Misstep

Getting cheated feels like

Missing the first step at the top of the stairs
foot hovering over air, heart thumping, pain awaiting.
How bad will the fall be?
What can be salvage?

Then every step to the bottom
is another chance to be hurt.
Clinging to the railing and feeling

Like such a fool. Such an idiot.
And from then on, the whole world is a staircase.

The challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to write a story in exactly 55 words. Flash Fiction 55 is hosted by the G-man, a host with the most.