Historical Fiction Winner: 3rd Place "Gravitation"
Every time he closed his eyes, the same scene played over and over again.
“Come with me,” he had said, the excited words bursting from his mouth the moment she opened the door.
Katherine had raised her eyebrows, blonde hair loosely tied back bouncing as she looked down the hallway. “Go with you? Where? Isaac, it’s the middle of the night. That would not be proper of me.”
Even as she was telling him off, he could see the laughter in her eyes, hear the curiosity in her voice. He slowly started smiling, and Katherine had to look at the ground to keep him from seeing hers.
“This one’s outside, by the apple tree. I know you want to,” he teased. Isaac took a step forward so she reflexively looked up at him. “I learned to sew for this one. It’s better than the mouse-run windmill, I promise. You could say it's really beautiful if you don’t look too closely at it. I’d say it’s best from a distance.”
There. With that, her smile grew to its entirety, and she didn’t bother to hide it. A warm feeling grew in Isaac’s chest. It sat there contentedly every time he was with her, every time she smiled at him, every time he looked at her. He would never get tired of it. Ever.
“What if we get caught?” she asked.
“So? What are we doing wrong? Besides,” he added, “there’s nothing I’d rather be caught doing than spending time with you.”
“Isaac—”
“I made this one just for you,” he persuaded.
With that, he held out his hand for her to take, and she did. Without hesitation.
“This better be worth it,” she told him.
He pulled her along the hallways at a run. Behind him, he could hear a small squeal followed by muffled laughter. Isaac looked back to see Katherine’s hand over her mouth, bright blue eyes gleaming. She was probably trying to be decent, making sure that she didn’t wake her father or her siblings, but it was Isaac’s last day there. He wasn’t as inclined to care. In that moment, he decided that he’d do anything just to see that look on her face.
They reached the front door, and Katherine tugged his arm. “Wait!” she whispered. “I’m not wearing any shoes!”
Isaac simply shrugged. "I can take care of that.”
Without another word, Isaac scooped Katherine up easily. She laughed loudly, and her hands clung to his shirt and neck like he was the only safe thing in the world. Isaac memorized the feeling of her in his arms. I’ll come back for you, he thought. I promise I’ll come back.
When they reached the apple tree, Isaac set Katherine down under the tree. It was beautiful at night. The moon watched them from above, turning the world a shade of silvery-white. The wind ran its hands through the grass, rippling the blades in waves. And below him, Katherine, the crown jewel of the scene, her pale skin glowing in the dim light.
He crouched in front of her. “Close your eyes,” he instructed.
She did, covering her face with her hands. Isaac reached behind the tree and pulled out the white cloth cylinder. It wasn’t very pretty—just a misshapen bit of cloth and wire—but he knew that Katherine would love it.
Isaac sat in front of her again, getting comfortable. “Okay,” he finally said, “open your eyes.”
Katherine’s eyes immediately went to the ground in front of her. “What is it?”
Isaac pulled flint and steel from his pocket, setting it next to the contraption. “This is a floating lantern. There’s some stuff inside of it that catches on fire, and when it does, the whole thing floats away.”
“Why does it go up?” she asked.
“The fire warms the air, the hot air rises, and it takes the lantern up. Eventually, the fire will run out of stuff to burn, and it’ll come back down.”
Katherine reached out and felt the material of the lantern. “Why does it go down? Why doesn’t it go sideways or something?”
“Because it wants to,” he replied, a smile catching on his face.
Katherine pushed his shoulder and grabbed the lantern. “That’s the least scientific explanation I’ve ever heard from my favorite scientist,” she replied, taking the lantern into the open field.
“Your dad is a chemist!” he reminded her, scrambling to catch up.
It took a few minutes to get the lantern to catch. Isaac wasn’t very good at working the flint and steel, but eventually, the fire started glowing.
For a moment, the two of them just held the lantern. Isaac watched as Katherine’s features changed from silver to gold. She was glowing. Isaac didn’t believe in a god, but looking at her, he could believe in a goddess.
In his life, Isaac had disappointed nearly everyone. His mother, his stepfather, his teachers. But not Katherine. Never Katherine. She never expected him to be any more than he was. The look in her eyes when she watched the lantern float away—a look of pride and admiration and excitement—that was enough. She watched the lantern fly like it was one of the most exciting things she had seen in her life.
Isaac was pretty sure he was watching her the same way.
I’ll come back, he thought. Every day.
“Katherine?”
“Yes, Isaac?”
“I’m coming back. Every day if you want,” he told her. “I’ll write to you.”
Katherine reached out and squeezed his hand. “You better. I'm going to miss you."
He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. But when he opened his eyes, she was gone.
Same tree, same spot, three years later. Isaac thought he wouldn’t be able to look at it, but being here, he realized he couldn’t look away. He could still see her, standing across from him, the lantern between them glowing.
Isaac looked down at her letter. After knowing what it was—a wedding invitation, and one without her name above his—he hadn’t been able to read more than his address. Dearest Isaac Newton—
Three years. Isaac hadn’t failed to write to her, but as time went on, letters from Katherine became rare. She became Katherine Vincent, and all he became was confused. Isaac shouldn’t have left her side. Too late. Now he could barely look at her letters without feeling some sort of pang in his chest. He expected her to move on. He had almost known it.
But that didn’t mean he hadn’t vehemently hoped against it.
“Isaac?”
Isaac spun around. “William. What are you doing out here? The festivities are inside.”
His new friend sauntered toward him. Since their college had shut down due to the plague, they were both without a real schedule, but it was probably for the best. Isaac had gone on to work on his own theories, William was about to begin an archaeological project. They’d grown close in those three years, and Isaac was glad because of it.
“I could ask you the same,” William responded. “But I’m pretty sure I already know.”
Isaac sighed. “I grew up here,” he lied, kicking aimlessly at the grass. “I missed the place. Lots of memories.”
“Of course,” William replied. “I’ll get the horses ready."
Isaac nodded. As his friend walked off, Isaac went to sit under the tree. It was a beautiful day. The sky was a flawless blue, only interrupted by big red apples and tree branches, the grass green and soft underneath him. Just like he remembered. Katherine would’ve made him sit there and enjoy it with her. So that’s exactly what he did.
Then, as Isaac watched, one of the apples fell off the tree.
Katherine’s words came back to him. Why does it go down? Why doesn’t it go sideways or something?
Isaac slowly sat up and grabbed the apple off the ground, turning it over in his hand. Not sideways. Not up. Down. Everything falls down.
“William?” he called. "William!"
