West pulled the car to a stop at the back of a line a few cars deep at a building that looked like a rustic, deep-woods toll booth. 

“I’ll be honest, this is not what I was expecting,” West said, mostly to himself. “I thought you could just drive up to it…”

We crept slowly forward with the line, and as we pulled up to the booth, a bored-looking, twenty-something guy slid open the window. “Welcome to the Grand Canyon,” he said in a flat tone without looking up. “One-day parking is $30.”

“Shit,” West grumbled, pulling his quickly shrinking roll of cash out of his pocket and handing over two twenty-dollar bills.

He paused for just a moment to look at us as he took the money. “One second while I get your change,” he said, and then quickly slid the window closed, disappearing into the booth.

“Grand Canyon?” I said. 

“I’ve always wanted to come here,” West said. “It’s a little out of the way, but I figured why not? How often are we going to have freedom like this, to just go wherever we want without anyone caring or needing us to be somewhere else? So fuck it, right? Though thirty bucks… we might be a little tight for cash by the end of this trip, but I think we can make it work.”

“But what’s so special about this place?”

“You just have to see it.” He turned back to the window. “What the hell is taking this guy so long?” He reached out and rapped his knuckle against the glass a few times.

A moment later the booth attendant reappeared and slid open the window. “Sorry about the delay here’s your change have a nice day,” he said in one breath before almost throwing the ten-dollar bill at West and sliding the window shut again.

West stared at the booth bewildered for a moment before shoving the money in his pocket and directing the car forward down a narrow, twisting road. 

“Close your eyes,” he said. “I think we’re almost there.”

“What?”

“You're killing me, Coral. Just humor me.”

“Fine, fine.” I closed my eyes.

We continued on for another minute before I felt the car stop and he turned off the engine. “Stay there,” he said before I heard his car door open and close. A moment later my door opened and I felt West’s hand on my right arm. “Follow me. And keep your eyes closed!”

I blindly stepped out of the car, and he looped his arm around my elbow. 

“All right, we’re in a parking lot, so I’m gonna try really hard to not get you hit by a car,” he said.

“I’d very much appreciate that, thanks,” I laughed.

“Step up here. There’s a curb.”

“Shit.”

“Watch it, don’t trip.”

“Literally the only thing I can’t do right now is ‘watch it,’ West.”

“Bad wording, I admit it. But, here, just put out your arm and there should be a railing there.”

I heard a tink of metal against wood as my left hand made contact with the railing and I gripped it tight.

“All right,” West said. “You can open your eyes.”

The whole earth seemed to drop off in front of me and open up to a beautiful, strange, breathtaking world of orange and yellow stone that stretched on as far as I could see. I leaned over the railing to see that past the jagged rocks and steep walls, a tiny river of blue snaked its way through the floor of the canyon. It was terrifying and it made me feel so small, but that’s what drew me in and made it so I never wanted to look away. 

West leaned against the railing and the biggest, dumbest smile spread across his face. “Yeah, this is so much better than seeing it on a screen.” 

“It’s pretty amazing,” I said.

West stepped up on one of the lower lateral rungs of the railing and hoisted himself up so he was two or three feet off the ground with his knees resting against the top of it.

“What are you doing?” I said, instinctively grabbing on to his pants so he wouldn’t pitch forward into the canyon.

“Therapy,” he said before throwing his head back and yelling at the top of his lungs. No words, just pure, unfiltered emotion.

I glanced around at the other people around us, who were all looking up at West, some with bemused smiles on their faces and others just confused and a little bit scared.

“Alright, West,” I said, tapping his leg, “come on, people are staring. Get down.”

He looked down at me. “Come on, you’ve got to try it. Just once, then I’ll get down.”

“Are you serious?”

“I mean, you’re a badass with superpowers, you can do—or not do—whatever the hell you want, and I’m really in no position to stop you. But I can tell you it feels really good. So hell yes, I’m serious. Go for it!"

I glanced around at the other people again. Some were still watching us, but most had gone back to looking out at the canyon or had wandered away. I sighed. “Fine.”

I leaned into the railing, gripped it tight with both hands, closed my eyes, and let out a long, guttural scream. I didn’t hold anything back. I let all of the fear and frustration and dread that had been stirring inside fuel me. West was right. It felt really, really good. I felt free, like I was floating on air. Like nothing mattered in that moment.

I felt a hand pull at my arm and West’s frantic words of, “Shit, Coral, stop,” and I opened my eyes. My boots dangled a few feet off the ground as a dozen or so rocks drifted and danced through the air around me. It felt like the air itself was keeping me aloft. I felt another tug on my jacket. He wanted me to come down, but this felt so amazing. I felt so truly free, and he was just trying to chain me back to the earth. A spark of annoyance danced over my skin and down my arm. 

Leave me alone. The thought was so sudden and harsh that it didn’t feel like it was my own. Suddenly, West flew away from me, stumbling backwards a few steps like I had pressed both of my hands against his chest and shoved as hard as I could. My breath caught in my throat and the soles of my shoes slapped against the pavement as I returned to reality. A barrage of orange stones plummeted to the earth a moment later. I looked down at my hand just as the bright blue glow started to fade away. 

“West, I’m so sor—”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, his gaze flicking around the crowd of tourists around us.

People were definitely staring now. I could feel their fear and confusion burning holes in my skin. I backed away from the railing a few steps, and then turned and headed out towards the parking lot. West was close behind me, and soon took the lead weaving between parked cars.