The Wind on my Face

The dark circles under my eyes, the stress lines on my forehead and a few dozen grey strands in the midst of my already thinning hairline were telltale signs that I had to exhibit  show that I was in a high pressure job. Having taken up my first job immediately after a grueling 4 years of an undergraduate engineering degree from a stellar university and doing absolutely nothing related to what my undergraduate program taught me in terms of work I did seemed like a compromise in the beginning but the money more than compensated for it.

Fed up with the mundane grind of daily life, a dozen different failed attempts at a relationship and almost becoming an alcoholic cum drug addict; I found that loneliness and frustration were my sole companions through the journey thus far and most things had not exactly turned out as per plan. People and their opinions nauseate me; for it is the only thing they share for free and merely because it is of no use to them.When asked on how to end life, people will give you a million and more reasons to live without respect for personal choice. I was an über frustrated soul and it was Time.

Destiny had sucked away all the excitement from life and I wasn't going to go out without reclaiming some back. So, I chose to do the act from a very high bridge figuring that it would give me the high of an adrenaline rush; second only to a shot of morphine which I had generously injected into myself in the past but resolved again not to in therapy. Taking initiative has always been my forte and I marched on to the edge of the bridge and leaped off it before my mind could process another thought and talk me out of it.

Within the first second of my free fall, the mind bombed itself with a countless thoughts as it was kick started by the inflow of adrenaline and I could finally feel the healthy breeze plough through my hairline. It is said that when one falls from a large height with the eyes closed, the subconscious shows you images of your loved one's, dreams and passions among other things. True to the word, I could picture the smiling faces of my parents; their hopes, dreams, wishes and prayers for me. Visibly scared at the thought of how they might react to this act of mine; I opened my eyes to witness the serene canyon and the thin stream of water between the mountains as I descended downward rapidly.

As I shut my eyes again for the next few milliseconds of my fall, I could picture my numerous ex-girlfriends, most of them opportunists who utilized my thick wallet to their advantage save one who helped me come out of Drug Addiction and vowed to wait for me as she knew my decisiveness when I said a firm no to her. Her smile had lit up many a day in that dark passage of time but being the clown that I was; I put her on the back burner and was paying for it now as I missed her company, her smile and her warmth terribly. All I wanted was to envelope her into a hug and never let go. 

In real time, one and half seconds had passed since the instant I jumped off the edge and I was regretting it already, I was too chicken for the fall but it was too late now that I was midway and being continually pulled down swiftly by the forces of gravity. I hoped and prayed from the deepest trenches of my heart that I could undo what I had just done and start afresh again but alas it wasn't to be. Pulling myself together in what were my last few seconds on planet earth, I looked skyward to see a beautiful sunrise from the crevices of the mountain tops and smiled because I wanted to go out on gratefulness.

As if on cue and much to my amazement, I felt an aggressive tug on my ankles and partially stopped mid air only to realize that I had bungee jumped off a bridge and was oscillating like a pendulum from end to end. I continued swaying in mid air till all the potential energy from the jump was dissipated and was hauled up to the bridge from where I had jumped off.

Turns out Life does give you second chances.       

                 
PS: My first attempt at fiction. Comments, rotten tomatoes, eggs and brickbats - Welcome.