The Dangers of Falling

The sun is bright, and I narrow my eyes against its glare.
Underneath my feet the sand shifts treacherously, and the glaring sun glints off the teeth of this giant gaping maw in the ground;
This enormous beast snapping its beak, reaching up with slime-covered, fleshy vines to salaciously wrap around my ankle and drag me in,
Crooning all the while like its alien cousin,
That enormous man-eating plant that somehow manages to lull us into a false sense of security with his smooth Levi Stubbs voice, like honey.

The forest is dark and cool, and I narrow my eyes to decipher its shadows.
Underneath my feet the twigs snap loudly, and the leafy darkness shifts innocently while I struggle to keep my eye on the snatch of white fur;
That ever-tardy lagomorph, darting down that wretched hole and turning about,
Swelling grotesquely and shredding his minute waistcoat,
Daring me with glistening teeth and red eyes to come in after him,
Enticing me with childhood stories and half-remembered lullabies into the darkness where he will wrap his golden chain around my neck and mark the time with my fading heartbeat.

The clearing is silent around me, and I narrow my eyes to focus on the sparkling pool.
Underneath my feet the grass bends unceasingly, and springs up again unscathed when I step away to examine the unmoving waters of the lake;
So identical is this lake to the multitude of others that lay evenly spaced as far as my eye can see that I become doubtful,
and as if it realizes this and seeks to reassure me the waters do not move.
Inside this pool there lies a golden city of shining people and opportunity,
or an unshaped world of pure darkness, waiting for the Light and the Lion's roar;
or a crumbling civilization that lay in ruins, red dust blowing across broken bricks and statues alone in an arched hall.

There is a reason we are all born with an inherent fear of the unknown.