A Little Life on the Edge

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The goosebumps stayed the longest for I could remember, stubbornly refusing to part their uninvited company anytime soon.

The initial firm steps suddenly turned tentative as they reached closer to the gates. The wide smile now remained just a nervous parting of lips as I noticed a stranger waving his hands. 

‘Now, change into appropriate clothing’, the receptionist ordered after taking our signature on a consent form.  The heart now began to pound like a drum, mind pleaded to retreat, and the hands reluctantly enveloped the body with a new uniform.

‘This would be my last day,’ the thought now gave me constant company, refusing to leave the mind even for a moment.  The feet wavered while the eyes still stared at the exits.

‘There will be a small briefing and then we will begin,’, someone said, but I heard none of it, the mind still occupied with the thoughts of regret, and self-apology for the reckless decision I made, leading to this situation now.

The eyes suddenly dried up, darkness encased the air around, as I felt like stepping towards hell, following the two pair of energetic legs pacing right in front of me.

The aircraft started slowly, but within a few minutes we were perched up above in the sky with no sight of the sun, the weather colder than the coldest mountain I had ever been to.

‘There is no going back now,’ the mind declared. The air outside the aircraft was as frigid as snow and cooler than the iceberg; it was more frightening than any scary movie I had ever watched.

‘Let’s go’

Someone said, and two people immediately jumped into thin air, leaving only two of us; the message was clear; follow them promptly.

‘Like a baby Kangaroo, attached with the mother, I was stuck to my coach, my body reluctant to leave the security of the flying machine which carried us up above the clouds, to jump into thin air, from a height of over 12000 feet.

However, even before I could settle my feet on the edges and blink my eyes once, everything got over.

I was suddenly floating in the air, my face feeling numb against the icy monstrous thumping of stinging air as I dropped like a butterfly, slow and fast, both at the same time.

The first 30 seconds felt like an eternity, a time which now remains etched forever in my memory.

A sudden strong jerk forced us up in the air for a moment as the parachute opened, and within a few seconds allowed us to float again.

‘It’s sublime to be on the edge, especially when it’s not scary anymore,’ the thoughts suddenly changed, as the mind, spurred by the sight of things around, started to enjoy the view and that moment.

The fear was gone, replaced by a curiosity to soak in the moment, and an ineffable feeling of freedom which seldom gives us company.