The Edge
Sharp, labored breaths cut through the darkness, accompanied
by the sound of feet running desperately across the uneven ground. Anxious eyes darted to and fro, pupils
expanding in order to detect any sort of light to guide them through the jungle
of shadows.
There
didn’t seem to be any light. It was
forever just beyond reach, forever just a halo of pale fire beyond the
horizon. Too far away to help much at
all as the individual tried to find a way out of the jungle. The only thing they could hear besides their
own breathing or their thrashing was their heartbeat pounding in their
ears. The jungle was silent. The land was silent. There wasn’t even a whisper of wind.
How did I ever wind up here? the individual
thought to themselves in a moment of clarity
before the ocean of fear in their mind washed it away and plunged them back
into briny chaos. I have to get out, I have to get out, I have to get out, they kept
repeating over and over in their mind.
The sense of panic was overwhelming, the sense of dread inescapable.
They
burst from the jungle and looked desperately at what lay ahead.
Nothing.
There
was a deep abyss that spread all the way into infinity. It was darker, blacker, than anything else
around, and it began just a few feet ahead of them.
The
person very cautiously took a step forward, and then another, and another. They tossed a rock into the darkness where
it was never seen again. It was an edge,
the person realized. An edge that had no
end, only a beginning. It stretched
forever to the right and forever to the left, and straight ahead it simply
became one with the ebony sky.
The
person collapsed to their knees on the cliff-edge, trying to fill their lungs
with air that didn’t seem to be coming. There is no way out… they thought as
they stared blankly into the expanse of shade.
They sat
there for a long while, rocking back and forth and slowly losing themselves. They very tentatively peered down over the
edge. That’s a way out… they thought and then despaired. No… They let out a sigh and recoiled into themselves. It
would probably only lead some place worse.
I can’t give up yet, they
told themselves. There has to be a way out somewhere.
In a
last surge of hope they slowly rose to their feet. They wanted nothing more than to simply fall
back to the ground, but there had to be something somewhere.
Or maybe there isn’t…
The moment they thought this
they lost their footing and began falling over the edge.
A
strong hand suddenly grabbed their arm and pulled them back.
“That
was close, wasn’t it, love?” a voice said.
To the person it sounded like their own voice, but maybe it was
another. Of course it was another. But they were honestly too delirious
to tell or care.
“Come
on, let’s go this way,” the voice said, pulling the individual back the way
they had come.
©2011 James Curry a.k.a Sem
This little cheery story is inspired by a little episode I had the other week where I was sort of on the edge of losing it. Thankfully I didn't, but it was close. I was thinking about it today and decided to write this, so I did. =)
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