“You could always take the stairs,” I announced from the top of the cliff.
She looked up, her face squirming from effort.
“You are telling me this now?” she huffed, her breath shaken.
Why did it feel so good to tease her? Why did it feel so good to look at her?
“You beast, I could have injured myself!” the woman shouted.
“You are only three metres away from the ground, worst case you break a leg,” I disregarded her fright.
She pierced me with rage, then proceeded to sluggishly come down from the cliffs, holding onto the rocks for dear life. When she came close to the ground, she jumped and fell on her bottom. I started to laugh, my giggles floating away into the river. I barely remembered the last time I laughed with such full breaths, but it didn’t last long. My loud laugh halted abruptly. The woman was not moving.
I descended from the sharp peak onto the stairs, climbing down four or five at the time, until within a matter of moments, my feet touched the ground and approached the unmoving human figure. I knew of human fragility but I never expected her to be hurt from such a small fall. I approached her, worry and guilt cascading over me, only to see her shift abruptly, one of her legs raising high enough to kick me in the right calf, trying to make me lose balance and fall to the ground.
When I remained immobile, she frowned with disappointment, suddenly seeming completely fine.
“Did you just try to trip me to the ground?” I asked with disbelief.
“You must admit, if I’d managed to do it, it would have been epic,” she laughed while I extended my hand to help her up. I didn’t hold back a smile, the sheer nerve on this woman was a thing of legend.
“Come on,” I stated, not letting go of her hand, “you are going to miss it,” and dragged her up the stairs I had just used when coming to her rescue.
“Where are we going?” she managed to ask before being pulled away and guided up the stairs. Within seconds, her panting returned. I continued to climb, slower than usual for her benefit, towards the top, not bothering to explain or stop for her breathing advantage.
“You know,” she uttered between gasps, “I walked all day and then climbed a rock and now I am climbing stairs.”
“I know.” I didn't bother to explain how.
“Then, can’t we just stop for a second to catch our breaths?” she insisted.
Cheeky too, I added mentally to the ongoing list of qualities. “We can’t stop, and my breath is perfectly even,” I added.
“Why can’t we stop?” she complained, her body shifting, dragged by my force rather than helping towards the climb.
“We’ll miss it,” I kept my response short.
“Miss what?” she insisted, calling out for an explanation between abrupt pants.
I did not bother to answer and seeing how she truly was incapable to continue, I stopped and pulled her in my arms, holding her torso with one hand and her legs with the other, then continued to climb two steps at a time. She shrieked with surprise at first but once in my arms she remained quiet, muscles tense. She looked around, possibly for the first time, and saw the precipice below. The human gasped and tied her hands tightly around my neck, securing herself, making sure that even if I wanted to drop her, I wouldn’t be able to.
“Miss what?” she whispered from my arms when we were almost at the top.
“This,” I replied as soon as I took the last step and arrived on the plateau that reflected the naked rays of sunlight. I had marked the place as my favourite in the district and came here almost every day to watch the sun go down.
The top of the cliff had been corroded by time and the peak demolished by nature, finding its resting place on the river bank. In its stead, the cliff produced calcites to cover the wound of the rock and the wind had polished it into a white mirror-like plateau that shone golden-purple from the emanated glimmer of the sun.
Still in my arms, the woman kept quiet, stunned by the beauty around. Her head moved from side to side, trying to take in this much splendour at once, her mouth still open from what had once been a gasp. Realising I still held her, I let her feet touch the ground gently, allowing her legs to find balance on the glossy surface before letting her go. As soon as I did, my chest sank a little from the lack of touch.
We remained silent, astounded by the eternal yellow-purple canvas that engrossed the horizon, clouds swiftly moving towards their homes to make room for the night sky and its heralds, which started to radiate on the Northern side of the sky.
“This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she exclaimed while crouching into a sitting position, hugging her knees.
“It is,” I smiled, my vision fixed on the woman who found comfort on the crystal plateau. She breathed deeply, taking in the image through all her senses. The human caressed the smooth calcite of the plateau, drawing out the clouds that reflected onto the surface and smiled.
If there was ever a moment that would be remembered as pure peace, this was it. I took a seat next to her and shifted my field of vision from her to the sunset, then back to her. We were the only two people on earth and time had stopped, her smile and the sun’s reflection in her hazel eyes, the only things I needed.
While I was admiring her beauty, she turned to me and smiled broadly, her left cheek forming a dimple by the side of her curving lip.
