I close my eyes again, waiting with bated breath for the impact.
After moments, which seem like decades, I feel him miraculously land his feet onto the ground softly.
He puts me down and my legs feel weak. I stumble backward and Kieran lunges toward me, wrapping his arm around my waist to steady me.
Looking up at the incredibly high cliff, I turn back to look at Kieran. I feel the disbelief of falling down this incredibly high cliff and standing here unscathed, press down on me. He looks away and avoids looking back at me.
As I open my mouth to ask the question burning on my tongue, Jayden calls from in front of us, somewhere in the darkness of the night. "Come on, Kieran! We must leave."
I see dark shadows dance across the cliff face menacingly, like the shadow puppets against the walls in our cottage. Shadow puppets Clara and I make when we are snuggled closely together in bed and before we blow out the candle. When we let our fingers stretch out against the knobbly wood and we tell each other scary stories.
Kieran pulls on my hand and shocked I turn away from the shadows moving down the cliff like a slow, pulsating waterfall.
I am running again.
As we get to the horse and cart, Kieran lets my hand drop and he makes a running jump onto the back of the empty farm cart.
Jayden clutches me by my elbow and he hurries me toward the front of the rickety wagon.
The horse, which is still tethered to the front of the cart, eats lazily from the bits of grass on the verge of the muddy road.
Kieran clambers over the wooden backrest of the cart and then sit down hurriedly. He leans forward to undo the reigns twirled around the front guard.
Jayden places his hands on my hips and he looks down into my eyes pensively. He smiles sadly and then as he lifts me and I am face to face with him, he says softly, "I will always love you."
I frown and immediately I feel remorseful for him. I know he heard me tell Kieran that I choose him. Is Jayden still trying to convince me I should have chosen him?
Kieran yells, "Hurry up. They are coming."
Jayden sets me down on the seat and then he swings himself effortlessly onto the back of the wagon as Kieran lashes the whip onto the horse.
The horse whinnies and then with a jerking motion the cart starts to move. Kieran prompts the horse to go faster by yelling at it and lashing the whip over its back.