Fall Out

Rick swelled with fatherly pride as he took Summer’s hand and pulled her off the cliff face and onto the summit. He clamped her into the metal loop that was hammered deep into the granite, then they peered down the sheer expanse of rock to check on Kathy’s progress. She was Rick’s wife and Summer’s mother, but was not nearly as experienced a climber. That was one reason she had come. She wanted to log more hours climbing and, more importantly, more hours with Summer. She was about two-thirds of the way up the 200ft escarpment. 

Her motion revealed that she had learned well. The only reason that she lagged behind was that she checked each rope, clamp and piton three times before making her next move. She reached up to grab a piton that was about two feet above shoulder level. As she flexed her bicep and shoulder to pull herself up, a startling crack – like a starting pistol – resounded. A tremendous slice of granite, to which Kathy ws strapped, sheared off and slid to the bottom of the cliff face.

“Mom!” Summer screamed, then repeated the syllable as a choked wail. When the dust cleared, they could see Kathy lying motionless, still secured in her harness.

Rick and Summer took a spiraling back trail to the base of the mountain. Rick ran to the car for medical supplies while Summer ran straight to her mother. 

“Don’t move her!” Rick yelled. “She might have a spinal injury.”

“Mom…?” Summer said softly as she grabbed Kathy’s hand. Her eyes fluttered, then opened, squinting at Summer.

“Debbie?” she said. “What are you doing here?”

“Mom, it’s me. Summer. Your daughter?”

“Debbie, honey, are you all right?”

At this point Rick walked up bearing the Medikit and a concerned look on his face.

“Honey, let me see your pupils. I think you may have a concussion.”

“Am I dead?”

“No, but it sounds like you took a significant blow to the head.” He examined her pupils. They were the same size and dilated normally.

“Is that why I’m seeing dead people?”

“Jesus Christ, Kath. You’re freaking Summer out.” One look at her distraught expression revealed this to be true.

“I’m freaking her out? Don’t you think having her dead father show up and call her the name he wanted instead of the name on her birth certificate is freaking her out? It’s freaking me out.”

“Mom, stop!” Summer shrieked. “The name on my birth certificate is Summer Ann Wilson. Stop calling me Debbie and stop saying that creepy stuff about dad.”

“How are you doing this, Debbie? Did you hire an actor? Drugs? Did you slip a VR headset on me while I slept?”

-ELSEWHERE – 

Kathy looked at the headstone that read “Here lies Richard Joseph Wilson, beloved husband and father.” It was where she was brought by a delusional Summer, who insisted that Kathy address her as Debbie, when she insisted on seeing Rick.