Infinity

The cat meowed. There was a car horn in the distance. Under the blanket, Ky could hardly sleep a wink. She got up to check up on the cat — no one knew that she’d been taking care of it.

As she filled a saucer, Ky looked at the time. 2 AM. Another 3 hours to put her first experiment to trial. She briefly wondered if 3 hours was enough sleep to go through with the crazy idea, but just as quickly dismissed it. She did not need more reasons to get nervous, it was now or never. So it was with determination that Ky put down the cat’s saucer. As she crawled back under the blanket, she reminded herself that washing and replacing the saucer was the first thing she had to do before she set out for her trial.

Rrrrrriiiiinnnnnggggg!

Ky woke up with a start. Although it was her usual time to wake up, today was special. Her routine consisted of waking up, putting out the milk for her secret-cat, going out to turn on the water tap for her house, taking a detour to spend some time in her “Invention shed” and fetching milk from the shops before returning home to get ready for school. Today, her routine was going to be no different to the people she lived with and greeted on her daily rounds. But she and the secret-cat were going on an adventure! It was as if even the cat knew today was going to be different — she had the milk at night after all!

After turning on the water-tap, Ky went to her shed as usual. But she got her contraption out and ran to the cliffs. Secret-cat followed, as if she knew what was going to happen. This was going to be her moment when she changes history, there was going to be songs sung, fables written, frescoes painted! Oh! What Glory!

At the edge of the cliff, she set up her contraption and looked around. The skies were bright purple, just breaking into blues. Hardly any clouds. She took out a loose bit from the contraption — a stick with a few strips of paper stuck on one end — and stuck it up over her head. A few strips floated almost horizontal : perfect wind conditions.

She set the little wind-tester aside, slipped her arms through the straps of the large contraption and took a few steps back. Then suddenly, she broke into a run towards the edge of the cliff. The wind swept her hair back. The wind pushed the large flaps backwards. It was difficult to maintain the speed. But the edge was almost here now. With another sudden burst of speed, she leapt.

There was a moment of utter quiet, when even the wind was silent. She was floating, weightless, the limitless expanse of purple-blue around her. It was a tiny moment that felt like infinity, where she was one with the sky. The sea of green-and-brown below her. The moment she had been dreaming of for years.

Then she remembered to flap. But as hard as she flapped her arms, hooked with the contraption, the sea of green-and-brown started getting closer, menacingly. It wasn’t enough to get over the gravity, she thought as she fell through the thick foliage. The contraption didn’t work.

Her experiment failed.

Dejected, she started the long trek back to her house. She needed to fetch the milk and get ready for school. Secret-cat rubbed against her leg, as if to say, “I sure am glad you’re back”.

Ky might not have changed history that day, but it was a historical day in her life. It definitely was not the same anymore, not after that single moment of infinity. Her heart was full, there were new experiments to be designed and more calculations done.

A new day to be lived.