The Weight of Floating

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You're in your garden. It is a warm summer's day. A gentle breeze flutters through the grass. A large bubble has formed around you. It is a pearlescent pink. You can feel it beginning to lift off the ground. What do you do? [[Stay in the bubble->Bubble 1]] [[Pop the bubble->Opening Pop]]

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. The bubble begins to rise. For a moment you feel a little unsteady, but then you find your balance. You reach about a foot off the ground. The view of your garden looks much the same, just from a slightly different angle. Perhaps this would be what life would be like if you were a bit taller. [[Stay in the bubble->Bubble 2]] [[Pop the bubble->Pop 1]]

You gently press your finger against the bubble's surface. It bursts with a faint pop, leaving you safely on the grass in your own back garden. Nothing but a faint spritz of sweet mist on your clothes leaves any sign it was ever there. You go about your day as planned. Still, you can't help but wonder what would have happened if you had stayed in the bubble.

This slight change in perspective was all you needed, you feel. You gently press your finger against the bubble's surface. It bursts with a faint pop. You fall about a foot to the ground, stumbling a little as you do. Nothing but a faint spritz of sweet mist on your clothes leaves any sign the bubble was ever there. You go about your day as planned. Later, you notice a slight twinge in your ankle, and wonder if you landed funny. Still, you can't help but wonder what would have happened if you had stayed in the bubble.

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. The bubble continues to rise. It reaches about six feet off the ground, high enough to see over the hedge to your neighbours' gardens. You have seen into these gardens before. They are visible from your bedroom window, and one time Number 12 held a summer barbeque, inviting everyone from the street. The couple from Number 18 had a row with the couple from Number 22 though, so there have been no more summer barbeques for the whole street since. You start to worry a little about getting back down. Six feet is not so high, but it could still hurt if you landed wrong. It's only soft grass beneath you though. Maybe you could go a little higher still? [[Stay in the bubble->Bubble 3]] [[Pop the bubble->Pop 2]]

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. The bubble continues to rise. Soon it is as high as the tree that stands at the bottom of your garden. You're not sure what type of tree it is. You were never that good with trees.. The branches sway in the breeze. If one touched the bubble, it might pop, but you're not that close. From up here, you can see a lot more gardens. Some are neatly trimmed, well-watered and green. Others are paved over, or bright astroturf, or a tangle of brambles. You spot fire pits, trampolines, old bikes. You spot a cat skulking around a flowerbed, and a dog lounging in the sun. Some of these things, you've never seen before, yet nothing comes as a surprise. You're quite high now. People have definitely survived falls from this sort of height, you're pretty sure, but you feel like it's got to hurt. [[Stay in the bubble->Bubble 4]] [[Pop the bubble->Pop 3]]

You've gone high enough, you decide. It was interesting, but better to stop before things get too dangerous. You gently press your finger against the bubble's surface. It bursts with a faint pop. You fall to the ground, dropping to your hands and knees on the grass. It hurts a bit, but not too badly. You're able to stand and brush the dirst off your palms. Your trousers are a little stained though. You go and put a load of laundry on. It needed doing anyway. Later, your knees start hurting, but you take an ibuprofen and it goes away. Still, you can't help but wonder what would have happened if you had stayed in the bubble.

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. Maybe you want to see what else you can experience, or maybe you're scared of the fall. The bubble continues to rise. You can see the whole town from this height. All the cars trundling along the roads, and the people, just about. It's a weekend. People are out and about. Going to the shops, walking the dog, taking the kids to Scouts. You don't have a dog to walk, or kids to take to extracirricular activities. Maybe if you did, you wouldn't be in this bubble. You don't want to leave dogs or kids unattended. At this height, the breeze is stronger. It buffets the bubble gently, rocking you from side to side. Falling from this height is definitely going to hurt. [[Stay in the bubble->Bubble 5]] [[Pop the bubble->Pop 4]]

It's going to hurt, but better to get it over and done with, you decide. You gently press your finger against the bubble's surface. It bursts with a faint pop. You close your eyes and brace as you fall. The ground knocks the air out of you. There's a crack you think must be some of your bones breaking, though you're in too much pain to tell which exactly. Luckily, some neighbours hear your cry of pain, and call an ambulance for you. You're whisked to hospital, and they patch you up. Still, as you lay in your hospital bed, you can't help but wonder what would have happened if you had stayed in the bubble.

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. A sense of excitement at your own daring overtakes you. The bubble continues to rise. It's a clear day, but in the distance you see some clouds. You seem about level with them. You can see more than your whole town below you. You can see the whole county, fields laid out for miles, hills flattened from this height into a plain. Towns like little patches of grey mould. In the distance, the sea shines in the sun like a mirror. You could burst this bubble at any moment. But you could also keep going. [[Stay in the bubble ->Bubble 6]] [[Pop the bubble ->Pop death fall]]

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. You've come so far already. The bubble continues to rise. Little ice crystals are forming on the outer shell of your bubble. Inside, it is still as warm as the summer's day you left behind. Below you, land stretches out like a tablecloth, until it suddenly becomes sea. All is flat, and nearly featureless, the colours merging at this distance. At the horizon, you see the edges of the Earth curve. An aeroplane sails beneath you. You hope it is taking people somewhere nice for their holidays. You wonder where your bubble is taking you, if you'll let it. [[Stay in the bubble ->Bubble 7]] [[Pop the bubble ->Pop death fall]]

You've had your adventure, but this is high enough, you decide. You gently press your finger against the bubble's surface. It bursts with a faint pop. You've got a long way to fall. [[Keep your eyes open ->open fall]] [[Close your eyes ->closed fall]]

You're probably not going to survive this, so you want to make the most of the view on the way down. Despite the rushing wind that whips away tears as fast as it creates them, you keep your eyes open. You see everything in reverse, from the expanse to your town to your street to your garden and then you can't help but scrunch your eyes shut just before the grass that is anything but soft. Death is so quick you don't even feel the impact. Still, just as you lose consciousness, you can't help wondering what would have happened if you had stayed in the bubble.

You know what's coming for you. There's no shame in not wanting to see it. You close your eyes tightly as you plummet. You experience the fall as a hollowing in your stomach, as wind screaming in your ears and a bitterly cold bite against your face. It could take seconds, or hours. You don't need to see the ground rushing up to meet you to know it is there. Somehow, you sense the end of your fall a moment before impact, before everything goes much blacker than just closing your eyes. Death is so quick you don't even feel the impact. Still, just as you lose consciousness, you can't help wondering what would have happened if you had stayed in the bubble.

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. You're so close to breaking free of this planet, you can sense it. The bubble continues to rise. The ice crystals grow, creaking as they cover the bubble's surface. The temperature inside dips a little. Outside, the blue sky surrounding you is fading, sliding into black. You can hardly see the ground now, through the clouds and atmospheric haze. For the first time, you think to wonder if anyone can see you. Does gravity even reach this high? You're not sure. But there's a way you could find out. [[Stay in the bubble ->Bubble 8]] [[Pop the bubble ->Pop death fall]]

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. It wouldn't make any sense, to reach the edge of space only to shy back. And you are in space now. You can tell by the silence. It was quiet in the bubble before, but now you understand the silence of space. There's no more wind to drift your bubble to and fro. Not much of anything. From up here, planet could be empty. Clouds swirl across the surface like the iridescent light on your bubble. Then movement catches your eye. A quick and perfect arc across the skyline, in the distance. A satellite, you realise. Perhaps the ISS. They stay up there for months, you've heard. How much longer will you be up here? [[Stay in the bubble->Space 1]] [[Pop the bubble->space death]]

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. You're in space, and it's still so peaceful. You want to savour this time a while more. The bubble continues to rise. That doesn't mean much out here. There are so many stars. They seem just as far away as they did on Earth, but here they're all around you. Just very, very far away. Even the space between the stars is more stars. But those ones are so far away their light hasn't reached you yet. It's so dark out here, you can't even see your own hands. The bubble is still there though. You know it is. [[Stay in the bubble->Space 2]] [[Pop the bubble->space death]]

You gently press your finger against the bubble's surface. It bursts with a faint pop. Death in space is instantaneous. Still, just as you lose consciousness, you can't help wondering what would have happened if you had stayed in the bubble.

You decide to stay in the bubble a little longer. You're in space, and it's so peaceful. You want to savour this time. The bubble continues to rise. That doesn't mean much out here, except first the Earth gets small, then the moon gets big, and then the moon gets small too. There are so many stars. They seem just as far away as they did on Earth, but here they're all around you. Just very, very far away. Even the space between the stars is more stars. But those ones are so far away their light hasn't reached you yet. It's so dark out here, you can't even see your own hands. The bubble is still there though. You know it is. [[Stay in the bubble->Space 2]] [[Pop the bubble->space death]]

You've left it too late to make a safe landing, but you might survive this still, you tell yourself. You gently press your finger against the bubble's surface. It bursts with a faint pop. You close your eyes and brace as you fall. The ground knocks the air out of you. There's a crack you think must be some of your bones breaking, though you're in too much pain to tell which exactly. Then everything goes black. Still, just as you lose consciousness, you can't help wondering what would have happened if you had stayed in the bubble.

By Conway Sutton