Bradley approached the edge of the rocky cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was harder to get there than he had anticipated, but when he noticed the spot on the boat tour earlier that day, he knew it’d be the perfect place to spend his last sunset in Greece.

The waters far below roared as they slapped against the cliffs granite base. On the western horizon the sun reluctantly inched closer to the Mediterranean as if fearing the approaching sea might extinguish its glory. Just moments ago the water’s surface had transformed from a quivering blue mass into a shimmering ocean of molten gold. As a result, the sky too transformed taking on a dreamlike quality.

Back in the states Bradley had friends who made independent films. It was mostly trashy no budget horror, but they walked and talked like they were real “arteest”. He’d heard them throw around the term “Magic Hour” before, but this was the first time it actually made sense to him.

The picturesque view was indeed magic. In fact, the entire trip thus far had been more than fantastic. A perfect transcontinental flight, breathtaking historical sights, delicious foreign food, and of course beautiful women. Even though this was a mandatory class trip for his college semester in Latin, it couldn’t have been a more perfect vacation.

And thats what worried him.

Bradley didn’t consider himself a superstitious person. He’d always been classified as practical. His core belief was that, if a particular cause repetitively resulted in the same effect, then it must be TRUTH. And Bradley’s truth was that anytime something was going exceptionally well in his life, things where all most certainly about to go to shit.

Once on the final day of fourth grade, young Bradley was walking to school. He was going to receive an award because he hadn’t missed a single day since starting kindergarten. It was a feat yet achieved by any other child in the school district. He’d heard his entire class would get a pizza party, all thanks to Bradley’s perfect attendance.

With a skip to his step and daydreams of dancing pepperoni slices obscuring his vision, Bradley took an unknowing yet jolly jaunt right into an open storm drain.

Nobody knew how it had been carelessly left opened, or why, but as a result Bradley set in ankle deep stagnant water for the majority of the day. The passing cars on the nearest street couldn’t hear his cries for help. He was even forced to use the bathroom in the very water he was wading in.

It wasn’t till later when school was out, that a couple of kids from his class found him. They still had sauce stains on their cheeks.

“They fucking had my pizza party with out me.” he thought. That was the first time Bradley had sworn, even if it was internally.

And so it went…

The summer at camp when he received his first kiss. Nearly died from multiple wasp stings.

The time he won that essay contest and got a free trip to Disney World. Hurricane.

That family cross country road trip to all the national parks. Parents got Divorced.

First time he fell in love and lost his virginity. Crabs.

Yes, over the years Bradley had grown weary of good fortune.

Once he confided his theory to his sister. He hoped that perhaps his condition was hereditary and she could relate from experiencing a similar phenomenon. But after hearing his proclamation, her sisterly advice for him was, “Pull your head out of your ass Brad.”

A gust of salty wind shot up the side of the cliff face. Bradley’s shirt and bangs waved as it shot upward across his front.

He exhaled deeply repeating his big sisters advice like a mantra.

Pull your head out of your ass Brad. Pull your head out of your ass.

“Maybe she was right.” He thought.

Natural light was fading fast and this scenic view had required him to venture off the beaten path. Bradley decided he’d better head back to his group.

As he shifted his weight turning, the ground beneath him suddenly faltered, crumbling away.

Bradley fell to his right. He instinctively spun outstretching his arms to prepare for impact, but the solid ground was nowhere to be found.

As the rush of the free fall stole his breath and the waters below quickly approached, Bradley’s mind only had time to think one word.

“Figures”