David and Goliath

There he was, hanging off the side of a frozen waterfall.
David was a speck in the landscape full of giants and he struck his ice pick into one.
Sheer determination, he thought was the best way to conquer this goliath.

It was a quarter past noon and the ice was starting to glaze from the sun. The slight warmth soothed him but made his trek treacherous. Five minutes ago, he saw a chunk of ice smash into the frozen river below. It reminded him that one misstep or bad luck, it was his turn to paint the river with pieces of his flesh. He was also running out of time. The giants took the sun away at three and darkness is a beast you don't want creeping up climbing frozen water.

David swung his ice pick over the ledge and made sure it held his weight. With tremendous effort that was depleted a while ago, he crawled on to the horizon. Gravity was his enemy for the day but here, flat on his back, it was his friend.

Blue sky.

The height that David thought was "not that bad" at the bottom was stupendous up here. He looked down with great triumph at the fallen giant and roared. The canyons roared back in applause and gilded him with rays from the sun. He gave a quick bow and headed to shore. There was no time. Darkness arrives without permission and shadows were already creeping up the cliff face. 

David was glad that it was a calm night. He made camp on a flat boulder overlooking the river. The embers from his fire glowed and cracked the silence with staccatos. Before falling asleep, David found peace connecting the stars in the sky. The heavens were generous with wishes as long as he was patient. The longer he stared into the diamond studded abyss, the better his chances were of catching one falling. 

-SS