I consider finding duller friends as I listen to the instructor detail all the safety precautions for tandem sky diving. They assure us that it is perfectly safe and that the instructors are all qualified. They even throw out reassuring statistics. Then they hand us a form to sign saying they aren’t responsible for injury or death and give us a peek into all the terrible things that could happen to us if something goes wrong.
“You’re going to be okay.” I whisper to myself as we step out onto the runway and walk toward the plane.
We are a small group today, just three lucky jump newbies and three seasoned tandem jump superstars. My superstar pats my back reassuringly as we climb up into the tiny little plane.
“You’ll be alright, girl, I’ve got your back.” The voice reminds me of my grandfather, so I forget to be annoyed at being demeaned by the term ‘girl’.
I look at him for reassurance as the plane climbs into the air. He offers a thumbs up and a big smile and returns to adjusting his jumpsuit and harnesses. The he leans over to perform the same checks on my gear. Another thumbs up assures me we are set to jump.
“Listen to your instructors. They have done this a million times. They will keep you safe, just don’t worry. Enjoy the fall.”
As the other tandem pairs begin moving forward, I find myself firmly hooked to my instructor and stretching my legs to match his stride. Otherwise he will trip over me. He mumbles something and I lean in to hear him better.
“Woah! That’s sudden.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see him raise a hand to his head. “I don’t feel so good.”
“That’s not what I want to hear.” I inform him.
He laughs weakly though his face has paled considerably since we climbed into the plane. “We’ll be fine. I could do this blindfolded.”
The second pair steps out of the airplane into empty air leaving the doorway open for us. I turn back to offer pleading eyes, knowing my words will get whipped away by the wind howling around the open door. His thumbs rises again before he gently pushes me forward.
He mouths, “Jump.”
I leap into midair, screaming at the top of my lungs. The instructor follows, but a few seconds after we leap into the big empty sky, I catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye. His eyes are closed. His face is slack. I am all alone and hurtling toward the earth with an extra couple hundred pounds strapped to my back to hurry my descent.
I scream into the wind. No one can hear me. No one can help me. The person who is supposed to keep me safe lays heavy against my back.
The main instructors step-by-step lecture of reassurance flashes through my mind. Something about a drogue parachute. The one with the blue cord. “Your instructor will ask you to deploy this little guy as soon as you leave the plane to slow things down a little and let you enjoy the ride.”
I bite back a scream and focus. I pull the cord. Expecting a huge jerk backward, I find myself slowing without feeling like my body is trying to rip free from the harness. We keep careening toward the earth. I take a breath, worrying it may be one of the last few I take.
My mind races through my best memories and biggest regrets as the earth draws ever closer. When the houses begin to resemble houses, my heart clenches. So this is how it ends. I sign up for a skydiving class at my friends’ encouragement and then never see them again.
Then a miracle happens. Something vibrates against one of my shoulders and the larger parachute unfolds behind us. I squeal in delight as I am jerked backward a little rougher than the first time. As our velocity settles down into a less terrifying fall, I feel the instructor begin to move around with more purpose.
Soon his groggy voice echoes in my ear as he leans forward, “I have a feeling I owe you my life, girl. Thank you.”
He moves from gratitude to instruction, reminding me how to position myself as the ground approaches. Soon we are safely on the ground. He uncouples our harness and sinks to his knees on the ground. I swear he is about to kiss the grass, and I think I might follow suit.
“I have never been so glad to see so many weeds.” I mumble as I sink to my knees in the weed-infested grass.
~~I did a little research to make sure I was thinking correctly about how tandem skydiving works. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandem_skydiving Apparently, your instructor really could pass out on you, but it is highly unlikely. I wasn’t brave enough to try this before, and now I really think I will leave it to my brother. He got the bravery in the family and the allergies, a fun combo.~~
~~~This year for my birthday, I am giving myself a better organized file system. This could mean more gifts for you throughout the year because it has made me painfully aware that not only am I hoarding digital books on iBooks and Kindle, but I am hoarding story ideas in my brain and on my hard drive (and probably a million backups, for all you geeks who are concerned about whether or not I am losing my edge.)~~~
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