Death's Revisit

Yep, my ol' friend came to me again this afternoon. I had to climb to the roof of my building this afternoon to fix a broken antennae. It wasn't really that high, just roughly about 3-4 metres off the ground. The ladder I got was only 2 metres tall, standing on the top of the ladder, I had to tip toe to reach the edge and do a chin up to yank myself up. The moment I got unto the roof, I felt his presence. Standing there on my own, I didn't feel the usual high I got from heights. My heart started thumping harder than usual. I wondered if my friend has finally come to claim me. Working under the sweltering sun, I could only feel him watching me intently, like a small child with an overpowering sense of curiousity.

Everytime I got close to the edge, I felt his touch. I pondered if he was trying to hold me back or waiting for the right moment to push me over. The sensation of this delicate contact kept distracting me from my work. Thoughts rushed into my mind, thoughts of what would happen should my life ended abruptly at that moment. I kept thinking of the people who are close to me.

I wondered if I should make someone else the benefactor of one of my insurance plans. Sure the money won't bring me back but it would at least give a new lease of life to her. If she were right there with me at the moment, I'd definitely get an earful from her. She'd told me to banish those insane thoughts out of my head. It was then that I managed to put my focus back on the work I needed to do.

Finally, after almost 2 hours of meddling with cables and ropes, I made my way down to the ground. Once my feet were on solid ground, I sat down immediately. Heaving a sigh of relief, I looked at my shaking hands and fingers. They were scraped quite badly from the rough texture of the nylon ropes.

"Do you feel better now?" Death asked.

A look of confusion took over my face.

"I've made you feel like she was by your side, didn't I?"

Death was right, I did feel as if she was beside me while I tended to the repairs. I could feel her worrying about my safety and wanting me to concentrate on what I was doing.

"Thanks pal, that's was nice of you"

And I felt him leave as sudden as his arrival had been. At that moment, the sun decided not to be harsh on me and hid partially behind a piece of idle cloud. Feeling the warm rays splashing on my face, I smiled to myself. It is good to be alive.