Love Thaws: Melting

I'm Fine

Elsa paced the length of the house like a caged tiger. She was done with her courses for the day and had work off. She was bored out of her mind. She'd already played several sonatas, weeded the garden, and even cooked an omelet. Elsa finally sighed and rolled onto the couch. Her weary mind wandered. She clenched her eyes shut, willing away memories. She needed something to distract her. She needed to do something productive. 

She stared at the lights overhead. Several had gone out since they'd moved in and one was flickering eerily. Elsa finally had an idea. She grabbed her purse and headed to the driveway, only to discover Jack had taken the car. Elsa decided she could use a jog anyway. The store was roughly two miles away. Elsa purchased a few light bulbs and jogged back, careful not to jostle them too much. She set the grocery bag on the counter and searched for the ladder, finding it in the garage. She lifted the long metal ladder and carried it into the living room, bumping the walls several times.

Elsa set the ladder up. She grabbed a light bulb in one hand and began to climb with the other. She still had to stretch her arms to reach the ceiling, even when she was on the highest platform. Elsa's legs wobbled slightly when she tried to steady herself. Elsa stretched her arms and carefully began unscrewing the glass bulb. Her arms startled shaking as the blood drained from them. She exhaled in relief when the bulb finally dropped into her palm. She brought her other hand up and cautiously screwed the bulb in. Now she just had to get down. She needed one arm to grab the ladder, so she could steady herself. Unfortunately, she was on the top of the ladder, a delicate light bulb in one hand. She needed to bend directly downwards to touch the ladder. 

She bent down slowly. Her breath caught as she suddenly lost her balance. Her arms flailed as she blindly tried to grab onto anything to steady herself. She sighed as she regained her balance and finished descending the ladder. She moved the ladder and climbed it once more, a new bulb in hand. She managed to unscrew the old light bulb, but she accidentally dropped it. It crashed to the ground, seven feet below her, the glittering shards flying across the floor. Elsa cleaned up what she could with a dustpan, though she knew miniscule barbs of glass still lingered, invisible to the eye until it was too late. Elsa made a point to wear shoes the rest of the day.

She changed another few bulbs. As Elsa once again ascended the ladder, she wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. She carefully exchanged the old light bulb for the new one and began to bend down to grab the ladder. She gasped and her heart lurched as she tilted backwards. Her heart clenched in fear and time seemed to freeze before everything crashed down on her. Everything happened in rapid procession. 

She fell, slamming into the ground, grunting as she fell onto a small, wooden table, the ladder crashing on top of her. She blinked several times, trying to process what had just happened. She groaned as pain crashed into her, shooting up her skull. She gasped and clutched her head, willing the excruciating pain to go away. The pain slowly ebbed, but didn't vanish entirely. Elsa had no idea how long she laid there, her head buried in her hands. She was almost afraid to move. Her body seemed sore and sensitive all over, but her head and her ankle particularly hurt, the pain throbbing and pulsing through her body. 

With a trembling hand, she reached down to prod her ankle. She quickly recoiled with a gasp of pain. She sat up, propping herself on her elbow, when she felt sharp pricks of pain. What now? Elsa sat up and observed her arms, covered in bloody nicks and scratches. The floor was covered in glistening fragments of jagged, albeit delicate, glass. Trying to dust her hands off on her jeans only made the pain worse, driving the slivers of glass deeper into her palms. Elsa remained still for an agonizing moment, unsure of what to do.