The dreams that you remember the most. I want them presented neatly: short story, prose, poetry, essay style or you may just relay the dream.

NO PROMPT THIS ROUND!

500 words