The Fall

The Fall


          The wind was blowing strongly at the top of the building. Frank looked around at the magnificent view of the city below him, which spread in every direction as far as he could see. He walked to the edge of the roof. A low wall ran around the perimeter, standing about two feet high. Frank took a deep breath and stepped up onto the wall. It was broad, maybe three feet across. Beyond that was space, ninety-six stories of it. Frank looked down; trying to discern what was below him. From this height, it was difficult to make out many details. He could see cars in the street, and dots on the sidewalk that could only be people.

         He took off his glasses, folded them, and placed them in the breast pocket of his shirt. Next, he bent down and untied his shoes. He took them off, and pulled his socks off and stuffed them inside the shoes. He straightened and stepped to the edge. His toes were curled over the corner, and the concrete was cold on his feet.

          There was no fanfare, no crowd, no one begging him to step back off the ledge. There was simply the wind, ruffling his hair, as if to say goodbye. Frank crossed himself, and leaned forward. The wind rushed in his ears as he fell. Everything was strangely silent, and the world seemed to be in slow motion. Oddly, he felt no vertigo, and his stomach did not seem to be in his throat as he expected. It was more like floating, and was actually quite peaceful.

          Frank thought about his life. It had not been terrible, like so many that he saw on television. He was just tired of living. His head was too full of thoughts, and he couldn’t stand to think anymore. He was tired of society, of other people, and of himself. He knew that his sanity had been crumbling away for a long time, and he no longer had the desire to try and patch it back together.

          The wind rolled him over a bit, and he looked at the building. The windows slowly passed him, and he looked at them. In some, he could see furniture, or lights. He saw someone sitting at a desk. Many windows had the blinds pulled, and only gave him a stark stare. Then he looked in one, and a man stood in it looking back at him. The man’s face was passive, and he only watched sadly as Frank fell past his window and out of sight.

          Frank turned his head the other way, and looked down at the street. It was much closer now. Even without his glasses on, he could see people going by on the sidewalk. There were business men and women, a bum leaning against a pole, and a street vendor selling hotdogs near the corner. They went about their lives, not knowing or caring about him. Frank knew that they would all continue to do so after he was gone. That didn’t bother him, though. He had already stopped caring about them. They were just the background in the closing credits of his life now.

          He looked back up at the sky. The wind blew his hair into his face, and he brushed it aside. The sky was brilliantly blue, with only a few wispy clouds in the distance. He could see a plane far overhead, and wondered where it was going. It was probably full of happy people, Frank thought to himself. It didn’t matter.

          Finally, Frank stopped falling. He could see people standing over him now. Many of them were moving their mouths, but Frank didn’t hear anything. He looked back at the sky. It was quite pretty. He decided that he must have hit the sidewalk, since there were people around him now, but he couldn’t feel anything. He couldn’t even feel the wind anymore. It was all very nice, and much calmer than he had imagined the end would be. He felt tired, and closed his eyes. They didn’t close though, and he tried again. Everything was getting darker now, and he decided that he didn’t care if he could close his eyes anymore or not. He lay on the sidewalk, and complimented himself for choosing such a nice day to move on. He drifted off then, quite unaware of the horrified crowd who stared at him; not knowing that his ribs were thrust out of his chest, or that there was more blood outside his body than in. He was happy now.