The music faded as she entered the chill shadow around her destination. She felt her stomach drop. It always made her uneasy to stand so close. There weren’t many buildings this tall left in the city, but apparently this one was safe. Her breath caught as she watched the sunlight shift slightly on the remaining glass. The building was designed to sway like that; Ms. Lopez had promised. It made it stronger somehow, and all the tallest buildings were inspected periodically. But no matter how many reassurances she got, she couldn’t help but think about how much stuff was piled up above her head.
Reese dumped the wheelbarrow into the massive composter at the base of the skyscraper. She eyed the fading light and judged she had enough time to help a little more. She grabbed some work gloves and loaded up two big buckets with soil before heading for the stairs. Through a gap in the wall, she nervously scanned the sea of empty windows over the rooftops of the building next door. They didn’t seem to be moving. The building must be still now.
As she dumped the buckets out and started walking back down, she realized how frustrated she felt. She hated this fear and confusion. Why make them all ready to tumble down on top of us? She paused on the staircase, summoned her determination, and started to climb up. She had only helped with the gardens on the first few floors so far. The floors left to go wild were technically off-limits without supervision, but… The stomping of her boots echoed upwards.
She stopped at the tenth floor, her heart pounding. Rubble blocked her path. In the dim light that trickled in through the cracks and ivy, she made out an arrow pointing out. She followed it to a ladder snaking up into the shadows of a huge room that took up three floors. Something scurried into its burrow, knocking loose some debris as it fled. Probably a fox, she thought, or opossum. She left whatever it was in peace as she found the staircase again.
The sound of water trickling let her know she was close. The rainwater reservoirs way up here let loose occasional waterfalls that dribbled from floor to floor. She could hear croaks and buzzing from beyond the doorway. She peeked out at the mossy ponds sitting among the swaying reeds. The dying light reflected shimmering bands on the walls. As she watched, she felt the building sway beneath her feet. Water sloshed towards her, soaking her feet. She jumped up the steps and sprinted up the last flights.
What little breath she had left was taken away by the unobstructed view at the top. The entire front wall was gone. Far beneath her, the setting sun painted pinks and yellows across the landscape in parallel strokes. In the shadows, lights twinkled between rippling leaves and branches filling windows and yards. Through the haze the trains rolled past, coming and going like waves on the shore. Beyond, beneath the horizon’s peaks, she could just make out the wild herds that flowed like streams across the valleys. There was just so much, all at once, atop this mountain made from human hands.
Her eyes found her school, the market, the library… and her block, flickering like a candle. There was a bonfire tonight. Although she could see people on the street walking towards it, she couldn’t make out any details. Everyone looked the same from up here.
There was a sudden chorus of chirping behind her. An eagle had landed on the torn ceiling above a nest full of chicks. It watched her, and ruffled its feathers as it shifted. Reese took one last long look over her shoulder before she headed back down the eyrie of steel and glass.
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