Top of the World

A Story by the_gak

Yesterday

A new day. The sun graced the morning skies. Bluebirds sang a melody, at a distance. A solemn figure sat in the backseat of the taxi.

“You wanna tell me where you headed?” the driver asked.

“You got the address”- a blunt reply.

“Yeah man, I got the address. Just wondering why anyo--”

“I ain’t paying you for wondering”

“Yeah man, got it”. Years of driving that taxi had taught him when to talk, and when to shut up.

The passenger stared off into the horizon. Tears misted his sight, as he took a trip down the ghosts of his past.

20 years ago

He was so excited. Then again, which 10-year old wouldn’t be excited to go to an amusement park? He was just recovering from his parents’ divorce. This place just healed him. Sitting in the Ferris wheel, he felt like he was in the top of the world. Everyone and everything looked so small from there. He felt like he could conquer the world.

10 years ago

He was finally out of college. His whole life was ahead of him. He was just recovering from a bad breakup, as his phone rang. His mother had passed away. He felt like the world was crumbling down. After weeks of moping, he knew the one place that would heal him. Once again, the wheel took him to the top of the world. He was now mature enough to know he can’t conquer the world, but he knew he would survive it. After all, he was on the top of the world.

1 week ago

He was beaten; beaten by life. He had lost everything. First he lost his job, and his wife followed. He found solace in the bottom of a bottle, and lost the little amount of money he had. He badly needed some healing, and he was going to get it. He got up, locked the house, took two steps towards the car, and fainted. He woke up in a hospital. The neighbours were kind enough to call an ambulance. The doctor entered, and the look on his face said it all �" it was bad news.

Yesterday

He looked at the file in his hand. It had his fate written in it, in bold letters �" Leukemia.

“You have one month left”. The doctor’s words kept echoing in his ears.

The hospital had abandoned him. He was declared hopeless, and was decreed to die. But he knew he had hope left. All he had to do was go back to the top of the world. There he could heal.

The taxi came to a stop, in front of the arch with the big, rusty board �" ‘Kiddy Funland’. He paid the driver, tipped him for his silence, and got off the car. The taxi took off without a delay. He was finally here, but nothing would have prepared him for what he saw �" the big brass lock was staring at him, mocking his dumb belief in hope. Now he knew why the driver was confused; the top of the world was no more. The realization finally crippled him, as he fell to his knees sobbing. He had been conquered.

Now

A new day. The sun graced the morning skies. Bluebirds sang a melody, at a distance. For some reason, the melody was a lot bluer. The same road, but a different car. The cop driving it looked at her partner.

“This is depressing, you know”

“Suicide is always depressing, Carol”

“Yeah, but of all the places in the world, why would he do it here?”

“Kiddy Funland is an abandoned place. It’s a perfect spot for killing yourself. Why do you care, anyway?”

“I used to go there when I was a kid. I loved the place when I was a kid. I loved the Ferris wheel; it made me feel like I was in the top of the world.”

There was a solemn silence in the air. Carol broke the silence herself.

“I just don’t understand why someone would jump from the top of the world”