The Fall

The dirt crumbled and rocks tumbled from under foot. Grasping at the limbs of passing trees was next to impossible. A cloud formed from the avalanche, and it grew bigger by the second. He didn't dare open his eyes. The possibility of permanent blindness was almost guaranteed. The best he could do was brace himself for what might possibly be the last few moments of his short life. Tasting the blood that ran down his face, he used all the energy he had to do the one thing worth doing. "Help!" he screamed, the dirt filling his lungs.

"I heard him scream, I still hear it when I close my eyes. It was terrifying. I didn't even give myself a chance to think, or breathe even. Seeing him there, it was just... I mean... Look, you never think when you go out to ride the trail that you'll turn into some hiker's last chance. I was it. No one else was around that early. It was just me or... I was just me."

Tumbling, his body took hit after hit. Small scratches and deep cuts alike, the dirt and fresh blood mixed to form a thick hot paste. Seconds, minutes, hours. Time didn't exist, and neither did pain, but then it all stopped. In an instant, everything changed. The world stopped spinning and so did he. Feeling his heart beat, he wondered if it would burst out of his chest. At the same time, he wasn't sure if he could actually feel anything.

"Coming down that hill, taking that turn, I could have died. I have a husband, I have kids. I'm always really safe taking my bike down these hills, but when you're in that mode... You know? And there he was, just down there. These hills are real steep. Just a few more feet down and then it's a straight drop. It's a miracle. I looked down and there he was. A tree broke his fall. Probably his back too, right?"

"Yes, ma'am, but you did the right thing. He's alive because of you." The doctor could see the pain in her eyes. She wished that she could have done more. The man was alive and breathing, but if she had only been faster. "Ma'am, you did all that you could have and more. He was lucky to have someone so heroic nearby. Not many people would have risked their own lives to get a helpless man to safety. You're a hero."

Looking past the doctor and seeing the stranger bandaged and unconscious, the woman could only think one thought. "I don't feel like a hero."