Facing Your Fear

I’m waiting in the line that certainly leads to my ultimate demise. I don’t understand why people would want to do this let alone wait in an unbearably endless line for it. I’m gnawing on my non-existent nails as we inch closer. My mind is yelling at me, begging me to turn back, but my feet are frozen as though the concrete beneath them were ice and one step would take me plummeting into an icy gorge. My will is too strong to let myself turn back now. I can’t let anyone know that the girl who is known by her friends to be afraid of nothing is afraid of what roller coaster enthusiasts would describe as a “kiddie ride”.

My turn has come. The gates open and as I step through, I feel as though I’m stepping through the gates of Hell. I can’t imagine anything worse than this. With shaking hands I force the lap bar down and close my eyes in silent prayer.

We begin our ascent. With every clink of the chain, we inch higher and higher. I feel as though I’m about to reach the summit of Mount Everest when I hear one last audible click and then silence. I force my eyes open and immediately curse myself for doing so. I get one glimpse of the cement miles below and now I’m about to go plunging into it. I suck in what is for sure my last breath and squeeze my eyes shut. With a silent goodbye, the car pulls me down into the dark pit below.

The wind whips against my face and the gravity at my feet. A scream escapes my lips, and with a sense of pure joy, a smile lightens up my face.