How my face broke my fall…
There I was, minding my own business, speeding down the slope when my pants caught up with the bike’s chains. My mind was racing even faster than gravity’s pull. But there was no escaping the inevitable. Einstein or whoever discovered gravity was wrong; there was no constant formula for free fall. Not that it was wilfully schemed. For in those milliseconds, I was able to conjure a whole different scenario reaching as far back as agreeing to take over the ride, as far back as deciding to stay after the meal, beyond deciding to say ‘yes’ to an invitation for a morning in the park. All those thoughts, all those feelings and eagerness to join in a special day lead to something memorable in a way I never deemed it to be.
It all started with the news of a colleague facing charges that might earn him the pink slip in our company. This guy is the one whom we abased, at first, during times that we were ignorant of what he is, the person that he is. A mistake that was easily surpassed by time. We, of course started there together, learned as a wave but he was longer than any of us in that company’s relatively new site.
Going back, as we tried to decide what to pursue next, the crocodile’s nest or the human maze, a friend of mine handed me a bike, the one I that I was too sleepy to rent in the first place. But hey, it’s there, it’s fun, so why not, right?
The first few rounds were uneventful, we just went around in circles until genius decided to break it up and explore the park. Then, I followed David because he was first in line and got the hang of it. I pedalled so hard which seemed effortlessly at the time that a few minutes later, I was ahead of him. Then, without any rational thought present in my brilliant brain, I went ahead and chased an automobile. And if that wasn’t crazy enough, I continued with all the speed I can muster down the slippy concrete cement - all that using a ragged bike with no body shield disregarding the fact that I had no sleep the previous night leaving me with no defences whatsoever.
And then it happened. All hell broke lose as my pants tangled up with the chains. Inevitably, the bike lost controls as the pedal and back tire froze together with my heartbeat. Luckily for my heart, it was just temporarily – brought about by the excitement of the “situation”. I thought about how it would end. Pondered on how I should fall. Rewinding the events even slipped my mind. But then it hit me, there are sets of eyes less than a great distance from where I stood or whatever you want to term it. I wondered how their faces looked like as they witness mine sweep the ground.
And it happened. It pricked but I guess the pain was overwhelmed by the emotion. It may sound like absurd but I kinda liked it. The pain, the fear, the excitement – it made me feel alive. Like out of the mundane soiree, I had thrilling rendezvous with the earth! Not in the way that I brushed with death because all my face got to brush up against was some grass and gravel but it was the sweetest “mudpie” I had in months.
Of course it was awkward. Not to mention that I had to commute and walk home with blood stains on my pants. Not that it was really noticeable that half of my pure white jacket was smudged by mud. It didn’t even bother me that when I got home, my mom had this look saying “what else is new?” from all the times I went home with bruises and cuts all over. But still, there was something that can ruin a great experience. Indeed, I realized fun was over when I needed to clean up, and the hydrogen peroxide seemed more like acid burning through my skin followed by the stinging sensation found only in betadine. With that, I remembered, to be careful the next time.
23 Feb 2008, Bluroze Farms
