The Jump
Here's something new I just finished...it's about two friends of mine.
The Jump...by Eric D. Menzel
"You’re crazy, you’ll just end up killing yourself!" Sofia snapped.
__"Don’t worry," Matt replied, swallowing another curled piece of copper wire. "I know what I’m doing. I’ll be fine."
__Matt swallowed several more pieces of wire and then washed them down with a warm glass of water and beach sand. The copper wire was a good conductor of electricity and helped sustain the electromagnetic field that pulsed through his body, whereas, the beach sand merely assisted in directing that energy. Sometimes he found that drinking beach sand could be a little tricky, but the aftereffects were always well worth the trouble¾the world would glow with amazing brightness and clarity.
__"Please Matt, don’t go to the bridge." Sofia begged.
__Matt set his empty glass into the sink. "Sorry sweetie, but it’s something I have to do."
__"Why…why must you do this?" Sofia stepped closer. "Give me one good reason."
__"It’s my destiny." Matt replied.
__Sofia almost laughed. "You mean it’s your destiny to die pointlessly, because that’s what’s going to happen if you go through with this foolishness!"
__"It’s not foolishness!" Matt snapped back. "You just don’t understand¾you could never understand."
__"You’re right." Sofia said sorely. "I could never understand how someone could miraculously be able to fly just by eating bits of wire and sand! You’re out of your skull!"
__Matt was stung by the harshness of Sofia’s words which seemed to cut straight to the bone. On numerous occasions they had argued before, but never had Sofia spoken with such negativity¾Matt found it to be quite unsettling as he pushed his bike into the hallway.
__"Please, don’t go." Sofia pleaded once again, knowing that Matt had already made up his mind. "Alright then," she said, grabbing her bike. "I’m going with you."
The ride out to the bridge took about twenty-five minutes by bicycle and was surprisingly quiet. Sofia, though determined to stop Matt from leaping to his death, remained silent as she followed behind. She knew that pressing Matt further would only entice him to speed off ahead without her¾Matt could be exceedingly stubborn at times.
__Matt rode his bike out to the center of the bridge and then jumped off, letting it roll away on it’s own until it eventually lost momentum and folded over in the road. Sofia, who was only a few seconds behind, parked her bike properly and moved to where Matt was standing.
__"It sure is a beautiful view from up here." Matt said, climbing out to the far-side of the railing.
__"C’mon Matt, enough is enough¾come back over here and come home with me!" Sofia shouted.
__"You can go home if you’d like, but I’m staying right here." Matt smiled, and then added. "At least until I jump."
__Sofia started to cry.
__With his arms behind him, Matt leaned forward over the edge and stared at the water below. The drop down was quite substantial and the water was not particularly deep at any point. There was also a somewhat large collection of jagged rocks to contend with¾most persons would think that jumping from the bridge would be nothing less than suicide.
__"Please, Matt…" Sofia choked as she spoke. "…lets go home."
__Matt turned and smiled again. "I really do love the view from up here." he said, and let go.
__Sofia screamed, but no sound came as she watched Matt plummet downward with his arms stretched out like flimsy, featherless wings. In her mind she could see how Matt slamming against the rocks and hear the gruesome sound of the impact¾it was like living a nightmare.
__Suddenly, just as Sofia was about to look away, Matt shot skyward, yelling happily as he rose into the air.
__Circling for a bit, Matt began to laugh excitedly. "You see," he called to Sofia. "I was right…I was right!"
__"I can’t believe it¾how is this possible?" Sofia asked herself, suddenly realizing that she was now laughing as well.
__Matt swooped under and over the bridge, spinning and performing tricks as he went along. After a few minutes a growing crowd of bystanders quickly gathered around to watch the spectacle; cars stopped on the bridge and traffic ground to a halt, but in an unusual twist of events, nobody seemed to care¾everyone was focused on Matt, the man who could fly.
__"That’s an amazing trick…I can’t see the wires at all." one woman said to Sofia. "An amazing trick indeed."
__"You have no idea," Sofia replied, watching as Matt streaked upwards and disappeared into the clouds.
The Jump...by Eric D. Menzel
"You’re crazy, you’ll just end up killing yourself!" Sofia snapped.
__"Don’t worry," Matt replied, swallowing another curled piece of copper wire. "I know what I’m doing. I’ll be fine."
__Matt swallowed several more pieces of wire and then washed them down with a warm glass of water and beach sand. The copper wire was a good conductor of electricity and helped sustain the electromagnetic field that pulsed through his body, whereas, the beach sand merely assisted in directing that energy. Sometimes he found that drinking beach sand could be a little tricky, but the aftereffects were always well worth the trouble¾the world would glow with amazing brightness and clarity.
__"Please Matt, don’t go to the bridge." Sofia begged.
__Matt set his empty glass into the sink. "Sorry sweetie, but it’s something I have to do."
__"Why…why must you do this?" Sofia stepped closer. "Give me one good reason."
__"It’s my destiny." Matt replied.
__Sofia almost laughed. "You mean it’s your destiny to die pointlessly, because that’s what’s going to happen if you go through with this foolishness!"
__"It’s not foolishness!" Matt snapped back. "You just don’t understand¾you could never understand."
__"You’re right." Sofia said sorely. "I could never understand how someone could miraculously be able to fly just by eating bits of wire and sand! You’re out of your skull!"
__Matt was stung by the harshness of Sofia’s words which seemed to cut straight to the bone. On numerous occasions they had argued before, but never had Sofia spoken with such negativity¾Matt found it to be quite unsettling as he pushed his bike into the hallway.
__"Please, don’t go." Sofia pleaded once again, knowing that Matt had already made up his mind. "Alright then," she said, grabbing her bike. "I’m going with you."
The ride out to the bridge took about twenty-five minutes by bicycle and was surprisingly quiet. Sofia, though determined to stop Matt from leaping to his death, remained silent as she followed behind. She knew that pressing Matt further would only entice him to speed off ahead without her¾Matt could be exceedingly stubborn at times.
__Matt rode his bike out to the center of the bridge and then jumped off, letting it roll away on it’s own until it eventually lost momentum and folded over in the road. Sofia, who was only a few seconds behind, parked her bike properly and moved to where Matt was standing.
__"It sure is a beautiful view from up here." Matt said, climbing out to the far-side of the railing.
__"C’mon Matt, enough is enough¾come back over here and come home with me!" Sofia shouted.
__"You can go home if you’d like, but I’m staying right here." Matt smiled, and then added. "At least until I jump."
__Sofia started to cry.
__With his arms behind him, Matt leaned forward over the edge and stared at the water below. The drop down was quite substantial and the water was not particularly deep at any point. There was also a somewhat large collection of jagged rocks to contend with¾most persons would think that jumping from the bridge would be nothing less than suicide.
__"Please, Matt…" Sofia choked as she spoke. "…lets go home."
__Matt turned and smiled again. "I really do love the view from up here." he said, and let go.
__Sofia screamed, but no sound came as she watched Matt plummet downward with his arms stretched out like flimsy, featherless wings. In her mind she could see how Matt slamming against the rocks and hear the gruesome sound of the impact¾it was like living a nightmare.
__Suddenly, just as Sofia was about to look away, Matt shot skyward, yelling happily as he rose into the air.
__Circling for a bit, Matt began to laugh excitedly. "You see," he called to Sofia. "I was right…I was right!"
__"I can’t believe it¾how is this possible?" Sofia asked herself, suddenly realizing that she was now laughing as well.
__Matt swooped under and over the bridge, spinning and performing tricks as he went along. After a few minutes a growing crowd of bystanders quickly gathered around to watch the spectacle; cars stopped on the bridge and traffic ground to a halt, but in an unusual twist of events, nobody seemed to care¾everyone was focused on Matt, the man who could fly.
__"That’s an amazing trick…I can’t see the wires at all." one woman said to Sofia. "An amazing trick indeed."
__"You have no idea," Sofia replied, watching as Matt streaked upwards and disappeared into the clouds.