Always look on the bright side of life, they say. Well, as I fall through the sky, I have a really nice view of the beautiful sunset. It almost makes up for it all - the chase through the Amazon Rainforest, the little Poison Dart Frog issue, and the fact that I’d been living off spam for two weeks. Ah, the life of an archeologist. And they say Indiana Jones had it bad!!
“Um, should I be worrying?” came the crackly voice of X through my flip phone. A word to the wise: Smartphones are overrated. Old-timers work just as fine.
“No, no big deal. Just, um, say I was protecting a village from invasion by flesh-eating swamp things, okay? Love you too. See you on the other side!” I shut the phone.
The sky is seashell pink, the sinking sun a blaze of pure gold. The cliffs above me cast shimmering shadows on the sparkling sea below. Waves splash playfully, as if applauding my approaching doom. The wind is cold on my face, but at least I can’t feel ocean spray yet.
I manage to flip myself on my back, and stare up at the sky above. Now would be a really great time to know how to fly…. but, I decide, a strange, heavy peace finally settling over my thrill-seeking heart, perhaps this isn’t so bad. After all, I’m going to die staring at the great open sky, doing what I love to do most - taking a chance. A line from Shakespeare drifts through my mind….
We are such stuff as dreams are made of, and our little life is rounded with a sleep…..
A sharp pain slams through my back - the golden sky flares, stars exploding in all the magnitude and magnificence of a dozen supernovae - and then, all is gone.