Issue 12
Edge
Celestine Stoltenberg
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Precipice
Her belly button glitters above the waistband of her tiny, hip hugging
shorts. Her coltish legs stretch toward the ground and her small breasts
push vainly against her half-shirt. She leans close to her boyfriend and
whispers through her ever-present smile. Then she laughs and kisses his ear.
He wraps one skinny arm around her waist and pulls her hips against his,
rocking their bodies together with earnest, adolescent sexuality. She laughs
again and half-heartedly pushes him away.
He takes out a camera. She hops and claps her hands like a preschooler, then
rushes toward the edge of the canyon. I suck my breath in as I watch. She
spins toward him, her hair whipping across her face, obscuring her eyes. He
snaps a picture, then gestures. She steps closer to the edge. I grip the
railing in front of me as my thoughts scream: be careful!
Laughing, she steps once more toward the precipice.
~Celestine Stoltenberg
Celestine Stoltenberg recently escaped from a cubicle to pursue motherhood
and writing. She lives in Phoenix, Arizona with one husband, one son, and
one dog. Email.
© 2003 by Celestine Stoltenberg. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2003 by Cayuse Press. All Rights Reserved.