One quick kick, and down I go. Tumbling further and further away from your light. My reaching hands give up, as I enter free-fall. As light becomes dark, I notice a change. Why did you drop me? becomes Why didn't you catch me? As I see your gates close on me, I accept a change. A fall into nothingness becomes a flight into the unknown. Perhaps a flight that will never en- With a loud crash, I hit the bottom. I feel a cold I had only ever tasted in shivers. Covered in the snow of the deep, I rise. The ice supports me as I stand and look up at you- The tears I cried freeze into a crowned mask resting on my face. Tears I'll never shed again. As I look up at you for the last time, I embrace the change. The sorrow-filled grimace of a child becomes the confident cackle of a King.