Proclivitas

I am standing on a cliff. The sky is dark with clouds of grey stretching towards the horizon. The wind blows through my hair as I look over the cliff’s edge to see dark, churning water. Behind me sits a broken-down home, burnt and crumbling to pieces. I do not remember how I got here or why, but for some reason I am soaked to the bone and frozen to my core. I take another look over the edge, curious about how far from my feet the ominous, black crashing water hammers the rocks below. Suddenly I hear footsteps running behind me, towards me. As I begin to turn around to find the source of the sound, I am shoved over the edge. I stare up in horror and confusion, hoping to get a glimpse of my attacker. All I can see is the shadow of a figure standing on the cliff, watching me fall. Down I go, plummeting quickly towards the raging waters below. I brace myself for impact and plunge beneath the surface. The frigid waters collide with my body as if I am landing in a pool full of bricks. It is at this moment I remember – I cannot swim. Clawing furiously at the surface, I try to keep my head above the water, gasping for breath every time my mouth finds a moment of air. The tumultuous waves throw my body hard against the rocks at the base of the cliff, and everything turns to black while I'm further battered by mother nature's ice-cold fury.

I open my eyes and I am back on the cliff, but farther away from the edge this time. I am completely bewildered. I do not understand how I got back here; the steep climb up would have been impossible, especially after a near-drowning. With gasping breaths, soaked and exhausted from my fall into the water, I squint my eyes to see better. Everything around me is blurry, hazy. My eyes lock on a figure about 50 feet in front of me, standing at the edge of the cliff. The figure is looking down into the dark waters below, as if searching for something. I ponder briefly who this person could be, but it quickly dawns on me that they are the one who caused my fall. I feel the anger swell inside of my chest, blocking out all reason. With my arms stretched out in front, I start running as fast as my frozen legs will go. As I run towards the figure they begin to turn around, allowing me to get a quick glimpse of their face. I throw all of my body weight, shoving them as hard as I can over the edge. Dread fills my gut as I realize who the figure is, just a second too late. Fear and horror accompany confusion on their face as they fall, mirroring my own. For a moment, I am face to face with...myself? Taken aback, I watch in shock as they plunge into the waters below. My breath begins to tremble when they struggle to reach the surface. Eventually their body crashes into the rocks below the cliff, out of my sight completely.

Tears well in my eyes and I look up, out into the horizon. All of the pieces start to come together, and I wonder how I got to this dark and strange point in the first place. I feel a sense of warmth as I become entranced by the beauty of the dark sky. Clouds of grey stretch towards the horizon. The wind blows through my hair as I look over the cliff’s edge to see dark, churning water. Behind me sits a broken-down home, burnt and crumbling to pieces. I do not remember how I got here or why, but for some reason I am soaked to the bone and frozen to my core. I take another look over the edge, curious about how far from my feet the ominous, black crashing water hammers the rocks below. Suddenly I hear footsteps running behind me, towards me. As I begin to turn around to find the source of the sound, I am shoved over the edge.