15 For 15 Entries ~ January 2011

Jan 20 ~ Paragliding

On the lip of the cliff, with the plains of KwaZulu-Natal sweeping below to meet the African sky at the horizon, Blade savored the rush of blood pounding through his veins.

He was a junkie. And like all addicts, he stomped down that truth with steel-toed boot force. He could control himself. He chose his activities with free will. Sure, he could take them or leave them; of course he could. But why leave them? Why not go for it, live life large?

The argument on the plane with Jennifer replayed over and over in his mind, threatening his moment. He focused on the exhilaration, but her voice echoed in his head, fought to be heard. Damn her! Okay, yes. Maybe he took unnecessary risks. But life was full of risks, the part of life worth living, that is.

He lifted his chin, jutted it toward the abyss. She should be here, right now, supporting him. Hell, she made the trip from Los Angeles. But she'd tried to "reason" with him for the whole twenty hour flight. She brought up the diving mishap, and the extreme snow boarding accident. Then it'd gotten ugly. Maybe it was good she wasn't here now. Fuck her.

"Let's do this thing!" he called over his shoulder.

Three men from the paragliding company approached him. Two lifted him, clumsily. The third pulled the wheelchair back and out of the way.

"Okay, sir. The wind is good today. We place you on ramp, and when wind is good, very good, we let you slide down. You fly. Okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Come on. It's go time!"

As the wind caught his sail and Blade floated above the abyss, one man turned to the other. "How is he going to land?"

The second man shrugged. "He just pay double and tell me he'd work it out."