By: Dereck Guerrero

There are memories that we will always treasure in our minds, but sometimes, there are other ones that will haunt us until our last breath. Traumatic memories can sometimes be the best anecdotes to tell. Now, I can guess what you are thinking “What does he mean by “Traumatic Memories”? Well, to explain that, let me tell you a story…

WHAT HAPPENED?

It was a cold afternoon on a Saturday in December; it was almost Christmas. A bored 14-year-old boy decided to kill some time by playing “walk the tightrope,” but, since he didn’t have a rope, he had to improvise. He pushed himself onto the fourth-floor corridor railing and started walking on the railing, until what looked like fun became his nightmare. The boy slipped and fell into the void. But never with the intention of giving up, he managed to hold onto the railing of the third floor. Before the boy could realize that he was still alive, for 13 seconds the boy was there, hanging, with his mind blank and scared to death.

HOW DID IT TURN OUT?

The boy in some way defeated death that day by learning a valuable lesson that will haunt him for the rest of his life. The lesson was that life and death are not a game. We must learn from our mistakes and bad decisions in order to enjoy the gift of life with those we love. From time to time, the boy still asks himself about what could have happened if death had been the winner of the story that day. 

The boy still fears those corridors. How do I know? That’s easy. I am that boy who almost died 2 years ago. I know that combination of fear and luck will never leave my chest, but I’m okay with it. For over 3 seconds my soul was in the hands of the death. During those 3 seconds I felt the coldness of death, but I also felt more alive than ever. That’s why while I was falling and my whole life was passing in front my eyes, I couldn’t help myself from smiling. Death is now an old friend of mine that will come to visit me again someday, but that time, he will take me with him.