The Man Who Fell
To Earth
A loud bang, sudden
unexpected motion and intense cold wrenched Lance
from sleep.
He could not have know that
failure of a pressure bulkhead in the ageing
airliner, just minutes before touchdown at
Southampton Airport, had ripped a hole in the
fuselage adjacent to his seat. He knew, however,
that seconds previously he had been inside an
aircraft, and now he was in the open air and
tumbling earthwards.
Having recently undertaken
a charity parachute jump, he instinctively spread
his arms and legs and arched his back to effect a
stable, face down descent.
It was a clear, summer
afternoon, and the familiar topography of
Southern Hampshire lay below him like Google
Earth.
Autobiographical highlights
flashed before his eyes: There, in this vision,
was Gwen. She had captured his heart since they
had first sat together in Miss Watson’s
class at primary school. She dreamed, however, of
fairy-tale romance, and, despite resolute
attempts to win her hand, Lance had never matched
Gwen’s naïve, chivalric aspirations.
Despite that, he loved her passionately.
Suddenly, the face of
Oswald Mordred entered the vision. His massive
wealth and superficial charm had enchanted Gwen
to conclude that Oswald was her prince. To Lance’s
despair, Gwen and Oswald had married after a
whirlwind romance.
Gwen had soon learned,
however, of Oswald’s unfaithfulness, and she
now felt as if trapped atop a loveless, though
materially comfortable, castle tower - awaiting
rescue.
Lance looked down upon the
Hamble estuary where Oswald’s luxury yacht,
‘Oswald’s Kingdom’, was moored. An
unnatural calm descended upon him as a plan
formed in his mind – finally, he could prove
his undying love for the fair Gwen.
He spread his coat and
noted with satisfaction that he could retard his
descent and effect sideways motion.
Henry Johnson from
Winchester fell past. Lance recalled him as the
passenger who had occupied the seat next to his.
Lance waved, but Henry seemed, somehow,
preoccupied.
Returning to his quest,
Lance banked to the right and set course for
Hamble Marina. He calculated that, travelling at
two hundred miles per hour, he should, in the
finest Kamikaze and Exocet traditions, be able to
sink ‘Oswald’s Kingdom’. Lance
knew that Gwen was away, so could not be on board.
It was Saturday afternoon, however, and Oswald
almost certainly would be.
Lance flew onwards. Eric
Robinson from Andover and Albert Henderson from
Basingstoke dropped past having delegated their
plans to gravity. Lance identified the flight
crew of the budget airline by the logos on their
parachutes.
At last, his target came
into clear view, and he prepared for his final
approach…
**********************************************
Six months later, Gwen
jumped, with a parachute, from a Cessna over
Southampton. She wished to experience the manner
in which Lance had executed his last heroic and
romantic act as he had sunk ‘Oswald’s
Kingdom’ with the loss of Oswald and two of
his many mistresses.
Gwen had inherited Oswald’s
wealth. Looking down upon Hamble Marina, she
sighted her newly commissioned luxury yacht at
the mooring once occupied by ‘Oswald’s
Kingdom’.
There had been no finer
hero after whom to name it – someone who
had, at last, met her romantic ideals. Gwenevere
would forever be reminded of his passion and
valour as she sailed on ‘Lancelot of the
Skies’.
| 