A Different Time

This is my first attempt at Photo Prompts. Hope you like it.
In response to Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo Thursday photo prompt – Time

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She had to reach the clock tower before the clock struck 12. This was no Cinderella story though. She was no princess nor was she going to turn into a servant. There was no coach or chauffeur or horses for her that transform again into pumpkin and mice. There was no fairy godmother, magic dust, elegant dresses or glass slippers. There was no midnight ball or handsome charming prince either. But there was magic in the air. In each cell of her body. In every beat of her heart.

The tower was glittering with decorative lights. It looked beautiful against the dark night and handful of stars sprinkled around it, with the clock face shining like the full moon. She will not see this sky again. She will not see these celebrations and festivities again. As she sneaked in and climbed up the stairs, the world below was getting ready to welcome the new year.

Soon the count down would begin. There will be firecrackers. People will gather around the tower to watch the black sky burst into various hues of blue, gold, pink and red. All her favorite colors. Like everyone, she was also ready to say goodbye to this year and welcome a new age. Only her method and place of celebration was different.

The door to the open space at the top of the tower wouldn’t open. Damn. She used all her strength and banged against it. The door gave away after a few tries, leaving her shoulders bruised and whole body aching. It was almost time. She felt the excitement build in the crowd. It was just in the air. Electric. Magnetic. Spirited. Contagious excitement.

Carefully she climbed onto the other side of the railings on the east side. Below the crowd was screaming… 7… 6… 5… 4… She took a deep breath, ready to take the final step… 2… 1…

She closed her eyes and let go. She was falling down, down, down… smiling, with her face up to the sky.

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Thump. Thud. Thwack. She rolled and stopped against a cluster of rocks.

She opened her eyes. She was alive. Hurting, but ALIVE.

She knew it. She always knew it. She always knew that the hole in the wall of the Time was real and here she was. Her life was just about to begin.

Happy New Year.