A tumble

Dear Y,

I took a tumble today. The irony of it: it was my last ride! The rain was misting down and the ground must have been slippery. I was on a steep downhill, and it was an old road bike. The path curved away down to the left. On that bit my wheel went from under me and I just slammed down, still going fast.

It was scary as fuck. Afterwards I realized I didn’t have a helmet. Amazingly, I don’t seem to have broken anything, but no doubt I’ll be colorful for a few weeks. I landed on my left side, so the pain is in my hip and shoulder. There’s a scratch on my left elbow. Can you believe? I’m practically unscathed. My imagination is starting to run away: the pain must be a quiet beast, waiting in the dark, and when I’m not paying attention it’ll rear up and make me scream.

Now that I’m all right, I keep thinking about it. I was getting cocky, I suppose. I’m on an island, Jesus!… five miles long and three miles wide. How could anything happen to me?

Y! I have some stars to thank, now.

I could have lost my face.