The Hike

My life will never be the same. I spent the day climbing the rocky hillside. I needed to reach the summit and the cliff-side. I passed many other outcroppings on my way, but they weren’t high enough. I had to be sure.

Killing yourself is serious business. You gotta get it right.

The morning was hot, but I hauled my overweight ass forward, sweaty and pathetic. My thoughts ran rampant and circular. ‘The bitch left me. I’d show her,’ I thought. ‘Fucking brats. Prick of a boss. I’d show them all. Nut up or shut up, they said. Well, this is me nutting up.’

The heat of the day made my head swim and did nothing to curb my resolve. I fell and slid along the gravel. Standing up, I realized I rolled my ankle in the process. I couldn’t even climb a fucking hill. A loser like me was too much of a loser to die at his own hand.

Rain pelted me as I hobbled my way further up the hill, using a broken tree branch as a crutch. This is how I wanted to get the job done. The universe could just fuck off.

It rained harder.

I reached the peak at supper time. My stomach growled and I ignored it. The rain fell in sheets. I limped my way over the slippery rocks and stood on the slabbed precipice.

I’d made it. It was time. I closed my eyes and opened my arms wide, preparing to take flight.

But I didn’t. The rain stopped as if someone turned off a faucet. I felt warmth on my face and I opened my eyes.

There it was.

A double-rainbow. All the way. Across the sky.

I sat on the outcropping of rock and wept.