‘Just be calm’ I said to myself. ‘Don’t think
much. It’s going to be alright. Calm. Calm.’ I took long breaths in between.
‘C’mon girl, it’s okay.’ I was tensed. Nervousness, anxiety, agitation,
excitement; all these emotions rushed through me at once. I had to do it. I
couldn’t retreat, it was too late. I started tapping my foot. He placed his
hand over mine and tried to make it still. I gazed at him. He smiled as though
trying to detach the fear out of me. ‘I think we shouldn’t do this. Let’s
recede.’ I sniffled. ‘Naina, don’t hesitate now. This is a lifetime
opportunity. Let’s face it.’ He insisted and hugged me. ‘But, Aman…’ ‘I’ll be
by your side all the time.’ ‘We’ll go there together?’ It sounded more like a
statement than question. He didn’t say anything but gave an assuring nod.
‘We have reached the terminus, sir.’ The
captain announced. We had our suits on. Aman rechecked our attachments. The
attendant gave us a final sign. Thankfully, he agreed for our simultaneous
jump. That gave me a sense of relief but the fact that, we still had to it
spread terror all over me. We went close to the door of the aircraft which was
now at a height of almost ten thousand feet from the ground. I couldn’t stand
straight atop a six-foot wall and was going to have the fall for life. I
gripped Aman’s hand as tight as I could. ‘Ready?’ He asked with great
enthusiasm. ‘Yup!’ I replied in a tone of excitement filled with fear. I shut
my eyes and uttered god’s name. The instructor gave us the final count. I
tightened my goggles and glanced at Aman, for one last time. ‘Three…Two…One’
and Aman pulled me along as he jumped. All my senses were dead for a moment. It
seemed like I couldn’t breathe. The wind made me feel forced; like it took me
away with it. I wasn’t able to open my eyes. Aman was still holding my hand. He
took hold of both my hands. We were now in the belly-to-earth orientation.
It was all like a dream. I was literally in
the middle of the sky. My hands were still shivering. I was so lost in the
newly discovered land, that I didn’t know when Aman let go of me. I looked down
and all I could see was the color green. I controlled my speed and direction as
I pulled open the parachute. I identified the huge sign where I had to land.
My feet hit the ground and I tried to stop
myself. I saw Aman at a distance, running towards me. I had tears in my eyes
and I fell on my knees. Aman hugged me. ‘We made it Naina. We made it!’ he
shouted trying to bring me back to my senses. I was laughing and still had
tears. He wiped them and hugged me again tighter this time.
I don’t know if the fear of heights was
overtaken, but that was the moment which would always reside in my memory. I
had never felt that lively before.
#StyZie
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