I shuffled dead leaves with my tattered sneakers, undoing nature's sloppy decorations. Such is my private tradition come fall. Boredom consumed my daily routine, as watching television no longer fulfilled me. I heard the shrill cry of my name, so I turned in the direction of this beckoning. Then I saw it. Then I ran.

It glistened in the sunlight, and every single one of its jagged edges spun furiously as its disc-shaped body gravitated towards me. As I ran and looked back, I saw that it was thin, and made the air whistle as it ruthlessly cut through the sky. Someone had unleashed imminent doom upon me, and I knew that if I slowed my pace this unknown harbinger of death would slice me in two.

As fatal this weapon seemed, I figured that no blade of steel, even when spun on an axis, could cut through bricks.

So I veered for the library, where the old librarian shot me a suspicious look.

"And what do you think you're doing, young man? Running into a sanctuary for quiet contemplation with a look of helplessness on your face?" Her tone felt gently condescending, yet strangely friendly. It coaxed me into giving an answer.

"I'm trying not to die," I explained. "This is my last resort!"

She shook her head, telling me that people are so morbid these days. I almost began to think that she would let me stay, but she urged me to get out unless I had research to be done or books to be read. I hesitantly agreed. Peering outside, I neither saw nor heard any trace of my inanimate assassin. Carefully, I tiptoed down the marble steps and out into the
chill open air. With another cry of my name from afar, the object of my demise came roaring at me once more. I began sprinting in the opposite direction.

Through the park, around the trees, over the bench, and under the bridge, I scurried like a helpless mouse in a vain attempt to escape my fate. I leaned against a titanic willow tree nearby a lake, and even in my state of angst, I noticed that the tree seemed to be weeping in advance for my funeral. I looked up at the sky, and back down to the earth. They seemed conjoined in a state of perpetual harmony, which made me wonder if maybe my life and death were to finally hold hands today to tie the last loose end.

Shattering my meditation, I saw the razor that would take me to heaven closing in on me. As it inched closer, time seemed to warp as if to give me a few more precious seconds. My life never flashed before my eyes, but I instinctively knew that I did not wish to die a coward. So, as futile as it may have been, I raised my hands up to my face, ready to catch this indestructible toy of the Reaper. I closed my eyes as it drew closer to my body.

To my amazement, I caught it! I stood in one piece, my hands unaffected by this desperate last-minute show of bravery. I heard the cry from afar again, this time applauding me.

I never feared a frisbee again.