High Up in The Sky, a Man Stands On a Ledge.

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At first glance, I, too, thought “Epiphany” to be a baffling city of marbles and glass. On a sunny day afternoon, when the dying golden rays hit the skyscrapers in just the right angle, they glow together like a slightly opened Pandora’s box. The city was barricaded all around with tall embankments of crude stone. Giving it the look of a prison for the Forbes 100.

Professionally I’m an acrobat, a trapeze artist. From the age of 8, this is what I’ve been doing to keep a roof over my head. Something that once was recognized as the peak of human agility, a marvelous sight to see, now has none of its grandeur. With a heavy heart, I had seen the demise of my circus; The Red Dead is what it was known as for almost a century, and it died within two.

Epiphany

I wandered restlessly for the next few years here and there in search of another venture that would come to me naturally. All the doors I knocked rejected me as if I was that kid trick or treating at the very end of a Halloween night. And then Gabrielle found me.

My hunt for a piece of work had brought me at the end of the ropes. When Gabriele sought me out, I was juggling bananas at the darkest corner of a random Amtrak station only to sum up pennies to buy food. And one night, like a godsend, he was there and offered me a job.

For the next few days, I slept like a toddler on the comfiest of beds and ate like a king. Whatever I wanted, they were at my fingertips. All I would have to do was just ring the bell, and a service boy ran up to my room. Almost like I was a prisoner, but I didn’t mind; who would? Gabrielle visited me once every afternoon to see if everything was okay, along with some hard drinks. Most of the labels I never even heard about, but the gold-accented designer bottles would let me know their worth.

From what he said to me, I could tell Gabe was some sort of an agent, a talent seeker, turning no names into Stars. I started dreaming about a life of Rockstar. The only hiccup was; I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. A fat guy wearing a costly suit asked me to go with him, and I landed on a penthouse overlooking an ocean.

A few days later, he came by and told me to pack my luggage, we were going to Epiphany. What an irony, I had no belongings. What I had I traded for food and shelter over the years.

From miles away, I saw the Two Berkshire Towers, Jewels of Epiphany. The Amtrak “First Bullets” premium berth was designed in that way. One could see the whole city in all its glory from hours before reaching there, and the towers were the first thing to be laid eyes on. They rose from the grounds so high, you would need oxygen masks to breathe on the roofs. Until then, I didn’t know that is where my ultimate destination would be.

Gabrielle spoke of an extraordinary festival held every year by the citizens of this grand city. The night of lights, they say, when any light-emitting object would be turned on from dusk to dawn. Confetti would fly in the air; every inch of the city square would be filled with the colorful masquerade. Supposedly, the most magnificent festival ever to exist on planet earth.

But the main attraction was a tight-rope walking event on the towers. Walking on a tight zip line tied to the Demogorgon heads made of stones on each corner. And that is what I was there for. Gabrielle had told me that it was very safe, and no man ever fell down. And after the end of my walk, I’ll never have to find another job. The city would be taking care of me. What a wholesome package!

Tonight, I’ll be walking on air miles high up above the ground. I can feel all the blood rushing underneath my skin. Just hours away from the big event, when all the light in the city would be turned off except the few on me. Tonight is mine, my time to make history.

I can see Gabrielle on the other roof. Even in this distance, I can see him pretty well. That fat silhouette is very recognizable. Only a thousand steps towards him, and I’ll never have to think about anything again.

It’s 12 now, my time to shine. The sky is well lit with infinite fireworks. Looking almost like millions of tiny supernovas everywhere around me. What if one hits me? I’ll fall! Nah! That is what the safety rope is for. And I’ve been practicing my ass off in the leading months.

As I get up on the rope, the darkness beneath starts shouting something inaudible but perfectly synchronized. It almost seems they are chanting Fall! Fall!. Must be the adrenaline. Making me paranoid.

I’ve almost reached the end of my walk, and for some reason, the chanting below has gone down a bit. It tells me I’m not doing what I’m supposed to do! I don’t need to care, though. My work here is done. I’m standing on the ledge now. I’ll cash in my checks now on with a catchier name. Something like the Vitruvian Man.

All the while I am here, I never bothered to look at Gabrielle. His face was blank, but his eyes were looking gritty. Almost as if I denied him something I owed. Suddenly, he moved fast like an African leopard and leaped towards me. I never saw a fat guy jump with such viciousness, and in a split second, before I could even speak, he pushed me out of the ledge.

“There is a safety rope, you know? You idiot,” I shouted with confidence, but the breathers muffled my voice.

I am preparing myself for the hard shaking I’ll feel as the rope breaks my fall. A few seconds pass by, and I realize I’m not stopping. Like a skydiver, I rotate myself facing towards the sky only to see; the other end of the rope is not hooked to anything.

The chanting from below is louder than ever before. Oh well, Gabriel Was Right, I’ll never have to worry about anything anymore.




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8 comments
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(Edited)

Wait what?!?

So all the crowd wanted to see was someone falling to his death.

Wow!

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(Edited)

Human reason can excuse any evil; that is why it's so important that we don't rely on it..
-Divergent

When the peak of civilization makes life so uninteresting, the only thing left will be pleasure in death. Reason dies when dystopia becomes a reality. So yeah, they wanted him to fall.

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Wicked.

Sick story.

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Thats what i tried aim for, mate. Wickedness in human nature. Hope you liked the story though. Thank you so much for dropping by and leaving a comment :). Much appreciated.

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