Shaken

Deep in outer space, what a wondrous view. Onyx black, endless fiery white orbs. The air is cool, crisp, still. Such stillness. Enigmatic limitlessness. Off in the distance a towering, powerful waterfall crashes down on the rocks below. Lush vegetation abounds, the beginning of a faint rainbow. The sweet scent of honeysuckles floats in the air. Unparalleled perfection. The two scenes intermixed: impossible excellence. A single macaw sores the heavens above, colorful fish swim in the crystal waters below. Their exotic essence surrounds me.

A tightness in my chest catches my breath. Beneath my feet the ground trembles. As I look below I realize, quite suddenly, I'm standing on suspended stone platforms no more than a foot wide. Below the suspended platforms and under my feet an impossible darkness gapes back at me. Nullity extending absolutely. Still surrounded by a wondrously impossible spectacle: Outer Space and tropical paradise intertwined.

Suspended platforms promise a path to stable ground and lead me to the arms of paradise. I look behind me and an overwhelmingly despondent presence bores down into my soul. No stars, no celestial assurance, just deep, black, cold space.

The choice is clear and yet impossible. The suspended platforms beneath me sway. Oh, what an unexpected dilemma! What a marvelous, all inspiring view! Two unimaginable, unprecedented scenes, intermingled in an impossible existence. The platform shifts beneath my feet again and demands my attention. My body jerks. How did I not fall? My chest is tight, my breath is short, jaw clenched. My mind racing, I can't concentrate. What's next? Where do I go? Where am I? How did I get here?

The suspended path before me is scattered and the stones float apart. Will I be able to jump from one to the next? They all tremble and shake without warning. Some begin to fall down, down, down, sinking into the nothingness below.

The path ahead is long, the task arduous. I look behind me into the cold void. Though emptiness abounds, on this path, the ground below is stable. As I stand it too begins shrinking farther into the distance.
What paths to travel.
What a choice to make.