To Fly Would Be..

A child plays alone in the winter. As the wind gently embraces him, his parents drift off to sleep.

Wandering away from home he finds himself flooded in thoughts of freedom, the catacombs of solitude became a sanctuary of relief and ease.

He thought to himself of the possibilities, where the sidewalk might take him and what he might see. Considering even the oddest of outcomes, the strangest of strangers, the ones he would avoid or the ones he’d like to meet.

There was so much beauty in the world that he was finally beginning to see. Trees that spiraled upwards for eternity, he would climb them to see from above the clouds. Pathways that dove down into the bowels of a new world. All of this was waiting for him. For what is life without the adventures of a beautiful mind?

The cloud smothered sky made tears that fell gracefully to the ground, he gazed up and opened his mouth, arms raised from his side spinning in circles. Circles that didn’t need approval nor care if they were seen.

Thunder raised its voice and the sky was painted with electric serpents that slithered between the clouds.

Running now. He ran with his arms still raised at his side, speeding through the rain. He takes a right to get off the sidewalk and follows a trail leading into an army of trees. Stopping abruptly in awe of the massive redwoods, imagining what it would be like to be so tall. “One day I’ll be this tall.” he thinks to himself and then continues running into the forest. Passing by tree after tree, reaching his hand out to feel them dampened by the rain. Faster he says, focusing his attention to the branches above him as the trunks blur by in his peripheral vision.

”To fly would be..” He felt weightless as his legs left the ground, he said ”i’m actually flying!” but in that brief moment of achievement he realized something that changed everything.

The cliff at reservoir canyon stands 80 feet above the river, the water being 27 inches deep, but the rocks are what really matter. People would gather from all over to hop from rock to rock above the rushing water.

Some people say that falling is very peaceful, the wind in your ears as you reach terminal velocity has a unique way of quieting the world. It’s like closing your eyes and being alone for the first time.