A gradual darkening of clouds,
A growing rumble of discontent,
and it falls.

The being careens downwards,
falling from the sky
where it had previously placed itself
          through naivete
          through obliviousness
Its arms flail,
Its legs kick,
Its head rolls back,
Its eyes are open,
Its mouth agape
          -it screams

soundlessly

The impact is beyond pain
          beyond physical
The impact goes straight to its core
          ripping the being in countless ways
Bones are crushed,
limbs torn,
skin gashed
                    -all without sound

It lies in agony -
          unmoving.
One eye blinks slowly -
          the other is unable.
Its mind works, stretches
trying to think
trying to understand
                              why

It had been led
but not by an outside force
to such an end.
It had been led
by its own emotions
its own desires.
A thing that had once appeared grand -
          promising
          intriguing
          attractive
had changed, once it was at hand.

The being tries to move an arm,
its mouth opening and closing.
Mud oozes slowly down
from where it had splattered on impact,
the brown filth tainting the perfect skin
          of the being
To only further the degradation
          of how it appears
          and how it feels.

Its eye flashes,
pictures moving in it
          projected from inside
These are pictures of the past
Pictures of how it came to be
          of how this came to be
An uncontrollable sob rises in its chest

The eagerness the being held
for partaking in such a thing
only made the fall worse.
It had perceived the act to be grand
                              wonderful
but the realization of what it was
only made the fall worse.

A change comes over the being's body.
A discoloration seeps along its torso and limbs,
Starting in the shadows, starting in the cracks
of its body.
It grows as though malignant,
corrupting perfect flesh
as it goes.
Its hands clench as the discoloration touches them,
fingers twitching and curling.
Its body rises, twists, wraps about itself
as the degradation completes itself.
The brown seeps towards the being's eye,
towards the pictures.
The thrashing stops, and the discoloration touches.
The pictures slowly fade, sinking deep into the eye.
The body slackens.

Something glistens at the edge of an eye,
sparkling amidst the brown that surrounds it.

The being weeps.