We were young, and didn't care about rules. Who listens to rules when you're out in the "great outdoors", and the chances of finding adventure are all in your favor? No one, that's who. At least, none of the other boys and girls that I've seen on this trip anyway. They all look bored out of their mind, as the Ranger gives us this boring lecture on Tani Canyon. Who cares about the 500 gajillion different types of bush there are around here?
Like I said, no one that I've seen, as evident by the boys smashing ant hills for fun, the girls playing Slide in the back, and the many conversations that are happening here and there. In the midst of this, the Ranger doesn't appear to notice he has no one's attention. He keeps right on talking, stuttering because he's so excited about bushes - even though I'm sure he's given this spiel a thousand times before.
Finally, I can stand it no longer, so I quietly slip away from the group to do my own exploring. AS I look back, I see that I'm not the only one who had the idea, as three others also break apart.
Only fifteen feet from the drop off, I lose my footing, fall on my butt, and slide down a little ways on the hill-like ridge we were standing on. Laughing at my clumsiness, I stand up and wipe off the loose gravel that seems to cling to me. The others laughed too, and I realized that things weren't awkward anymore, and we were all laughing like we'd been friends for forever. Almost immediately after I'd stood up from where I'd slipped, I looked from my laughing new companions, to the edge of the drop off, and broke into a run. I ran fast, and when I reached the edge, I jumped. Without meaning to, I leapt with perfect timing. I jumped into the vast void of the unknown, literally.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see I didn't jump alone, and the others were on the same crazy wavelength as I was. There has never been a moment in my life where I'd felt the way I did plunging off the sheer edge.
It seemed like we'd been higher up than I originally thought, as it seemed like we kept falling. Paying no mind to the thought, or idea that I'd eventually reach the ground, I smiled as a feeling of exhilaration filled me.
Without thought, I reached up for something on my shoulder, and tugged . It was a pull string for a parachute- and when I pulled, out came the parachute. But it didn't look like a parachute should, and wasn't even made out of the right material, for that matter. It was just like the parachutes on the army man toys I used to play with when I was younger. Is this safe? I shrugged off the feeling.
As if I was some incredible trapeze artist, I swing my body up so my feet are above my head. Legs tight together, with my toes pointed- just like I'd learned in gymnastics years ago. Reminiscing, I started toying with the strings on my parachute with my my perfectly pointed feet. Separating them, making them bow and then straighten once more. Getting tired of this, I lowered my feet, so I was just hanging, like before.
Golly, how far was it till we hit the ground? Glancing below me, I saw the ground floor getting closer, and closer, and closer. Swiveling my head around to look at my friends, I gasped as I realized that I was falling faster then they were. Much faster.
However, I still didn't feel any rush of foreboding, only a flash of cold sweat that lasted less than a second.
Ten feet from the ground, I tried bracing myself for the impact. Only seconds later, I hit the ground. My legs buckled from underneath me, and I rolled two or three feet from where I'd landed. Lying there, I mentally checked myself for any damage, and breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't feel any pain. Giggling, I sat up and watched as my companions made their descent. They gravitated a little slower than I had, and as a result, didn't have as much of an awry dismounting as I had.
My quiet giggling escalated into uncontrollable laughter as we all made eye contact. One of the boys, when he saw me, busted out in guffaws, pointing at my disheveled appearance. Joking around, I clutched my sides from too much
Standing up wasn't easy becasue my legs were still numb from the impact. With a cheer from on of the girls, we all joined in, high-fiving each other. All the whoops and hollers appeared like we were savages come back from a successful hunt. Feral noise erupted from our lips, echoing throughout the canyon; a testament that we were young and restless. We were unstoppable. We were a force to reckoned with.
Winking, the boy next to me said, "Nice hair." I playfully shoved him, thinking about how I was never in a million years going to let this memory fade.
Like I said, no one that I've seen, as evident by the boys smashing ant hills for fun, the girls playing Slide in the back, and the many conversations that are happening here and there. In the midst of this, the Ranger doesn't appear to notice he has no one's attention. He keeps right on talking, stuttering because he's so excited about bushes - even though I'm sure he's given this spiel a thousand times before.
Finally, I can stand it no longer, so I quietly slip away from the group to do my own exploring. AS I look back, I see that I'm not the only one who had the idea, as three others also break apart.
Only fifteen feet from the drop off, I lose my footing, fall on my butt, and slide down a little ways on the hill-like ridge we were standing on. Laughing at my clumsiness, I stand up and wipe off the loose gravel that seems to cling to me. The others laughed too, and I realized that things weren't awkward anymore, and we were all laughing like we'd been friends for forever. Almost immediately after I'd stood up from where I'd slipped, I looked from my laughing new companions, to the edge of the drop off, and broke into a run. I ran fast, and when I reached the edge, I jumped. Without meaning to, I leapt with perfect timing. I jumped into the vast void of the unknown, literally.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see I didn't jump alone, and the others were on the same crazy wavelength as I was. There has never been a moment in my life where I'd felt the way I did plunging off the sheer edge.
It seemed like we'd been higher up than I originally thought, as it seemed like we kept falling. Paying no mind to the thought, or idea that I'd eventually reach the ground, I smiled as a feeling of exhilaration filled me.
Without thought, I reached up for something on my shoulder, and tugged . It was a pull string for a parachute- and when I pulled, out came the parachute. But it didn't look like a parachute should, and wasn't even made out of the right material, for that matter. It was just like the parachutes on the army man toys I used to play with when I was younger. Is this safe? I shrugged off the feeling.
As if I was some incredible trapeze artist, I swing my body up so my feet are above my head. Legs tight together, with my toes pointed- just like I'd learned in gymnastics years ago. Reminiscing, I started toying with the strings on my parachute with my my perfectly pointed feet. Separating them, making them bow and then straighten once more. Getting tired of this, I lowered my feet, so I was just hanging, like before.
Golly, how far was it till we hit the ground? Glancing below me, I saw the ground floor getting closer, and closer, and closer. Swiveling my head around to look at my friends, I gasped as I realized that I was falling faster then they were. Much faster.
However, I still didn't feel any rush of foreboding, only a flash of cold sweat that lasted less than a second.
Ten feet from the ground, I tried bracing myself for the impact. Only seconds later, I hit the ground. My legs buckled from underneath me, and I rolled two or three feet from where I'd landed. Lying there, I mentally checked myself for any damage, and breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't feel any pain. Giggling, I sat up and watched as my companions made their descent. They gravitated a little slower than I had, and as a result, didn't have as much of an awry dismounting as I had.
My quiet giggling escalated into uncontrollable laughter as we all made eye contact. One of the boys, when he saw me, busted out in guffaws, pointing at my disheveled appearance. Joking around, I clutched my sides from too much
Standing up wasn't easy becasue my legs were still numb from the impact. With a cheer from on of the girls, we all joined in, high-fiving each other. All the whoops and hollers appeared like we were savages come back from a successful hunt. Feral noise erupted from our lips, echoing throughout the canyon; a testament that we were young and restless. We were unstoppable. We were a force to reckoned with.
Winking, the boy next to me said, "Nice hair." I playfully shoved him, thinking about how I was never in a million years going to let this memory fade.