airborne

Not far, just into the nearby giraffe domain.

Not high, just enough to buzz the tops of trees.

Not long, just long enough to stop breathing.

But I fly.

I’m not alone. Half the world seems airborne. Trees, boards, bicycles, chunks of roofs, umbrellas, chairs, bits and pieces of life: it all levitates past like some horrible magic trick.

Something hits my head—a toy truck, maybe?—and I yelp in pain.

And I’m terrified, so scared I pee myself, and I’ll be the first to admit it—you try it and see how dry your underwear stays—but still.

I fly.

Not like in the box, the box with my brothers and sisters. Not like with the owl.

This is different.

This is me, Bob the dog, spending a moment as Bob the bird.