I take a gasp of air as my head goes back beneath. My lungs scream for more oxygen, and my body grows weak from struggling to stay above the surface. Every breath I take bites more. The water is so cold that it scorches my skin like burning coals. Giving up is not an option; I must keep trying. It becomes hard to see with salt water torching my eyes. I look around trying to find her, praying that she did not go under for good. My legs propel rapidly and ache with every movement. A stifled scream barely sounds over the thundering waves. I turn toward the sound and discover my daughter bobbing up and down like a buoy. She is lamenting, but there is nothing I can do for her. I comprehend that she is weak and cannot last much longer, but my body dictates me to give up and relax. I try to paddle toward her, but my stamina depletes. I fall below the sea and try to come back up, but this time I dwell in the darkness that blocks out every measure of light so I cannot find my hand in front of me. I let go and sink deeper into the ocean. I must breathe to satisfy my lungs, yet as I take a puff of the water, an earsplitting shock shreds my lungs. The pain cramps so harshly that I cannot think, cannot sense, and cannot hope. I lose command of my body and begin to flail my limbs. This attempt only weakens me more, and I begin to sink more quickly into the water. I scream into the water and the sound muffles. A sensation of fear saturates me. I am now in the hands of my creator. All of a sudden, the pain ends and I finally find comfort.

    I open my eyes to see a teenage boy. This boy seemed oddly familiar, but I could not figure how I knew him. I looked about and noticed that I was in a dark abyss that went on for eternity. There were no walls or ceilings, but there was a floor.  Ending the silence, the boy spoke. “Why did you hurt me? Why didn’t you stand up for me when I really needed it?” he yelled. His voice was raspy but it struck a vision.  My thoughts sped back to high school when I was with my best friends. We were wandering through the school halls, and this boy was digging through his locker. One of my friends pushed the boy aside and pinned him to the wall. He screamed vulgar words at the boy and spat in his face. I envisioned myself standing aside and doing nothing. I remembered that this boy had won my friend’s spot on the football team. My mind flashed back to the present and I found myself crying.
“I’m sorry.” I commenced. “I have no reason for why I did nothing to help you. I should have stood up facing my buddies and done the right thing. How can I make it up to you?” When I said these last words, the boy dissolved. I was again in the shadows, yet this time I was by myself.

    A bright star rose in the air. Looking directly at the light hurt my eyes, but for some reason, I felt as if I must gaze at it. There was a welcoming feeling with this light, and I felt attracted to it. I ran toward the light, but it seemed to move away from me. I somehow grasped that I had to get to the star. Every step I took, the light went farther away. Every step I took, the light grew dimmer. Every step I took,  I began to feel more desperate. Deciding to take a rest, I stopped and rested on the ground. I began to weep because the star was now just a tiny dot of light. Without the light, I knew that I would be lost forever. As a tear slid down my cheek, a random idea encompassed my mind. It was a poor idea, but I was desperate to try anything. I began to walk backwards and as I did, the beam grew wider and higher. After a while, it evolved so great that the light was omnipresent. This light was so much more radiant and so much more beautiful than the small dot that it was when I was walking towards it. It did not last, however, and the light slowly faded away until I was in a city.

    The sounds of the bustling streets gave it away. I looked around and no one seemed to discern that I had just appeared from thin air. I decided to try to make contact with someone and wandered up to a random woman asking, “What is the date?” but she did not notice me.  I began to walk frantically around the city, looking for some clue as to why I was there. I noticed a feeble old man who was sitting alone on the curb. He was holding a cup with some jingling dimes. I felt compassion for this man, but I had no change to give him. I walked past him and the most peculiar thing transpired. His eyes caught me.

    I continued to walk past the man and I began to feel very fatigued. My feet felt very heavy. My knees trembled and without my consent, I fainted and was welcomed again with the sight of darkness. A moment later, I appeared back in the city where I had first appeared. I decided to walk a different way but in the distance I observed the same old man sitting and jingling his change. I moved past him again this time not watching him, but I nonetheless looked back and he was looking at me. As I continued, I felt the same weakness and passed out, just to reappear again at the same spot. There was something about this old man. He was the only one who perceived me and every time I walked by him, I passed out. I decided to confront the man this time, and when I arrived at his place, he was lying and jingling his change. I sat next to the man. He smelled revolting and had obviously not brushed his teeth in years.  He was gaunt and careworn. I asked him, “Why am I here?”

    He replied, “Because you sent yourself here.”

    I had no idea what this meant, and no idea of what I was supposed to do to get out of the city. Searching for words, I stumbled and asked the man, “Why are you here?” He answered with a long, upsetting story of crushed dreams and broken hearts. This man had done not a single bad thing in his life but underwent some of the worst griefs I had ever heard of. Despite this, he seemed good-humored and would not take an ounce of pity from me. We exchanged stories of our lives, families, and dreams. I began to retell the story of how I had died and how I hoped that my daughter was alive. He gasped and hugged me, saying, "You are the only one who has not treated me as an animal, but as a person." Instead of wincing away from the hug, I embraced it. I had made a new best friend. The person I felt closest to at this moment was a homeless man. Upon the hug, my new friend disappeared and a mountainside took his spot.

    “Jump!” A voice said. I looked down and felt uneasy. Over the edge of the cliff was nothing. I could not see a bottom. Any jump or fall would result in immediate death. I looked for the voice that commanded me to do something insane and observed a young man. “Did you hear me?” he asked.

    “You want me to jump. Down there?” I stuttered.

    “I don’t want you to. It’s your choice. You can jump and see what’s at the bottom, or you can join them. But I would recommend jumping” He pointed over where I could see a large group of people sitting around. They were laughing and eating a very large banquet. I was about to tell the man that I chose to join them instead of jumping, but I noticed a woman who was staring at me. She mouthed five words over and over that took a moment to understand.

    “You have thirty seconds to decide!” The man said. I had to choose quickly. I kept watching the woman’s mouth as she repeated the words. I could not understand her until she screamed the words.

    “DO NOT COME HERE!” she hollered. When she said this, a strange creature came from under the banquet table and jumped onto the women. It immersed its claws into her and a scream so piercing filled the air. The creature turned and began to run for me. I had to jump. I approached the edge of the cliff. My knees were shaking and I began to sweat. I could not wait any longer. I bent my knees and jumped.

    I fell for what felt like ten minutes. My heart was beating so loudly and so rapidly. I knew that I had just escaped a terrible place only because of that women who sacrificed herself for me. I had no idea if there was a bottom to this cliff, but I had taken a leap of faith because of a lack of a better option. My mind traveled to my recent journeys and I realized I had made up for what I had not done in life. I had apologized for my wrongdoings, resisted temptation, made a friend from a stranger, and taken a leap of faith. I realized what the purpose of my journey was. I looked down and observed that the bottom of the cliff was approaching. A noise so resounding and beautiful overcame the sound of my heartbeat. It sounded as if dozens of orchestras came together to play a wonderful piece in perfect unison. Every single instrument and more than that were present in this music. The wonderful sound calmed me and took every worry out of me. I came very close to the bottom now, and I landed extremely gracefully. My eyes widened as I viewed my surroundings. I knew exactly where I was.