Ficlets

The Cold

I can’t do this.

There isn’t an inch of me, not one particle, that wants to. The edge of nothing seems to be creeping towards me, rather than me towards it. The blackness of it makes me want to scream. And I would, if my lungs would only release the air trapped within them. But terror seizes me, and I can’t bring myself to do anything but tremble.

The realization that you can’t do anything at all brings on a kind of insanity. Your mind can’t make the bridges anymore. A leap of faith is just too far. I drop into the cold. It seems like frozen water, and I look up, half expecting to see ice. Instead, I see nothing. Just the end of my story.

I’m panicking, opening my mouth and letting invisible needles pierce my insides. The dark rushes past, like I’m going down a drain of infinite proportions, and then I’m gone.

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