Elijah slowed to a walk as he reached Castle Apartments.  He had just finished a long run in the woods.  Elijah walked inside and began to climb the stairs.  He figured that he should take every opportunity to improve his physical fitness.  He believed that fitness was strongly linked to the change he yearned for.

New Beginings

Elijah stood atop castle apartments, the breeze pushing him towards the ground that lay far below.  He swiped the hair covering his eyes and gazed into the distance.  Today Elijah had visited the church, despite his Islamic heritage.  He listened to the pastor convene his message to his flock, describing the importance of being a rock.  Elijah knew that from now on in his life he would be the rock for others that he never had.   He visualized the passage in his head Psalm 17 The Lord is My Rock.  The words spoke to him in way he had never felt before.  They seemed to be calling him to some higher purpose unknown to him.  He repeated the passage, and promised himself that he would do whatever is necessary to fulfill the destiny his heart ached for.

The Calling

Elijah walked briskly through the subway.  The mall had experienced several robberies that day and neither he or his team was able to identify a culprit.  Elijah was tired of his workplace, he did not feel the same drive he used to.  Why should he devote his time to halt the schemes of petty thieves.  He should be using his talents in the broader world, tracking down dangerous criminals.  Ultimately Elijah decided that he needed a break from his life or at the very least a change.  Elijah thought to himself, "The world needs me but not at the mall."  The change reinvigorated him, filling him up with a renewed sense of purpose.  "Tomorrow" he exclaimed, "I will find my calling."

The Fall

The wind whipped past his face as he soared through the clouds. He streamed through the sky, pushing forward to his destination.  He didn't know what was calling him, but he felt a strong desire to find it soon.  Elijah glanced downwards and saw that he was passing over his hometown, as he glided over his apartments, a shudder ran through his body and he began to fall.  Elijah scrambled in the air for support, but he continued to pick up speed, crashing down towards his aprtment.  Elijah braced for impact and.....

Elijah jolted forward, he was breathing heavily and felt sweat running down his forehead.  He assed his surroundings, he was laying on his couch in his aprtment.  Memories of last night flooded into his head, a blur of places, people, and interactions that felt so fake.  His mind blended reality with the dream making the truth difficult for him to decifer.  Elijah cleared his mind, took a shower, dressed himself and proceeded downstairs.  The cool, still air sunk over him as he made his way towards Casa D' waffles.  Elijah took a seat at a booth with a newspaper and ordered several waffles and a coffee.  Elijah gazed outside watching people on thier way to thier own destinations.  A musician caught his eye playing guitar on the courner.  Most quickened thier pace past the man, but some slowed to enjoy the music that permeated thier daily routines.  Elijah turned back to his paper, reading the front cover, Crime Rates Rise while Police Funding Drops.  Elijah always wanted to be a police officer, but he never had the fincial success to enter the acdemy.  Elijah closed he paper as his food arrived clearing his old dreams from his mind. 

All that Live Must Die

Elijah stumbled home, while his head buzzed under the effect of several drinks.  Elijah struggled to keep himself up as the dizziness of walking set in, while simultaneously attempting to clear his head of thoughts about the past.  Elijah fell into his apartment, where his memories set upon like ravaging storm.  Elijah was back in his old home in Lanesport with his mother and father.  Elijah knew that tonight, his parents would die, but no matter how he yelled his parents were oblivious of the danger that quickly approached them.  He then  looked towards his younger self, full of innocence unaware of the fate that he would be left with after tonight.  Then suddenly a knock came at the door, Elijah watched in horror as his father, an imam at the local mosque, opened the door and two men forced him out of the way, throwing him to the ground.  Elijah watched his mother push him under the couch quickly, flashing one last smile before she was ripped away from him and thrown next to his father.  Then two shots rang put, jarring Elijah from his painful past.  Elijah quickly sat up and wiped the sweat from his face.  Elijah pulled himself to his bed to lay down, but his memory kept replaying in his head. Elijah stared at the fan spinning above him, and he began to slowly fade away, while his mother's face stayed ever clear in his mind.

Mugging on the Court

Elijah headed towards Ol' Johhny's gas station to pick up some gum.  He walked towards Johhny's, and noticed a man walking towards the basketball court, Elijah noticed that every once and while, some guys would get together to play pick up on the basketball court.  After stopping to get some gum, Elijah decided that he would stop by and see if he could join the game.  Elijah headed towards the basketball court and nearly ran into the man he saw earlier, Elijah greeted him, but the man just grunted and walked away briskly.  As Elijah reached the basketball court he saw a woman lying on the court obviously in pain.  Elijah sprinted towards the woman and kneeled beside her.  The woman as blinded by her pain and resisted his attempts to help her up.  She was bleeding through her clothes, and her face was disfigured by blows.  As Elijah stood to contact the authorities, several men shouted "get him" and began to run towards him.  Elijah was outnumbered and the woman could not give him solace because she did not know who had attacked her.  Elijah whipped around and began to sprint back towards his house.  Turning his head round he saw that a few men were still chasing him, he dashed into the parking deck beside Castle Apartments, and quickly chose a group of cars to hide next to.  After catching his breath, Elijah collected his thoughts and cleaned the blood from his shirt and hands.  Elijah walked briskly to his door, where he reminisced about his terrible luck.