I am ready to leave this existence now.

The rocks of this ocean cliff dig into my bare feet, it is uncomfortable but that will not matter in a moment. I look down at the raging waters. White swells crash against the jagged cliff face showering the beach with freezing water.

The horizon is as blue as the ocean; it all seems to blend together into a single eternity. The sun beats down upon the waves, struggling futilely to heat the living water. No matter how hot the sun, the waves will forever remain cold and unforgiving.

But I should not tarry here any longer. I take the final step to the very edge of the cliff. It is damp and cool, the loose rocks shift under my weight.

I center myself to the rhythm of the ocean.
In, breathe. Out, exhale. In, breathe. Out, exhale.

I feel my body rise and fall. I feel the tides shifting in my blood. My senses are enhanced, focused. I can smell the salt in the air, the stench of ocean life being dredged from its slumber to be dashed against the land. I feel the fine grains of sand carried on the wind as they scratch my skin leaving no mark. I begin to see the air currants borne from the heat and the cold, thermals rise and fade, steady and true. Like a beating heart they pulse giving flight to the birds whose life hangs in the delicate balance of air and water.

Ah, the birds. How I envy them, so free and happy. They live away from the drudgery of Human life. They simply live. They fly, uncaring for the laws of men, free.

I take a final breath, my eyes still shut, and jump.

The wind rushes across my body. My imagination runs wild, I fall; evolution taking over. My muscles move and change, hair becomes feather, and arms become wings. My body changes. I glide upwards, grazing the water beneath me, barely avoiding disaster. Like a young baby chick I soar upwards as much on the thermals as upon my own exhilaration. I tumble and roll, birds gather around me in curiosity. They have never seen one like me, one so happy to simply fly. Soon I will master this new body of mine. I will then be able to play with the birds, to explore the skies, living high above the petty, boring human world.

I become bolder as I dance through the air. I dive towards the water only to pull upwards at the last moment. Gravity adds momentum to my new form giving me greater speed as I soar higher upwards.

I become cocky, I fly too far, too fast. I cannot pull up in time.

My eyes open as I crash into the water. My dream form evaporating about me with each floating bubble. As I sink, the air in my lungs already straining to escape, I feel another change come over me. My skin begins to ripple as scales encircle and cover my body. My legs fuse together painlessly into a powerful tail fin. My neck grows gills, salty water bringing fresh oxygen to my once struggling body.
Again I am free. My powerful tail carrying me along faster than any frail wings, my sleek smooth body swimming effortlessly through the murky waters. I will live a new life, I will fly beneath the waves exploring the miracles of the unexplored ocean, I will see new and exciting places, from tropical reefs to sunken ships. Places no human can ever truly see. I can frolic with the playful dolphins as they hunt for food or chase boats that fruitlessly compete with their perfect bodies.

I will dodge sharks and sing with whales, this is surely a better life than becoming stuck with noisy squawking birds in the polluted air. Nothing is a soothing as a mother whale cooing lullabies to her young calf. I will grow fat off of fresh fish and never tire while I move around the globe going wherever the currants take me. I will do as I wish.

But then my lungs scream at me through the fog of imagination. I am no water creature, I need the air to live. So I rise to the surface and breathe not with gills but lungs. My body is pushed upwards by simple buoyancy and my frantically kicking legs.

I swim to shore, slower without a tail. As I exit the water and begin to climb the steep cliff another change comes over me. My legs and arms begin to shorten and thin. My hands and feet become sturdy hooves. Long, thick hair covers my once cool body, warming me, protecting me against the wind and surf that beats against these rocks. My eyes change, as does my perspective. The whole world narrows, and I stand half as tall as I once was, my balance infinitely improved. I move, gleefully dancing from stone to stone. My agile body springing me upwards to the top with great speed, my hooves clicking as I move. I am one with the rock, as loose stones shift and fall beneath my weight, I dance to more solid ones; taunting fate.

Truly this is the greatest joy, living on the edge of life and death. A single missed step, one poorly placed hoof to cause me to come tumbling towards the jagged rocks below. My life is my own to win or lose as I play here.
Using my clever mind and nimble body to climb away from menacing predators, always searching for a tuft of fresh tasty vegetation. Forever on the razors edge of starvation and death. I can play with the earth itself, constantly testing my bounds. Always looking for new routes to travel new food to eat, never certain what I may find, or how the land will change itself and me.

I can go and find others to play with, strong, surefooted rams, brave gentle lambs, and their playful energetic kids. We can chase one another from one dangerous outcrop to another, joyfully playing where others fear to tread.

But alas my surefooted hooves have brought me to the top. My car sits where I have left it.

I look down at my mere Human hands, my fingers red from where I have been scrambling up the rock. Water drips from my hair quickly becoming cold in the breeze. I am not a bird, or a fish, or an animal I am a Human and my lunch break is over. I have to return to my boring job, in my boring cubicle, with my boring co-workers. I dry my hair in the wind as I drive back to work.
Maybe tomorrow I will become something even better.