Memorıes Lıke These

Chapter Twenty-Four

"So, wait, I jump off here?" I repeated, looking down from the ledge of the plane I was standing on. The instructor, a skinny guy with blonde shady hair and thin features nodded at me.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I cried, my heart beginning to race. When I arrived at the dock there was a small plane set up to the side with a few people standing around it in orange jumpsuits. I had boarded the plane, Lorna on my mind and we were now so far from the ground that all I could see were the clouds beneath me. I couldn't even see the slightest bit of Earth.

"You'll be fine!" The instructor assured. "When you want to land, push that button." He said, pointing to a small button on the strap of my bag on my back. "That frees the parachute."

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Why am I doing this?

"You need to jump now!" The instructor yelled.

Lorna. That's why.

"Now? As in now now?" I cried, the wind from the engine muffling my voice.

"I'll be right behind you!" The instructor yelled. "Don't worry!"

"But...."

The instructor gave me a small push and I flipped out, stepping back safely into the plane.

"Don't push me! Holy shit, this is insane!" I screamed.

Then I remembered something. The day Lorna and I were at the dock and she jumped in. And I jumped in after her, worried about her safety.

"WHOO-HOOO!" Lorna screamed, throwing her hands in the air. "Let's do that again!"

"Lorna!" I screamed. "You idiot! I thought you drowned. Holy shit. Don't do that again! Are you crazy? What the fuck?"

Lorna stopped smiling and looked at me, then, as if she couldn't be serious anymore, she burst out laughing. "Was someone scared?" She said in a mock tone.

"Yes! I was shit scared!"

She grinned. "Scared for me?"

"I uh.......well....."

She ran her fingers through her slickly wet hair and laughed. "Thanks for jumping in to save me, Superman."

"Look, I really don't appreciate your sarcasm right now."

She laughed again and spread herself out in the water so that she was floating on her back. "It's nice in here."

"Were you scared?" I asked her.

"Scared? Of what?"

"Dying." I said in a complete 'uh, duh' voice.

"If I was a complete worry-wart then yes. But I don't let fear stop me from doing things." Lorna replied, waving her arms up in down in the water as if trying to make snow angels.

"So you're telling me you weren't scared at all when you jumped?"

"Nope."

"But that's insane! You can't be fearless."

"As far as I'm concerned, fear does not exist in my world. Because there's nothing to be scared of. Fear is just an emotion, not a lifestyle."

A reassuring smile pulled at the edges of my lips and I suddenly didn't feel so scared anymore. The instructor looked at me. "Ready?"

I nodded and stepped towards the edge of the plane. I closed my eyes and jumped off. Lorna never leaving my mind.

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