Even hundreds of feet above the ground, with the wind blowing strongly and thunderclouds brewing, he could still hear the sounds of cars honking and people cursing. It was a normal occurrence, but considering that he had just climbed more than twenty flights of stairs, he was in no mood to hear it.

Today was a special day after all, at least to the man currently standing above the world. The people below him should understand that, and wait patiently, not continue along as if he wasn’t even there. Though, truthfully, he was so high up that he doubted they could see him anyway.

His calves ached. His lungs burned. His head was more than a little foggy. And above all else, he felt the pressures of responsibility on his shoulders. He inched closer and closer to the edge of the skyscraper, and the wind did its best to make the decision to jump itself by pulling him off the roof.

The sad truth was that no one in this place would miss him if he did jump. He had no family left, they had all died, and his friends were more token acquaintances that only called him when they needed something. That made up his social network. His financial portfolio consisted of crippling debt. His job prospects were just as dreary.

Some lttle part of him whispered in his mind as he crept closer that he shouldn’t do it, that committing suicide was the cowards way out, but he ignored that misinformed part of himself. It didn’t understand the pains of modern society, the stress and limits.

The skyscraper he stood on had a chain link fence surrounding the roof, either to prevent jumpers or to prevent accidents, or both, but it didn’t matter to the man. He had already made up his mind when he left his expensive, crappy shoe box apartment that cost him a fortune to live in. He was throwing in the towel, forfeiting the game, calling timeout indefinitely.

What made the decision all the more shocking was that the man who slowly climbed the chain-link fence was an atheist. He had long since seen through the lies of religion, and did not believe in a god above.

A man who did not believe in an afterlife followed the path of least resistance, and fell.

He fell quickly, yet it felt like an eternity. As the weightlessness surrounded him, the man felt his burdens disappear. The heavy weight of responsibility slipped off his shoulders, and he smiled. The first in a long time, for what he thought to be the last time. He closed his eyes, enjoying the silence. For the people below him had stopped making so much noise. It was quiet for those last few seconds.

He had won, he had defeated the expectations of life. He had bypassed his fate. Nothing would dictate what he should do, and it was peaceful. It lasted all of three seconds. Then he heard a chuckle.

Had his eyes been open, he would have been able to see a beautiful sight. Unfortunately, he had closed them. It turned out to be a good thing though, because when he face planted into the mud, he didn’t get any in his eyes.

It was quiet. The wind blew, and the trees around him swayed. Insects buzzed, things scurried around the ground.

And he was alive.