Standing on the edge, I lost all balance. My legs were two lifeless lumps stuck to the rocky surface of the cliff. I timidly peered off the edge through the clouds only to see a vast landscape without depth. Due to the extreme height of my perspective, I could not tell the difference between the highest tree and the lowest valley. What could I do? Where could I go? I had devoted my entire life to climbing this mountain. I gave up all other ambitions and relationships to get to the top, but what do I have to show for it? What is my reward? I just completed the task of my life’s desire, but I don’t feel the way I had always expected. There were no concrete answers, only choppy strands of thought coming to my head.
Alright, maybe someone will come rescue me. Surely someone will come looking for me. Yes, lots of people know who I am. Surely someone will come looking for me. Surely someone will save me. I can’t think of any specific friends, but I know someone will come looking for me. I know someone will come save me. I never saved anyone before, but someone will come. Someone will save me. Who am I kidding, I don’t have any friends. I’m worthless. I spent my entire life climbing this despicable rock and all I have to show for it is loneliness. Emptiness. Someone will save me.
Alright, if I can’t go any higher, then I have nothing left. The excitement was in the climb, not being at the top. The view is spectacular, but I hate it. I hate it. The only direction is down, and it’s too steep to climb back down. No one will save me.
Off the edge I plummeted, my stomach was still at the top of the mountain as air forced itself into my lungs and choked my breathing. Air turned to clouds and clouds back into air. Between tears I could see a hint of landscape, but the clouds were too thick and the wind was too strong.
There was silence. My heart stopped and my eyes went into shock from an overload of sights. I saw everything. The entire earth was beckoning me with its vast and ever growing embrace. I was going home. Whether I died or not I did not care. I would die with my friends. I would die with my family. The ground was becoming more focused. The knoll that I assumed I was to land on was becoming clearer. A goat stared up at me with no emotion, just slightly amused by the change in scenery. The goat was lucky, he didn’t have any problems. He didn’t abandon his brothers. It doesn’t matter, though, because I am home. I have been saved.