Inside the Void

Mr father and I scaled a cliff face today. It was a slippery slope. Lots of loose stones. He was not keen on the idea. I found some mountain goat in me, and took a pass to the left. I managed to get to the lip of the mountain.

"Let it go," my dad called after me. "Pirooz!"

It was a dangerous maneuver. I would have to go into no man's land - my hands free from the rock, without any supports. I looked down at my shoes. Not much. Just regular New Balance. I wish I had Go GO GO GADGET mountain boots!

"Pirooz!!" my father shouted. "Your shoes."

It was as if we thought the same thing. That was enough for me. I could risk death another time. Not today.

"Okay, dad," I smiled. "I'm coming."

I made my way back down the mountain. When I got to the bottom, he was waiting for me with a pair of sunglasses he had found in the dust of the canyon. He handed the glasses to me. Then he said, "You were right there."

"I think I could have done it."

"But your shoes is not good."

"That's true."

"We can make it though."

"Maybe, if I push behind you."

"No, that's not necessary. We could do it."

As we walked back down the trail, my father caught sight of a rabbit. It was his first sighting of one in Los Angeles. It impressed him very much. "Oh, look at this guy," he said. "Is the first time I see this rabbit."

"Lots of rabbits," I told him. "Lions too."

"Oh, this lion is dangerous."

"You have to make yourself as tall as you can, if you run into one. Then you make a lot of noise."

"Oh, yeah, man. You have to get a stick put it on your head."

"Yeah."

My dad thought it over, "Maybe tree is better."

"Could be," I laughed. "It won't help you if you run into a bear though."

"Oh, no," my dad frowned. "Bear doesn't care how big you are."

"No," I agreed. "They are the most dangerous animals in the world."


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