What I had to do to be heard

I looked over the edge of the cliff.

The ground below yelled up, “Are you gonna jump?!”

I shook my head no. The ground below said, “What? I can’t hear you!”

I shook it again. The ground below said, “I still can’t hear you!”

I said, “No!”

The ground below said, “What?!”

I climbed down the edge of the cliff. It took me four and a half hours.

When I reached the ground below, I said, “I said, no.”

The ground said, “Oh. Okay.”