The Problem With Love

She ducked down behind the curtain as he looked up at her window. The new neighbour. The Adonis! The most beautiful boy on earth!

Sitting on her bed, homework piled around her, heart pounding from that one glance, she wondered if he would be at school tomorrow… her school? Which class? He looked her age. Would he be in her class? She melted with excitement, and that’s when it happened for the first time.

At school the next day, an hour into the morning, her teacher startled her out of her book by tapping his ruler on the desk. As she looked up, she saw him—tall, dark, and even a little lanky. A dark fringe fell over one eye, and she caught his blush as he was introduced to the class, sensing his nervousness as he flicked the fringe back… the cutest thing she had ever seen. He looked straight at her, and that’s when it happened for the second time.

In the Department of Psychic Research, they ran a battery of tests on her. The intense interest around her was palpable—after all, it wasn’t every day they had documented proof of levitation. Thank heavens for mobile phones, which, though meant to be handed in at the start of school, had been surreptitiously stowed away, only to be brought out in haste to capture the schoolgirl floating three feet off the floor.

Nothing they did could induce her to rise again, so they decided to go back to the source: her school.

Nothing.

With promises to contact them if anything happened again, the Department left her with her worried parents. After discussions about new schools and dietary changes, her mother calmed down enough to let her return to normal life. Her father rightly pointed out that moving her now might just make things worse.

The next time it happened was in the school gym. Playing basketball against the boys, the girls were only slightly behind. She had the ball, and as she aimed for the net, her hand brushed against Alan’s. The ball was tipped into the basket with ease as she found herself almost level with it.

The girls’ team was furious. Being disqualified for cheating was not what they had in mind, and she was banned from the team.

As she grew into a young woman and left for college, levitation was almost forgotten as she carved out a new life. However, when she left college for university and saw him across campus, heard the screams from below her, she finally put two and two together. It was Alan causing it. She needed to meet him, to talk. Perhaps that would stop it. If she saw he wasn’t as gorgeous in real life as she’d made him out to be, then she’d come back to earth.

The next time she saw him was later that week. With her pockets full of rocks and her bag weighted with dumbbells borrowed from the gym, she gathered her courage and found him in the library. He smiled shyly at her, then caught her hand as she started to rise. Pulling her down beside him, he whispered, “It’s me, isn’t it?”

They stayed together through university, found good jobs close to each other, and met for lunch every day. She kept a silk belt on, so if she got overly happy, he could gently bring her back down.

He proposed to her on a fairground ride, while they were both strapped in. It took six rounds of loops and whirls before she could step off. They both felt quite ill afterward, but she was now promised to him.

They married outside in the formal gardens of the local Hall. At the wedding, the bride and groom looked resplendent in their attire, saying their vows.

She was at her happiest—the best day of her life. As they reached for each other, they both smiled softly, thankful for the gold padlock and chain around their ankles, keeping them grounded.

Behind them, forty guests gently rose above their chairs.