David Policar 1992
The odd thing, when I opened my eyes, was not that I was in midair. The odd thing was that I didn't seem to be showing any inclination to change this state. Of course, with the ground as distant as it seemed, the lack of any tendency to head in its general direction was undoubtedly a plus... still, it was odd.
Things got better once I looked around and discovered I had company. Claire and Jake, my "imaginary" foxes, were tussling playfully nearby, evidently having no difficulty with the notable absence of "down" -- of course, this was their natural element; I was the stranger.
Claire noticed me first, and in a blur was perched on my shoulder. A moment later, Jake flanked me and they began playing with my hair, which I noticed was longer and lighter than I had left it. It showed a marked tendency to fall back down after being tossed in the air (a relatively normal tendency rendered unusual only by circumstances).
"Um... hi, kids!" I was pleased to note my voice still seemed to work -- at least something performed as advertised! "Let's go visit the ground for a while, okay?"
They looked puzzled, but nodded cheerfully and promptly disappeared.
Oops.
I stared at the ground for a while, wondering. After all, I figured, how hard can it be to fall, for God's sake?
After floating around for a few minutes, I gave up that particular approach -- while there did appear to be a down to fall in, it didn't seem to stretch from me to the ground in the approved fashion for a well-behaved down, choosing instead to twine about, following a path similar to that of a fox chasing its own tail -- fine for foxes, somewhat disorienting for a somewhat frazzled wolf.
By this point, I was lying flat, facing the distant ground, and so Claire's sudden reappearance, perched comfortably on my chest, was rather disconcerting. "What's wrong, dad?" she asked, puzzled, "didn't you want to go to ground?"
"Yeah! We missed you!" added Jake, cheerfully (if dizzyingly) perched on my shoulder.
It was, I decided, going to be a long dream.