1- The First Fall

Sasha had always been a bit fearful, so she had pictured the way that she might die several times. It was always an accident of some sort. She was nervous around heights in particular. She thought maybe she would fall from a great distance, off a cliff or from a high building.

When her senior French class had taken a trip to Paris she tried to put on a brave face when she saw the Eiffel Tower on the agenda. The first 300 steps to the first level were uncomfortable but do-able as she focused on the workout her legs were getting. The steps to the second level were more mentally challenging. If her friends had bothered to notice the would have seen the typically bright and bubbly Sasha grow quiet and panicked. The final ascension was via a lift. Her friends giggled as they loaded into the elevator. Sasha calmed herself breathing deeply and repeatedly chanted that this was a once in a lifetime experience. Instead as the doors slid open Sasha burst into tears and spent the next few minutes a shaky frantic mess of tears sitting on the floor trying to get as low as possible while yelling for others to get away. It was the most terrified she had ever been.

She now avoided high places at all costs. Which is why she felt safe as she walked along the flat fields covered in snow feeling perfectly at ease. She didn't notice the subtle shift in terrain under her feet as the cold frozen ground changed to not so frozen water. She was too lost in thought to hear the tell tale cracks of the thin ice. She was too mad at the man who had brought her to this beautiful frozen wonderland, only to reveal it as a hellscape. She was out too far for anyone to hear the quick intake of her final breath as a small gasp escaped her lips. In the end Sasha did fall, but not from a high place. Not this first time.