THE ANSWER IS IN THE ROCK: An Ancient Supernatural Principle

By Daniel Russell Ward

"US Hawaiians" 50th State Strong

Dear Reader,

Although this entire book chronicles the absolutely true account of the supernatural experiences I witnessed, and the manner in which God had dealt with me all throughout my life, the names of some people have been changed to protect the innocent, and to protect myself from civil liability and self-incrimination. Also, a certain minor detail of the make and model of a particular vehicle was changed to conceal the identity of the guilty party.

Dan Ward

The (ancient) Bible scriptures that are written down in this book are much more than just ordinary words on a page. It isn't like when you are reading from any other book. The Bible tells us that these are the inspired Word(s) from God Himself; therefore, the Word(s) have supernatural effect on the reader.

When you are reading the Scriptures, think of it as if God Himself is speaking to you directly. There is real power in the Word of God. Read and meditate on the Word, and let it change your life.

The King James version is less diluted (watered down), and, therefore, has more power. This is what the Bible says: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." That was Jesus. This is still Jesus, now and forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798885409919

Book preview

cover.jpg

THE ANSWER IS IN THE ROCK

An Ancient Supernatural Principle

Daniel Russell Ward

ISBN 979-8-88540-990-2 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88832-290-1 (hardcover)

ISBN 979-8-88540-991-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Daniel Russell Ward

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

DEDICATION

FOREWORD

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1

Answers for Your Suffering

The Pain Keeps Coming

There Is Hope for You

To Be Human Is Pain

No One Gets Out Alive

It Really Is Mind over Matter

As You Think, So Shall You Be

No Need to Fear

To the Rescue

CHAPTER 2

Things Could Always Be Worse

Adding Insult to Injury

Life Can Be Unfair

(Something…?) On the Beach

On the Beach

You Have a Problem

Nondiscriminating Reality

CHAPTER 3

You Have an Enemy

Rehabilitation Hospital

The Fourth Jewelry Heist

The Aftermath

I've Changed My Mind Due to a Changed Heart

Forward to the Beginning, 1986

Flash… Back to the Rehabilitation Hospital, 1982

On My Own

CHAPTER 4

Bad Things Can Happen to Good People

Tears and Prayers

Sad Farewell, My Dear Friend Nattie

CHAPTER 5

God Sees and Hears Everything

1968 Leilehua High School

Try God—Trust God

Save Your Life and Lose It

CHAPTER 6

Imperative Redundant Birth

Life Is Like a Vapor

The Rock of Ages/Get Saved

Sin and Repentance

Sin City—Las Vegas 1973

(Phase One) The Wet Ink Printing Process

(Phase Two) The Photographic Aspect

Us and Them

Cool City Blues

The Beginning of the End

My Spiritual Birthday

The Undeniable Power of God

Unlucky Misfortune or Chastisement from God

Kapa'a Boxing Club

Fight Night

Post-Event Cleanup at Gym

Undercover Brother

CHAPTER 7

Introduction

Frosty's Disappearance

Spiritual Cats

Familiar Spirits or Guardian Angel?

Just a Moment in Time

Guardian Angel or Spirit of a Friend

All Doubt Was Dispelled

Recognition

Resignation

Picking Up and Going Home

Spiritual Warfare

To Sum It All Up

I Was Lost

Sinner's Prayer

Holy Spirit

The Power of the Blood

Mighty Angels!

CHAPTER 8

A Genuine Miracle

My Divine Epiphany

Prayer Works!

Having Faith in God—Compared to Luck

CHAPTER 9

Instant Karma or Wrath of God

A Man Named Job

The Answer Is the Rock—Jesus, the Rock of Ages

Supernatural Power

Serpent on the Pole = Jesus on the Cross

CHAPTER 10

Be Smart and Choose Well

CHAPTER 11

1977

THE DREAM (In Real Life) THE PREMONITION (In the Mystic Realm)

1977 The Dream (in Reality)—the Premonition (in the Mystic Realm)

1982

THE DREAM (The Interpretation)—FULFILLMENT OF PROPHECY

1982 The Dream (the Interpretation)—Fulfillment of Prophecy

1997

EPILOGUE

The revealed gifts inside of the glass ball represent SALVATION and ETERNAL LIFE.

1997 Epilogue

Remembering Brian Pang and Our Battles Together

Remembering Brian Pang and Our Battles Together

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Holy Smoke

Impossible True Story

An Impossible True Story by the author

In the Trenches

On the Front Line of Spiritual Warfare and the Battle to Save My Soul

This Was the Beginning

The Fedora

Papa, Poltergeist, or Angel?

Crazy Stereo

Possible Cause / Connection

Spiritual Realm / Earthbound Battle

Dark Shadows

Bewitched by Sorcery and Magic

Say Goodnight and Goodbye

In the Trenches

On the Front Line of Spiritual Warfare and the Battle for my Soul (Part 2)

BACKSEAT EAVESDROPPING SCAM

told to me by Ray Scanlan

ABOUT THE ARTIST

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Princess

1965

I was foolish and ignorant and much too young to

appreciate what a priceless gem you are.

(You're my soul and my life inspiration…

…without you what good am I?)

I remember it all, sorry.

2003

Your tru$t and belief gave me a chance to be successful.

Despite falling short of our goal, without your generosity

I could never have had an active, worthwhile life in pursuit

of a dream for all this time, again I'm sorry.

2023

The answer to reconcile, by the Grace of GOD is

THE ANSWER IS IN THE ROCK

God Loves You and So Do I !!

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Officer Eric Christian of the Kauai Police Department. Because he took the time and made the extra effort to investigate when no one even knew that I was missing, he found me in time, and he, no doubt, saved my life.

Also to my brother KFD Firefighter Ivan Ward, KFD Firefighter Kawika Sproat, KFD Firefighter Wendell Goo, and KFD Firefighter Captain Butchie Victorino. They retrieved me from the bottom of the cliff fast by climbing up the shoulder, steep.

And to the EMT who kept me from falling asleep. Even after I told him my name Danny, he kept calling me by a different name, deliberately knowing it would irritate me:

Don't go to sleep now, Charlie…

Hey, Stanley, can you hear me? Stanley, wake up, Stanley?

He also made a discretionary decision and broke protocol. The driver said, There's the other ambulance up ahead.

As he tended to me, he called out, Don't stop. We're taking this guy all the way in.

So instead of stopping at the halfway mark (which was about twenty-six miles on Kuhio Highway), they refused the midway transfer into the other awaiting ambulance. They drove me in all the way, with the second ambulance following us empty, to Wilcox Hospital.

All those precious minutes saved, probably saved my life.

To me, I see you all as heroes who served with the same dedication, honor, and class that's attributed to

the Allies on June 6th, 1944, at Normandy,

the Marines, Special Forces, and Regular Army soldiers during the seventy-seven-day siege in 1968 at the Khe Sanh Fire base in Vietnam, and

the terribly outnumbered Delta Forces and Rangers in 1993 at Mogadishu, who were embattled in an intense and relentless eighteen-hour firefight. Nineteen soldiers died, and seventy-three were wounded.

Rangers never leave their men behind. These men took a stand.

Sincere thanks to all of you who took a stand: Officer Christian, who went above and beyond, whose investigation ended a frustrating five-and-a-half-hour wait to be discovered, the firemen who braved a very steep incline, and the EMTs who risked sanctions or worse.

May your reward be great.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

(John 15:13 KJV)

And last but not the least, this book is also dedicated to Catherine Fujino, the pretty elderly woman with the smiling eyes who just showed up in my hospital room one day at the rehabilitation hospital. She prayed me into the kingdom.

She drove me in her oversized Cadillac and took me to little out-of-the-way neighborhood Spirit-filled churches for healing services after I was discharged from the hospital. Although she couldn't have weighed more than ninety-five pounds, all alone by herself she would lift my wheelchair in and out of the trunk.

FOREWORD

I was introduced to Daniel Ward early on in my career as a clinical rehabilitation psychologist with spinal cord injured patients at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific.

Danny is an intriguing patient who actively demonstrated characteristics of resilience (e.g., perceiving change with commitment as a challenge and taking control of a fairly demanding mental/emotional/physical situation). He is smart, sassy, and fun, always willing to share his thoughts and ideas as a mentor for other SCI patients. He can think out of the box (e.g., modifying the first privately owned twenty-foot motorhome with a Handi-Van lift in the state of Hawaii or parking it on a million-dollar-view site on the Diamond Head Lookout just for the night).

Daniel isn't afraid of life. His strong belief system has sustained him through it all, and he is now hoping to share a piece of that belief system to help others who are confronted with the seemingly impossible task of living full and meaningful lives.

I feel honored to have the opportunity to introduce you to a very special guy with an important message.

Nancy Lamport-Hughes, PhD

PREFACE

Dr. Nancy Lamport-Hughes

The impetus for this book began with the asking of a question from Dr. Nancy Lamport-Hughes. She is the resident psychologist at the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific. I had been a patient of hers for a few years. Since it had been seventeen years since my spinal cord injury which left me wheelchair-bound but independent and largely recovered, perhaps Dr. Hughes regarded me as a well-adjusted quadriplegic, so she felt free to ask.

Together with a couple of other SCI (spinal cord injury) survivors, Dr. Hughes formed a mentoring program comprised of a few of us veterans to help new paraplegics and quadriplegics adjust to their new reality.

One day when I came in for a scheduled meeting, she was visibly distraught. She seemed desperate for answers. With tears in her eyes, she said to me, You seem to have the dance steps down, Danny. What would you tell someone who is hurting so badly that they lose hope and cannot see any kind of future for themselves?

In the span of three months, Dr. Hughes had lost just as many patients to suicide shortly after being admitted as they approached their changed-life stay in the hospital.

I myself many years ago had felt the same hopelessness I now read in her eyes.

In 1971, at the age of nineteen, my cousin and best friend, Ervin Dean White, took his own life with a short .22 caliber squirrel gun. He put the muzzle to his temple and shot his brains out the back of his head.

Prior to this incident, Ervin had asked me a similar question before taking his life. I didn't have answers for him then either.

Apparently Nancy didn't have an answer that sufficed for her three patients either, for their hurting and hopelessness led them also to suicide.

This is what I've learned since that awful, tragic loss in my life.

It isn't so much that Ervin wanted to end his life; he just wanted to end that unrelenting and excruciating mental pain that haunted him. It just wouldn't leave him alone. Ervin could not find the answers to questions that ended in anguish and a total loss of hope. It began by losing luster, then life became extremely dark, and, finally, lost all meaning entirely.

When life becomes so meaningless and painful, the ANSWER can be found in the ROCK.

CHAPTER 1

Answers for Your Suffering

I don't know how you happened to have gotten a hold of this book, but first, let me tell you that the information contained in the pages of this book were intended to be helpful to people who are hurting very badly—really hurting persons!

My hope is for this book to be in the hands of someone that is virtually at their wits' end and desperately looking for an answer to their problem! Your problem or your pain and the misery you are experiencing is so overwhelming that you just want it to stop but there is no way to make it stop.

You want it to go away and stop tormenting you, but there seems to be no way that that can happen.

There seems to be no way out of this horrendous reality. It is really strange, and you are not accustomed to this sudden onset of misery.

That may be true now, as long as things are going your way in life.

But are you equipped with enough knowledge or coping skills that would be required of you if suddenly your life should take a turn, and someone you love suffers some kind of an accident?

What if someone you are close to and someone you care about a lot is experiencing some horrible affliction? What then?

How would you fare in that situation? What would you say, and what would you tell that person now that is looking to you for answers?

The Answer Is The Rock.

The Pain Keeps Coming

There is no way to make it stop, no way to make it go away and no way to bring an end to it! This sucks! (Is it uncouth to say that? Ahh who cares about language or semantics at a time like this, right?)

You're stuck with it! This is it. This is now your reality. It seems like this is the end because it appears that nothing can be done about the predicament that you find yourself in!

For whatever reason, through no fault of your own…or even otherwise, you just woke up or turned around and now this is where you find yourself.

It is hopeless!

I'm here to tell you that it is not hopeless!

I dreadfully remember a time when I was suffering mentally and emotionally.

Upon awakening in the morning, it was that first shock. Oh no, not another day of this nightmare!

Then it came relentlessly in painful waves of reminders throughout the rest of the day, never stopping until I fell asleep, only to begin again the following day.

My wish is that this book be found and read by that secret someone. I believe it can really help that tormented individual, to free his or her mind up so they can enjoy simple pleasures once again.

You want the pain to cease. You don't know how that can possibly happen because it has been going on for so long!

Truly, I think you'll be able to find the answer to your problems by reading what I have to say.

My sincere hope is that you do find the answer to your problems by reading what I have written from my own experience in dealing with what was relentlessly tormenting.

For instance, what I have to tell you about suffering will blow your mind!

Because you can suffer, but you don't have to be miserable about it.

There Is Hope for You

Also know that your suffering will not last forever. It won't!

I've learned this the hard way. Now I am sharing this simple truth with you.

There is hope for you.

Unfortunately, there are different kinds of pain and many different reasons for it. There's mental pain, there is emotional pain, and, of course, physical pain.

It does not matter what is bothering you.

I'm here to help you.

I think I can help you.

Maybe an accident has gotten you down, and you are seriously laid up. Or maybe you have come down suddenly and unexpectedly with an incurable, painful, and debilitating disease? Or maybe, for some baffling reason, your life has unexpectedly become difficult mentally and emotionally and the pain you are experiencing isn't physical but, nevertheless, still excruciating! Loneliness itself can be a form of unrelenting pain.

To Be Human Is Pain

This next category of pain, I must pause and hesitate because the mere thought of anyone suffering the pain that comes from the loss of a loved one cannot be spared any amount of consideration or patience.

For you, I am so, so sorry to even have to address this which you are going through.

If I at any time seem to be less than understanding of the deep, deep pain you feel and I come across too cavalier in my writing style or phrasing, figure of speech, or whatever, please let me apologize now ahead of time.

I didn't mean to upset you, and I'm really very sorry.

I'm just trying to help in the only way I know how. Because I've been there.

I do know what this feels like and what you are experiencing. I am limited, in a sense, because I occupy my body and mind, not yours, so I can never experience your pain to the depth that you are.

No One Gets Out Alive

All I contend is, to the best of my ability, I have empathy for your pain but certainly not to the same degree that you are experiencing it.

My intention is to help you through it all.

Again, I am so sorry for your loss! If you choose to continue reading, if at any time my words become too academic and stoic sounding, again I apologize for this.

Next to feelings, words really are nothing in comparison, but the idea behind the words might be able to penetrate this veil and this shroud that is all encompassing that has you stuck.

It Really Is Mind over Matter

Once when I was in the middle of my torment, and it seemed to have reached a height where I felt like I was truly about to lose control—I was right on the edge, man!

Then a close friend did something to help me that I never forgot. Of everyone in the entire world, he was the only person I trusted with the source of my painful shame, probably because I knew out of everyone that knew me, he truly felt sorry for me and my predicament.

He held his right arm up vertically from the elbow.

Next, he made a sweeping motion from left to right, the way you'd clear the table off with one swipe of your arm. He said these words: "Just move it aside, Dan." His words were simple but were made powerful by the inflection of emphasis in his voice. He cared for me, and this was the best that he had to offer to help end my torment. "Just move it aside, Dan!" I was taken by complete surprise as this had the psychological effect of instantly removing the crystal visions that were haunting me.

Hearing those words, I took his advice, and in one self-sweep of my mind I was able to remove those mental images that had been tormenting my psyche for weeks! It was instant relief that I welcomed with a huge sigh.

So, that shows YOU that sometimes words spoken in love can drastically alter a state of mind. I can only hope that my words will have this kind of impact for my readers.

As You Think, So Shall You Be

Thoughts are Things

If you are fortunate and none of these scenarios apply to you, then God bless you! But maybe you'll want to give this book over to someone who you know is having a hard time in life coping and feeling that they've been dealt a crummy hand in life.

On the other hand, you might want to hang on to this book because as they say, "Every dog has his day." (I'm not making light of the adage or taking anybody cheap.)

Aside from "death and taxes being the two most absolutes, you can add one more thing in life that cannot be avoided—change."

If there is one thing I know for sure in life, it's that if you wait around long enough, you can be sure that "things will change."

Let me continue.

I'm writing this to you—TO YOU—because like you, I've been there, right where you are at now. Does it feel like a nightmare that you cannot wake up from? Does this description of a nightmare just sound like an empty cliché? An empty cliché that falls short of the disconnected and alienated reality you're now experiencing? In a strange way, except for the pain, for me it was like the nightmare in broad daylight was happening to someone else. It was certainly happening to me! But all the regular places that I had been to and the familiar faces I'd known, they were all the same.

But I wasn't the same, not anymore.

For me it was like a bad dream I had as a child. I fell off the side of the earth somehow, and I landed on the cloud just above my home and my hometown.

I am so alone with a sickening feeling down deep within me that I'd never felt before. For just about as long as I could ever remember, life was great—until now! I never imagined that it could be anything but fun and enjoyable! This new loneliness is so consuming. I know that it will never end. It is a nightmare!

But I'm not even sleeping!

In the quiet twilight, in the fading rays of sunset, I can see my family members below. They are all out and about in the yard, going in and out of the house. Mom and Dad, sisters, brothers—they're all carrying on as usual without me. They are oblivious to my predicament, my loneliness, my suffering.

Either they do not know, or they don't care! I was screaming and crying, and no matter how much I yelled to get their attention, nobody heard me. Shocked and disbelieving, I just drifted on by, lonely and isolated from the world I knew.

Then friends and family came to my hospital room and told me things like, You look good.

They offered me kind platitudes: Oh, you have such a good attitude.

You'll get better… and Hang in there, buddy…

But I was still all alone, and they really couldn't hear me—let alone help me.

Those first few months were filled with regret, disbelief, and hopelessness that there were only two things that I could do on my own. The anguish I felt so filled the room that all there was left to do was to cry and pray. That's all I could do as I lay alone in the hospital room, much of the time in the dark. My ears would fill with tears to the point that now I couldn't even hear! Being paralyzed, I couldn't just reach up and stick my fingers in my ears to unplug them. I just fervently prayed that God could hear me. But not hearing back, I didn't know if He heard me or not.

Can you relate at all to my true tale of misery?

Is life for you right now just TOO MEAN FOR WORDS?

No Need to Fear

If what you are experiencing is indescribable, take heart, my friend and be comforted by this: This too shall pass. I can promise you that it will be 99.9 percent all right. I'm telling you, It will be okay.

It can be 100 percent okay, but it depends on you entirely. I can lead you to the water, but you know as the saying goes, I can't make you believe.

If you really want to know what the answer to your dilemma is, keep reading.

Forgive me for being so bold, but when I was hurting and lost and desperate for answers there

was nobody there to tell me what I am about to impart to you. And again, unless you're experiencing your own personal version of this catastrophic nightmare, you really can't understand.

Nobody told me what I'm about to tell you, so consider yourself fortunate. I'm going to tell you things about yourself that are going to ease your pain and begin to he al your mind and spirit as well as start real and actual changes in your life for the better.

What do I know that enables me to make such a bold claim?

For one thing, when I was thirty years old, I had a terrible accident. One day, I fell off a forty-foot sea cliff, landed on my face, and broke my neck. I sustained internal injuries, compound fractures, lost teeth fillings and fingernails. I endured long-term exposure to the sun and elements as I lay alone for nearly six hours.

I was at the brink of death, and my lungs began to fill with fluids. So I could continue breathing, I had to lie face down on my stomach in order to expectorate bloody phlegm. I kept hawking and coughing up and spitting every few minutes. There was this rock directly under my face about the size of my head, and just before I was discovered, I noticed it was crimson colored, and the undulating rays of sunset reflected strangely off of it.

It was psychedelic, and the hallucinations felt like I was trippin' on LSD! As I gazed at it, I must have passed out. That was shortly after waving at that man with the camera. I remember feeling crushed and devastated when he ignored me. I knew he saw me even though he was a good hundred yards away. As he held the camera up to photograph the girl in the bikini with him, I managed to lift my hand up to get his attention. He then lowered the camera and peered intently in my direction. I know he caught sight of my hand on the bottom of his viewfinder.

But then he resumed snapping his photo, and then the two of them just walked off the beach and off into the sunset.

They were the last people on the beach and my very last hope to be discovered.

I think that's when I dozed off for sure.

Nine hours earlier

It was just an ordinary morning. As I began my day, I thought to myself, I have nothing else better to do than to go and make up with my brother Ivan.

Although he was equally notorious and left-of-the-law as I had been in our past, currently he was being really judgmental toward me and contemptuous against me continuing a lifestyle he considered sinful. I would make the long drive to the Hanalei Fire Station for the sole purpose of making ho'opono'pono with my brother (seeking forgiveness).

I would be starting my new job soon. The training for Kauai Police Department would begin in two weeks. I received the second highest score on my written test as well as my agility test. In addition, I was personally invited to join the department by the chief himself who also alluded to granting me a highly coveted and exclusive duty assignment if all went well. This was a huge opportunity that would put me on the fast track for sure! This would be the start of a new life for me in many ways, and I wanted to inform my brother of my intention to change. He had been on the outs with me for some time since recently becoming a reborn Christian.

To the Rescue

It was while we were having lunch that a call came in over the radio from 911 dispatch.

Not having a chance to get Ivan alone after being greeted by the other firefighters, I was hoping that he and I would have a chance to discuss and sort out our issues after lunch.

"…squelch…possible drowning victim…squelch…"

The thing I recalled in particular was the time 12:20. Wendall Goo had scribbled it down on the chalkboard as the dispatcher was still speaking.

"…possible drowning at Lumahai Bay…squelch."

I sped by the fire truck in my Volkswagen Baja bug and was surprised to see that my brother and the other two firefighters were actually waiting for me to join them on the truck.

I figured I could get to the general area, Lumahai Bay, quicker and at least locate the emergency scene ahead of the rescuers.

I reached the first lookout and noticed three men sitting casually on the beach. The siren could be heard long before the fire truck approached. If any of them down there were in trouble, hearing the siren would have certainly gotten their attention. If they had summoned help, surely they would have reacted; and since they didn't, as the fire truck slowed down, I could see my brother standing up with his arms out and palms up. He jutted out his chin. Anything? he signaled.

No, I shook my head and waved them on. I got back in my Volkswagen and resumed searching. I stopped briefly at the second lookout, but the beach was much too far from the road, so I continued on to the third lookout. There I could not see the beach due to being blocked by a stand of ironwood pine trees, so I chose to continue driving on down to the far end of the Bay. I had hoped that my brother and the crew had by then already located the emergency scene and hopefully was administering first aid to the drowning victim.

I was keenly aware of the amount of time that had lapsed since the call came in. As I got down there, I see my brother returning from the beach with a tank of oxygen.

Did you find him? I shouted anxiously.

He shook his head no, and so I immediately did a U-turn. I'm thinking, Damn. We just covered the entire length of the bay from one end to the other…except the last lookout behind the ironwood pine trees. I did not want to be responsible for that one questionable section of beach if in the end that is where the emergency aid is needed. When I got to the third lookout area, I parked my VW bug; and just then, all the other vehicles involved in the search showed up—the fire truck, an ambulance, and a KPD squad car. I climbed over the guardrail in an attempt to see beyond the obscured area as the rest of the team discussed among themselves the mystery of the missing drowning victim. The ground beyond the guardrail did not seem precarious to me. After all, I was familiar with the trail leading down to the beach at the first lookout. There too began by going around the guardrail, and although the trail was a little slippery in a few places, it's still safe enough for beachgoers to get down to the beach regularly. Tourists and locals alike of all ages use that trail every day.

Just as the other searchers in the team decided to disperse and go over the same ground again, and before my brother climbed back onto the fire truck, he gave me an odd look.

He was standing on the road, looking down at me and the ground I was standing on. In the very next instant, I reached up to grab a thin tree branch to brace myself with. The branch broke, my left foot shot out from under me, and I began sliding down fast! My first thought was this: I'm sliding down this slope way too fast! It did not seem that steep of an incline! My second thought surmised the situation. I had no way of telling what awaited for me or how much of a drop-off was there, but I could see ominous space. My third thought came in rapid succession like one-two-three boom boom dive for the tree on the right before reaching the empty space! I grabbed the tree in the last second before reaching nothingness. I caught it!…in the crook of my elbow, but unfortunately