"Wow. This is breathtaking," Paige declared.

"Yeah, it is. Whenever I come to Dover, I try to do it at least once," Brian said.

Paige looked around at the picturesque view. When Brian said they were going to see the White Cliffs of Dover, she never imagined they would be doing it in a hot air balloon. Henry drove them straight to Benedict Balloons. A hot air balloon service near the coast. Brian was a regular customer and even knew how to fly one by himself.

Paige was skeptical about it, but Brian encouraged her to give it a go. Never being one to back out of a challenge, she hopped right in.

The dark, blue waves crashed against the shore and the orange sun set in the distance. High up in the air, it was peaceful, and ironically, she had never felt so alive. The initial fear she had nursed as they ascended to the sky was long forgotten.

"Paige, look," Brian said. He pointed in the direction of the giant, white cliffs and tapped her hand.

Paige turned away from the sunset and looked. The cliff in its bright, morning glory was lovely, but the deep, amber glow of the cliff reflecting the sunset was spectacular.

"Wow. It is amazing," Paige said.

"You mean it this time," Brian affirmed.

Paige giggled while she tapped her fingers on her purse. "Sorry for biting your head off before we came here."

"No worries." He gave her a pointed look and concluded. "You would do a lot less 'head biting' if you would calm down and get all the facts before snapping though."

"Well, you would get your head bitten a lot less if you could make yourself clear from the start," Paige retorted.

"Fair enough. I will try to make myself clear as much as possible."

"Okie dokie. I will try to be absolutely clear about things before I react."

Brian chuckled and raised an eyebrow. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from the cute pout of her lips. She smiled knowingly and gazed at the white foam of the ocean waves in the distance. They settled into a comfortable silence. The gentle wind made their hot air balloon drift slowly to the East. Both of them did not reveal to one another that they rarely had misunderstandings with other people. The cool breeze caressed their skin, and they were lost in their thoughts.

"So, how do we get down?" Paige asked.

"Relax, we have parachutes and life jackets in the corner," Brian replied.

"You have got to be kidding me," Paige hissed.

"Please remain calm. I pulled the lever a couple of times, but it is not functioning. Do not panic, we will be fine."

Paige rummaged through her purse for her mobile phone but when she found it, her shoulders slumped. Her battery was low before they ascended and she had taken a zillion pictures. It was not surprising that the battery was dead. Sadly, she saw Brian take his phone out of his pocket, and turn in different directions. He obviously had no network reception on his mobile.

She looked intently at Brian. Hoping to see the mischievous glint he usually had in his eyes when he was pulling her leg. He looked back at her with a plain face. Her heart started to beat erratically in her chest.

Brian held her hand. "Take deep breaths. In and out. In and out. Panicking will not get us out of this."

Paige tried to do the breathing exercises, but her breaths still came in short, fast puffs.

"Now, there is a vent that will allow hot air to escape," Brian said calmly. "What did I say?"

"There is a vent that will allow hot air to escape," Paige repeated.

"Firing the burner fills the balloon with hot air to make it rise. What should we try to do, Paige?"

"Stop firing the burner so we can descend?"

"Correct."

Brian stopped firing the burner and the balloon slowly started to descend.

Paige prayed for the forgiveness of her sins and her mind filled with regret as she thought about her mother. Though a workaholic, she wanted the best for Paige, but just did not express her love in the form of time or attention. Her mother was wrong, but two wrongs never made a right. She silently prayed to God that if he spared her life, she would make peace with her mum.

A sudden gust of wind blew them off course and away from the field. Angry waves crashed below and the rugged rocks did not look welcoming.

Paige wept silently. She did not want to die. "What about the parachutes?" she asked quietly.

"Our altitude is not sufficient enough for them to work," Brian replied calmly.

"Unfortunately, we are too high to jump on our own anyway," Paige reasoned.

There was silence for a moment. Peace in the midst of danger.

"Mr Rochester?"

"Yes, Paige."

She mumbled awkwardly and fiddled with her fingers.

Brian spread his arms and Paige laid her head on his chest. He held her tight and stroked her back gently as she wept.

"You think I am a baby for crying, don't you?" she asked.

"No. I think you are remarkably brave. I cannot believe how level headed you are being about this situation."

The basket swayed from side to side in the wind. It did not descend, but rather sustained an unsteady equilibrium.

"Is there anything you wish you did differently, Mr Rochester?"

There was a silent, painful pause. Brian wondered if he should say it out loud. It was a traumatic experience he had not shared with anyone.

"You do not have to say anything if it makes you uncomfortable," Paige added quietly.

"I wish I forgave my father," Brian said.

Paige looked up at his face. "I do not know anything about you apart from your research work, and that you are Australian. Even if I did, I would not judge you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Brian sighed and looked down into her thoughtful brown eyes. Previously, he wondered which one he liked better; daring and confident, Paige or flustered and awkward, Paige. At that moment, he realised that calm and collected, Paige tugged at his heartstrings even more.

"My mum is from Illawarra. A simple, laid back area, some kilometres west from Sydney," he paused and clenched his jaw.

Paige gave him a gentle pat of encouragement. "You can stop-"

Brian cleared his throat and nodded. "No, I want to continue. She was a hippie," he chuckled and a small smile showed that his memories of her were good ones. "She had an art and craft shop where she sold hand made pots, glass wind chimes and other ornaments."

"Sounds lovely," Paige said quietly.

"One day, a highflying guy zoomed into town from Sydney. He came to her shop to buy a wind chime. Mum said he was the most handsome man she had ever seen. Tall, blonde and pale blue eyes clear as crystal."

Paige stifled a gasp. She could not imagine how hard it must be to be identical to a person you despised.

"He swept mum off her feet easily. A small town girl felt honoured to be adored by a stock broker from the city. She was only twenty one."

He looked out to the distance and his jaw ticked. "She did not give me all the details, but apparently they had a passionate weekend and he returned to Sydney without saying goodbye."

"Oh my goodness. She must have been heartbroken."

"She found out she was pregnant two months later. Against all odds, she decided to keep me. Fortunately, her family was supportive. Shortly after I was born, she went to Sydney and tried to locate him. She returned home miserable when she couldn't."

The basket tilted slightly and veered further towards the rocks before dipping in another direction.

"Ten years later, he returned to town. Still rich and successful, but battered after being used and dumped by city girls." Brian ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. "He wanted to apologize and if possible, reunite with the pretty hippie he met years earlier. Unfortunately for him, she was gone."

"Oh, no!" Paige cried.

Brian smiled. "It's not what you think. I mean the naïve, young hippie was gone. There was a strong, confident, fashion designer in her place."

"Amazing. Life gave her lemons and she made a tall, chilled glass of lemonade," Paige applauded.

"He begged and pleaded for forgiveness. Claiming that he was young and foolish, and would have come back for us if he knew he had a son. He tried to offer mum child support funds in arrears, but mum didn't need or want his money."

"When that failed he bought a house and came home every weekend to see us. He seemed very committed to making amends. Eventually, mum forgave him but didn't take him back. I was too angry to forget the times I longed for a father. So, I refused to forgive him."

Paige touched his shoulder. "Hey, don't be hard on yourself. You were just a kid, and you were right to be upset."

"He turned to drugs and has been in and out of rehab ever since. I decided to study Pharmacy because I want to develop viable treatments for people battling with addiction," Brian concluded.

"His addiction is not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it is not." Paige said firmly.

"So, that is my tragic tale. What about you? Do you have any story you want to share?" Brian chuckled without mirth.

Paige pursed her lips at the change of topic, but she let it go. "I am the only child of my parents, but my workaholic mum missed out on a lot of things when I was growing up. I despised her for it." Paige sighed and bit her lip. "I stopped playing the violin since she missed Performing Arts night when I was twelve."

"Your dad said that you were musically gifted," Brian said kindly.

"Yeah, maybe I will play the violin at our we- I mean, your- Never mind."

Brian looked at her face intently, as if he were memorizing each detail. His heart warmed at her near slip of tongue. "If we get out of this, make peace with your mum. Alright?"

"Sure thing. Now it's time for the sad violin interlude," Paige joked. She hummed the tune of My Heart Will Go On loudly, mimicking the sound of a violin as she did.

"What on Earth is wrong with you?" Brian asked. He could not believe that Paige was joking about their possible, imminent death.

Paige started laughing. She bent over as she struggled to control her laughter. Tears streamed from her eyes and she gasped for breath.

"This chick is crazy," Brian concluded.

Paige cackled louder and nodded with a smile. "I agree."

Brian started laughing too.

"Who are you and what have you done to Mr Rochester?" Paige asked with raised eyebrows. "I have never seen you laughing. You smirk, chuckle occasionally, but never laugh."

Brian laughed louder.

"This mothertrucker has lost his mind," Paige giggled. Ironically, she could not stop laughing either.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew their hot air balloon in the direction of the field. Paige leapt for joy but stopped abruptly when the basket tilted sharply.

"Oh my goodness, we are getting closer to the landing site!" Paige exclaimed.

Brian did not look cheerful yet. "Yes, but we are moving so fast, if the burner malfunctions -"

"We will burst into flames. Just like in the action movies. Cool," Paige interjected.

They veered closer to the ground, and the basket rocked from side to side. When Brian tried to fire up the burner, it sparked.

"Paige, hold my hand. When we pass over those bushes, we are going to jump."

"Jump and break a thousand bones? We will be paralyzed!" Paige shouted.

"The bushes will cushion our fall and it is better than being burned alive," Brian pointed out.

"On the count of three, jump and roll. Got it?" he added.

"Okay."

"Do you trust me, Paige?"

"Yes."

"Alright. We are getting closer to the shrubs," he said.

The burner sparked again as the sped towards the bushes.

"Come on, Paige. It is time. On the count of three. One....Two...Three!"

They held onto each other as they leapt from the basket and the balloon burst into a magnificent, red-hot, ball of flames.