I had always loved stuntmen. Watching them had become one of the hobbies of my life. Every morning, I would wake up before school and turn on the television. From there, I would go to the DVR and see if my favorite show "Spectacular Stunts" had released a new episode. If not I would watch one I had already seen a billion times and comment on all the cool stunts I saw, like I was in the show myself.
After school I would do my homework. Then I would gather up a bunch of kids from my neighborhood and we would all go down to the playground. We would pretend that we were stuntmen, performing crazy tricks and such. But they were all mind games. Jumping off a swing is not the same thing as dangling midair and pretending to fly for a superhero movie. But it was fun to pretend.
Sometimes, the pretending got a little too real.
I was 15 years old at the time. It had been almost 4 years since I had been obsessed with stunts and stuntmen. Of course I still loved them and found them fascinating, but I had found other hobbies and interests.
School took up most of my time, as well as caring for my younger siblings. When I wasn't doing homework, I was doing chores. Or hanging out with friends.
Perhaps even working up the courage to ask the boy I liked out.
His name was Carl.
He was sweet, funny, smart and kind. We had a couple of classes together, and being around him, I always felt so... special. And loved. It was a really nice feeling. I started developing feelings for him at the beginning of Freshman year.
So you can imagine the kind of shock and surprise I felt when he asked me out.
Upon saying yes, we started talking about places to go as our first date. After exchanging numbers and a week of planning we decided upon Bulls Diner for dinner.
But the real question was what to do afterwards.
And then my second dream came true.
Near my house, about 30 minutes away the producers of "Spectacular Stunts" were coming along with some equipment for stuntmen. Their plan was to reboot the show for another season, this time involving teens instead of adults. But first they needed to test the equipment, so they were doing a little test run.
Of course I told Carl this. He was so excited and happy for me, so that's where we decided to go after dinner.
I couldn't wait.
💙💙💙
Dinner that night was excellent. Carl and I had a wonderful time, talking and joking, getting to know each other.
But right as everything in my life seemed to be going well...
My oh my, the tables turned.
Not for the better.
For the worse.
Soon after dinner, we took the bus down to where the "Spectacular Stunts" producers were. My heart was pounding with excitement.
After paying for our tickets, Carl and I got in a long line for one of the main attractions, a giant metal wheel with flames on the side. Now the producers should have known that this wouldn't be safe for teens.
Yet this ride was the most popular.
"Stu, maybe you shouldn't do this. It doesn't look safe." Carl said, reaching out for my hand.
"Relax dude. Nothing with happen." I replied, looking deep into his eyes. That seemed to do the trick.
"Alright, have fun." He said. It was my turn next. I climbed up the ladder, and reached the top of the attraction. One of the workers there asked me to change into this suit thing, so if I came in contact with fire I would be okay.
From there he told me to jump through the hoop. I could do this by flipping, sliding, just plain jumping, etc. I was so excited.
Yet I wish I had payed attention to Carl's voice. Because while I jumped and went flying, I heard something.
"Watch out!"
But I payed no attention. Instead, I thought about how cool this was.
It wasn't until I saw the big metal ring unlatch from wherever it was and come rolling down, nearly seconds away from me that I had understood what Carl said.
But it was to late.
Or so I thought.
Just as the metal ring was about to hit me, I felt someone grab me by my waist and throw me off the track. I was flying for about half a second before I felt the ground beneath me. The wind was knocked out of me, and as I struggled to get up I collapsed from shock.
💙💙💙
I woke up in a hospital. Bright lights swarmed around me. My eyes hurt. My legs hurt. My arms hurt. Basically my whole body hurt.
Finally, a nurse came by my bed.
Still woozy from the drugs they had given me, I wasn't thinking straight. But I knew there was one question that needed answering.
Who had saved me?
As I asked this, the nurse's eyes filled with tears.
"A boy, about your age. From what I heard, he pushed you off the track to save you. But he couldn't get off in time. He was so close. His upper body was hanging over the side when the wheel rolled over his legs. They are severely burned. And on top of that, he won't be able to walk again."
"I.. who was he?"
After the nurse described him I knew that it was Carl. I cried all day.
Once I was finally able to see him, I told him I was sorry for not listening. And I told him how much I cared. I kept visiting him every day until he felt better.
Then finally, he was discharged from the hospital.
He needed a wheelchair in order to move, but that didn't matter. At least I had my boyfriend back.
And not a day goes by that I don't think about it.
💙💙💙
"So that's what you are so upset about?" Carl asks.
I sniffle.
"Well, don't be upset. I'm here. And I care. I never blamed you for what happened that day. So I don't want you to be mad at yourself. The past is the past. But the present is the present. So lets stop living in the past, okay?" Carl says.
I lean in to give him a hug.
"Thank you. I'm never leaving you." I whisper.
And we stay in that position, holding on to each other. We stay in the present, making happy memories for the future.
The end.
