Read the first chapter of I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH now! Short but sweet. And a little sad. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: And Blue, Beloved Air

Once, when I was a child, my father gave me the sky.

The Ferris wheel at the World’s Fair towered over 200 feet tall, its spokes glinting in the late summer sun. The cars smelled of hot metal, wood, and anticipation. The mixture left a heady taste on my tongue as the shimmering ground fell behind. My fingers, sticky with candied popcorn and peanuts, gripped the rail so tightly I could scarcely feel them.

Papa’s hand closed over mine. We waited to rise together.

After what felt like an eternity, the apex of the wheel stole my breath. A terrible, wonderful thrill went through my heart as Chicago and the rest of civilization stretched out before me.

Papa laughed as I timidly leaned over to look. His whole body smiled. “What do you see, sweetheart?”

“Everything.”

We sat there and swayed. When the mechanism jerked forward, I clung to him.

“Not yet, Papa. I’m not ready.” Not ready to plummet back to earth. Not ready to give up the sky.

“What goes up must come down, my girl. Don’t worry. I’ll be with you.”

His arm around my shoulders. His solidity keeping me still. The sun glowed behind his head.

We tumbled forward, the ground reaching up to meet us, and I couldn’t feel him anymore. Only the rushing wind and my dropping stomach.

Only me.