Looking Back - Final
Breathing fast, heart beating rapidly, the end of the meadow was fast approaching.
The boulders, snow sprays, drifting sideways on the ice - were obstacles that only whet the appetite.
The ending was the best part...
Suddenly, a fleeting shadow passed not a yard in front of me. "Hoooooooo." "Hooooooooooooo." Losing concentration, I turned a complete 360 degrees before I immediately reacted and found my bearings again. Though only minimally, I could tell my momentum had slowed.
Beating wings rapidly grew distant. The owl was only curious. I only hoped that I was still going fast enough.
Keeping my hands and feet inside I lowered my head as much as I could to maintain speed. A growing horizontal line dark in color appeared so fast, it almost left me unprepared. I was still recovering from the owl. I started to worry that I had not adequately anticipated the distance left before the steep drop in the meadow.
At the last second, I saw the wide but low mound - a flat rock right on the edge of the drop. I had just that second to aim right for it. I hit it square.
Immediate flight. Immediate silence. What a rush, especially when you can't see what's around you. But I could hear it... not that far below - maybe 10 feet. The brook.
The brook was flowing fast, a strong current - why it hadn't frozen over yet. My sled had begun to take a downward turn.
The whooshing sound returned to my ears. Brook sounds just behind me. My eyes straight ahead.
Bam!!
I landed hard, the front then the back hit. My head bounced lower and then above the sled. A shower of snow dust flew right into open mouth. The bluish-white landscape returned my vision, as I spiraled and one side of my toboggan rose off the crust. I couldn't control its flip and I flew out. Then I flipped - I lost count how many times.
Another shadow encircled my vision as I flipped. I was growing tired of shadows. I stopped right next to it. This one was vertical. A tree.
The flip of my sled had saved my life.
I rose to my knees, and that's when the full reality hit. I had had a guardian angel looking over my shoulder.
In the moonlight, I could clearly see that the toes of my boots were still gleaming wet...
Still, I knew I'd return for yet another thrill - another night.
Credits for Images (above):
1st Image: http://www.uuworld.org/2001/01/bellerose3.jpg
2nd Image: http://www.jthomashinton.com/images/MoonlitForest.jpg
