Rush

The air rushed past my face, exhilarating, loud in my ears. The travel posters were right, “See the view!” they said, and the view was incredible. You could see for miles from up here. Well, I was seeing less and less the more time flickered by. Rushing by, time, the view, life, all of it. Longest suspension bridge in this corner of the galaxy. Time slowed down as the world rushed by, funny… time. Wasn’t it? Funny? Was it? Time wasn’t moving in any direction, it paused, just for me. I felt so special. Stopping, speeding up, pondering as I fell, moving forwards and backwards, flipping the switch. Time was a funny fabrication of humanity. Wind whipping, roaring, deafening, the thunderous rush leaving me in silence. Outside quieter than I had ever known, inside stood still. All sounds drowned out, compressed, faded, just the air, a whistle, rushing, a stream, a torrent, like time. I was one with the air, found the creamy centre, the universal constant. Time shifted just then, clicking back to normal. Right... there, and time, the stream, the air, the noise, the rush, made one with the ground.

God, it hurt hitting the canyon floor. Impact splintering bones and crushing organs, rending flesh. Pushing the smallest pebbles deep into my battered shell. The pain, I thought I would die. World turning to wetness, was it raining? But I didn’t bring an umbrella. Funny. Time was still funny. I wasn't dead yet, was I? The edges of the rocks looked so... hard viewed up close, stark and unyielding. Not sure what I’d been expecting though. The best view, the peak of the first tower, jumped, so high up, the rush almost worth it. Plummeting all the way down, at the top of my lungs, screaming, at the exhilaration, laughing, at the freedom, crying, at the sorrow, emotions flooding faster than the rushing air, all at once. Just for a moment I was unstoppable, a being of light and possibility, a god, overwhelming. Collapsing waves of many futures folding into one, the ground jumping up and biting me. Snapping my bones, endlessly caressing my body with jagged bits of rock, sparkling shards of crystal quartz at the bottom. Reaching into insides and pulling them out. I could still move my eyes, if I tried, if I concentrated. From where I lay, guts were laid out for all the world to see. On display! Get your tickets! Was I supposed to have that much intestine? Come see the show! What a mess...