Well, here I am in a place that I never
wanted to be! What is this place? It’s a place on a mountain, near a big
cliff. So, what am I doing here? I just lost a …bet! Yes, this is the
reason that I’m here now! And do you want to know what the bet was?
Well, the bet was that (according to my friends) I couldn’t take a photo
at the edge of the cliff. Yes, I bet that I could, forgetting that I’m
afraid of heights, (thank God I’m not too tall!)
And now, I have to walk just 20 meters
to reach at the cliff, and take a photo. It may sound easy, but I’m
still afraid. My half thoughts are “ok, go and take a photo” and my
other thoughts are “don’t go there, you are going to fall!”
About 30 minutes have passed and I
haven’t moved at all. My friends are waiting for me at the foothills to
show them the photo. I guess that they are laughing at me now, thinking
how I’m going to do it!
I don’t know why it’s so hard for me, I
mean, many people would do it easily. But I can’t. Damn it, I can’t! I’m
afraid of f@cking heights, why did I bet? What am I gonna do now?
But as the time passes fast, I decide to do it! Just like Nike said: “just do it”
So, I take a big breath, and walk
towards the cliff! Yes, that’s what I did! (I’m a brave man, I didn’t
know that!). but when I try to take a photo with my mobile phone, I
…slide! How did this happen, I don’t know! Maybe it’s my bad luck that’s
been following me since I was born.
And now I’m falling. Yes, in a few
seconds I will be dead! Sadly, I always wanted a brave death, something
that will make me proud! But falling off a cliff trying to take a photo
it’s not that brave! Damn my luck!
I am watching the ground coming speedily
toward me, I can see a little river between the trees, I can even
notice some sheep (but cannot see the shepherd!).
As I said before, I am very unlucky! I
cannot even die! And that, because 30 meters before I crush into the
ground and go to find my maker, everything stopped! Yes, everything
stopped! It was just like someone has pushed the pause button! I could
only move my head, my hands and my legs, but I couldn’t move my body.
And I was standing still 30 meters over the ground!
I prayed to God for help, but he didn’t
listen to me. I screamed for help, but the place was desert. I panic, it
was my first time standing still in the air, I didn’t know what to do.
But for the first time in my life, I am lucky! I saw a guy down in the
ground dressed in black walking towards me. He was reading (as he walks)
a book. I scream at him for help: “hey mister, I need your help”. The
black dressed guy looks around himself and couldn’t see no one. He
continued walking. I cried out louder: ”I’m over heeeeere!!”
The man raises his head, and saw me! He
looked very frightened (I understood him a lot!!) and he put on his
spectacles to see me more clearly. When he saw me, he started yelling:
“oh God it’s you, oh God it’s you!!”
I felt surprise for a moment, I didn’t
see that coming! “no, no, I’m not God, I’m just a normal person” I said.
But the black dressed guy wasn’t listening! He knelt down, and started
praying! I told him again that I was just an ordinary guy, but the black
dressed man wasn’t listening. He raised his head and told me “tell me
God, what do you want from me? I was an honest man all my life, I spread
your Word to people. Is this my time to leave?”
“No, I need you to do me a favor and
call some people to come over here” I said to him. But the black dressed
man had a hearing problem! “you want me to tell people about this
miracle!!” he said!
“No, no, you didn’t get it. Just call
some people here to help me” I said to him. But before finishing my
phrase the black dressed man had run away! And I was left alone standing
in the air!
After a few minutes, I saw the black
dressed man approaching me! He wasn’t alone, there were about 20 people
with him! “thank you God, I’m saved” I said
When they finally came close to me, all
the people knelt, and started praying! The black dressed man told them
that I’m God, and there was a miracle happening right now! I tried to
tell them that I needed help, but my voice was hoarse because of my
screaming.
Then, they all told me “thank you God”
and …left! They didn’t even ask me if I needed anything! How could they
do it? They believed that I’m God, and just left?? Not even asked me
for a favor? Money, or health, or anything? What kind of God am I? Even
my flock doesn’t respect me! I just saw them leaving. I saw myself
standing still on the air. I knew that I have lost the bet, but who
cares now about the bet? I’m dead, without being dead! This could happen
only to me.
I felt my eyes closing, I saw the darkness around me. I just said to myself “finally I die!”
My friends got worried because I was
missing for long, and they started searching for me. They found me. They
found me dead 20 meters before the cliff!!
(this story is absolutely real)
Story by: Konstantinos Pamfiliss
Illustration: Sofia Kyrisoglou
