Slipped
I was just walking down the street, when I slipped and fell off the Earth. I began to float into the sky feet first, gravity’s grip becoming looser with every foot I rose, until after several minutes, when I left the warm atmosphere of Earth, and found myself drifting in the cold recesses of space.
A great chill overtook me, and I quickly wrapped my arms around my shivering form. I looked around and saw the stars and moon. I then turned to see the enormous blue orb I’d called home for so long. It kept shrinking, as I fruitlessly tried to climb back to it. My legs kicked, and my arms flailed, but no matter what I did, the Earth wouldn’t get any bigger. I drifted onward, deeper and deeper into space.
By the time I’d past the moon, I’d already gotten used to the cold. The tumbling had slowed down, and I was able to exert some control over my movements. I couldn’t change my trajectory, but I could alter my speed. I could accelerate to a breakneck pace, or slow down to a lumbering crawl.
I couldn’t help but frequently glance back at the Earth I’d known for so long, and had taken for granted. I kept hoping that this might be a dream, that it was too strange to be happening, and that at any moment, I would wake up in my bed on Earth, relieved to feel the warm air, to listen to the birds in the trees, and the people in the street. But no matter what I did, I couldn’t wake up.
