La Petite Mort...

Imagine you're on a roller coaster. It starts off slow and easy, and you're pretty chilled. Then, you begin to climb the incline, and you feel this wierd sensation building in your gut - it's almost like butterflies, but lighter. And the higher you climb, the more the feeling escalates, and before you know it, your abdomen is clenching itself tight in anticipation. Your breathing gets shorter, your heartbeats get faster, and because you're almost at the top, you know there's no going back - you're too far gone. You reach the peak and your throat dries up. Your eyes close. No time to think; you're catapulted over the precipice. And then you're falling - so fast that you're not sure if your body can handle it. Your heart rate spikes, your breathing stops, your voice gets stuck somewhere in your throat. It feels like an explosion of hot lava inside you, and it's rushing through your veins. Suddenly, everything is burning: it's ice and fire all in one go, and you can't move - your muscles convulse and freeze. Blank, your mind is blank. It's almost like a sensory overload, your systems crash and it feels like the waves as they tumble onto the shore. And then you feel the speed dwindle, your heartbeats slow down, you can breath easy as you get closer to the ground. The ride comes to a stop, a gentle break at the end, but you just sit there, still trying to comprehend. Your limbs feel like molten toffee, you really don't want to move. You just want to sit there and savour this strange mood. And even though you're tired, you're all warm and fuzzy inside. You see, they kinda have that effect, these roller coaster rides...