The stilt walker waits

Original fiction extract.

Behind the parade tent, the stilt walker sat on a high platform while her assistant checked the long legs below her. Her striped trousers lay folded over one knee. At that height she could look across the tent roof, but she was still eating an ordinary sandwich from a paper bag. I waited with the musicians beside the fence.

When she stood, the afternoon acquired a second storey. Her head rose above our conversation, and the striped cloth fell into two impossible corridors beneath her. The first step was a careful negotiation with the ground. Then the narrow feet found their rhythm, and her body sailed between them with a calm which made the distance look less real. A little boy lifted his hand towards hers. She bent, slowly, a tall question mark leaning over the fence, and touched his fingers without stopping her smile.

The drummer called that we were ready. She straightened and moved towards the music. From the front of the procession, she looked effortlessly enormous. I could still see the assistant following a few paces behind with the paper bag folded under one arm.

Choose three powerful words or phrases from the extract above. Analyse how the writer uses language to convey the stilt walker’s appearance before joining the procession.

Write about 200 to 250 words.