I Don't Stop

I run. As to my destination, I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that I will never get tired. I will run forever.

I think I'll see the world. I run up Machu Picchu, although I'm not aware of how I got here. When I reach the summit, I gaze down upon the small towns far below. I wave with both arms at an aeroplane passing overhead. Can they see me from here? They must be able to. The clouds are closing in around the mountain, but I'm too high up for them to suffocate me in their gloomy, rain-storm endeavour.

I look down once again and shout at the top of my lungs, "Hullo, down there!" But I'm not fast enough. The clouds have acted as a barrier between me and the rest of the world far below. I will move on now.

And so I jump. Butterflies fill my stomach as I am overwhelmed with a welcomed feeling of weightlessness. The clouds rise up to meet me at a vigorous speed and I land on their surface. I begin to run again and before I know it, the clouds I've been sprinting along for so far west are coming to an end and I see ocean far below.

The only way down is to jump, and so I do just that. I decide to let myself have some fun as I free-fall towards the watery depths rushing towards me. I pull into a tuck position and spin one, two, maybe five times before I stretch out flat and turn my back to the water. Is it possible to do cart-wheels while free falling? It is; I just tried. Now the water is so close, I have to change position a final time.

I execute a perfect "pencil" dive as I break through the surface of the water and plummet into darkness. Deeper and deeper I swim until I look up and the last shred of light disappears. I take my first breath of the sea. I welcome it into my lungs and realize I have never felt so good. It's like the ocean belongs to me…

I need to reach the bottom and I know I'm close, so I swim as fast as I can passing a whale, a giant squid, and many strange deep-sea creatures I think nobody has ever seen — except for me — on the way. It's funny how I can be so deep under water with no light at all and have perfect vision. Maybe I'll just stay down here for a while; no one will notice. No. I can't. I'm running out of time.

My feet brush up against something. Is it the sea floor? No. I hear her talk. I can't register words, but I know what she means. I hold on to the whale's rough skin and think I must be farther from the floor than I thought. She says I'm close to the Western Land. Is that Asia? Possibly Oceania? We've arrived. The whale can't go any closer to shore so I'll have to swim. Thanking the whale before I depart, I swim to the surface. Suddenly the water seems solid.

I begin to run again, skimming the surface of the ocean and onto land. But now I don't stop. There isn't enough time for an unnecessary break. This must be Asia because before I know it, I'm running parallel to the Great Wall. I turn away and head into desert. I come to the edge of a giant cliff and jump down, finding myself in front of the Treasury. It's largeness overwhelms me as I take in one of the Wonders of the World. How did I get here so fast? I'll think about that later.

I sprint away from the unbelievably large tomb and soon find I'm surrounded by pyramids higher than any skyscraper you'll ever see. I guess I'm faster than I thought. I jump and land on top of one of them. I quickly take in my surroundings as I leap off and become surprised by the fact that I'm suspended in mid air. Now I can fly?

I soar high above the pyramids and make my way west once again over the rest of Africa and I am soon greeted once again by the ocean. I fly close to the surface, allowing my hands to skim the water and send up refreshing spray. Continuing at top speed, I turn further north towards North America.

Lost in thoughts of being home again, I don't even take notice of when land appears beneath me. I stop, staring at a single house far below. I could swear there were more, even a neighbourhood, when I left. I must go now, for this is where my journey ends. I don't know what time it is or even if it's day or night. I can't tell. Maybe tomorrow…