Staring out across the vast body of dark water, I began to contemplate the risks of jumping off the enormous cliff. Filled with a mixture of fear and excitement, I clenched my sweaty hands into a pair of fists and peered down the seemingly endless drop. Behind me, I could hear the slurred cheers of a guy and his girlfriend tempting me to jump. I turned around to analyze the odd looking couple. The man had dark brown hair, several tattoos, and a scruffy beard. Next to him stood his short, blonde haired girlfriend.

Managing to give to them a nervous a smile, I suggested they go first. Grinning, they accepted my challenge and locked hands. I silently laughed to myself as the couple behind me prepared to jump. I thought to myself “There’s no way this can end good”

Out of nowhere, I heard their high-pitched screams quickly approaching from behind me. Before I could even process the situation, a gust of wind nearly blew me off the cliff myself as the couple stumbled past me. The man’s girlfriend, who appeared much more sober than himself, almost seemed to drag him off the cliff as he lagged behind her.

Nervous for the couple, I looked away, hoping I wouldn't witness death. When I looked back, they had disappeared. The couple’s high-pitched screams, almost overwhelming the loud chants and laughs of my friends coming from the beneath me, concluded that they had jumped.

Crash! The couple hit the water. Timidly, I made my way to the edge of the cliff and peered down into the body of water just in time to see the water still fizzing and bubbling from the couple’s impact. I could only faintly see the blurred outline of their bodies several feet below the murky water.

Suddenly, the girl’s head broke through the water. Her boyfriend’s shortly followed. Wide-eyed they looked around at my friends and then up at me, letting out their excitement through more screaming.

Fearful, I realized that it was now my turn to jump. Without much thought, I backed up and prepared to make a run at the cliff. Tuning out the chants of my friends at the bottom, one thought occurred to me: “Now or never” I could feel the sharp rocks and gravel poking at my feet as I approached the edge. From here, there was no turning back.

I leaped off the cliff. The sound of piercing wind drowned out the sound of screaming and old rock music blaring through the speakers. Time seemed to stop in its tracks as I flailed in the air, looking like a bird that forgot how to fly. Suddenly, I felt pain as the water slapped my arms and feet, and I plunged further and further into the dark water.

As I breached the water, the luminescent sun burned my eyes. All of my worries slipped away when I looked up to see the couple and my friends laughing at me.