Saved by an Old Mattress

I was 14. <break time="1.0s" /> My friends and I decided to explore an abandoned building near our neighborhood. <break time="1.0s" />

Just for the thrill. <break time="1.0s" /> We had explored abandoned places before, but this one felt

enormous. <break time="1.0s" /> The elevator didn’t work. <break time="1.0s" /> The stairs were rotting. <break time="1.0s" />

In some spots, there were no railings at all. On the ninth floor, I stepped the wrong

way. <break time="1.0s" /> The floor beneath me gave way. <break time="1.0s" /> I remember that terrifying second

of falling. <break time="1.0s" /> Suddenly, my whole life flashed before my eyes. <break time="1.0s" /> My parents. <break time="1.0s" />

School. <break time="1.0s" /> My friends. <break time="1.0s" /> I thought it was over. I landed on an old

mattress. <break time="1.0s" /> Someone had left it there at least ten years ago. <break time="1.0s" /> Somehow,