“In 1920 Odette Belle’s hot-air balloon was struck by lightning and dropped out of the sky like a pigeon that had been shot. No one was surprised. God had been gunning for her for years. His feelings for the man she happened to be straddling at the time are pure speculation.
Spectators standing on the ground below said they could hear Odette laughing all the way down. It was more of a cackle, really–one of those laughs that promises a man he’s missing the ride of his life.”
-From The Rock Orchard by Paula Wall.
