The Echoes of the Fall
The building was one of the tallest in the city square, and was renowned for its elegantly minimalistic architecture. Forty stories of pure glass and steel towered over thousands of people rushing about their daily lives.
He stood at the Edge, testing the boundaries with his toes, as he surveyed the street below. Hundreds of people walked the streets going about their busy lives, hustling and jostling their way to a new client, a meeting that began ten minutes ago, or their families. He felt contempt.
[facebook]Look at these people….driven by what ideal? what do they strive for? why do they submit to such a conformist society that accepts no failure? a society that does not understand the individual’s suffering? or pain?
Breathing a heavy sigh, He considered the enormity of what he was about to do and it overwhelmed His thoughts. He backed an inch off the Edge.
I cant do it… i cant bring myself to do this
He was about to back off, when He thought of all the isolated incidents that drove Him to the Edge in the first place. Plagued by death, failure, trouble and loss.
What do I have to go back to? to look forward to? Nothing. Nothing in this damned world, nor in any other. I must end this.
Another deep breath, and He inched towards the Edge, conquering the dreaded territory inch by inch. He could feel his centre of gravity lean towards what awaited him below. Nausea, dizziness, and adrenaline overwhelmed Him, as He gave His actions one last, futile thought. Pushing away the last remnants of doubt with all His will, He squeezed his eyes shut, blinked back a tear of self-pity, and took the Fall.
As His feet left the Edge, His mind was blank. He could not believe what He had done. And, when it dawned on Him that there was no turning back, no failsafe, no fall back option to what He had done, His mind screamed out to him, blanketing him, turning his head into a crucible of incoherent and disconnected thoughts. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound issued forth. He could feel the air, rustling through His clothes, as He plummeted towards the ground. After what felt like an eternity, He opened his eyes with a start.
And found true peace.
Time had appeared to slow down, to a miserly crawl. He was just a few feet below the Edge, yet, it was too far for Him to reach out for safety. He dared not look down at the ground, which would bear a silent witness to his Fall.
And in those few moments, He lived His entire lifetime once again. HIs life, so well known to Him, yet so unfamiliar, played out in front of Him like a beatiful story. His childhood, and His beloved parents, who gave up everything to be together, as one, and to bring Him up in the best way possible. His school, and His best friends, who were with Him on many a bumpy road, who knew Him better than He knew Himself. His father, on his deathbed, and his parting words,
Do not live in sorrow of how things have been, live in anticipation of what they can become.
his girlfriend, the only one whom he had truly loved. He thought of all the crazy things He did with his friends while they were still in the reckless grip of youth, and couldn’t help but smile. He blinked back several more tears, and realized that life is all about its ups and downs, that these fluctuations are what makes one’s life one’s own.
Looking back, reflecting about the life He had lived, He realized that he wouldn’t have changed a thing, no matter how joyous, or how disheartening it may have been. The sum of all His heartbreak, and happiness was His life. After all He thought, what use is life if one cannot realize the true value of it? But, this dawned on him a moment too late.
With this enlightenment, Time seemed to speed up once again. Forty stories flashed before his eyes in a matter of seconds, the ground rushed up to him, and consumed him in a swath of his own self-pity.
Hundreds of citizens going about their daily, not meaningful lives came to a stop.
And into the abyss I fall, becoming one with the encroaching darkness, until all that remains are, The Echoes Of My Fall….
When eyewitnesses were later asked about the suicide, the one thing that each one of them remembered was the fact that, during the entire time they did not hear a single cry from the man who fell.
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