A Breath Never Exhaled

The pressures of the world were great. They could not hold against the days, beneath the sun.
So they went to the waters, and let themselves sink.
Further and further down, the world faded away, and they were at peace.
Beautiful was the serene quietness, but cruel was the surface.
For only in the surface could they find the air that they needed to breathe.
So they would break away from the waters, and return to their world, and return to breathing.
Some were rested, some invigorated, but always were there those who were afraid and exposed.
The days always dragged on and on, grating against their souls. But solace and peace continued to wait in the waters.
So they would bathe and and they would sink 'till their lungs could hold no longer, shrugging off the world in a place that rested deeper than sleep, that held wonders more beautiful than dreams.
At last, those who could no longer bear the separation from the tranquility gave in. They sank further from the surface, and breathed in. The darkness swallowed them.


From the surface, those who chose life looked to their sinking friends and spoke:
"Though we were greater in strength, they know now a peace eternal, carried away from the callous hands of life."