2/10/08
that moment, standing on the rock, when your toes curl over the edge of it and you can't turn back. your pride won't allow it. besides, the safest way down now is to jump. climbing down that mossy rock bum-first would be hugely boneheaded, even compared to the multi-second fall into the deep water you're facing.
so you jump.
and the second your feet have left the rock, your brain is screaming and your limbs are flailing. and the fall is so far that you have time to think, "this fall is taking a really long time," before you hit the water with a smack that's gonna leave a mark.
the dreamlike underwater quiet, the incredible water-caused wedgie, and the question: which way is up?
you burst into air again and everyone's laughing at you because of that squeal you made when you were falling. and once you get your breath back, you're laughing too. because it was the biggest rush of your life so far. and before ya know it, you're jamming your wet toes and cold fingers back into those rock crevices, pulling yourself back up to the ledge where you'll do it again, and again, until they pull you away.