The cool moist air whipped lazily against my cheek as I gazed out from the sun baked ledge beside my sister. Before my eyes spread a sprawling mass of abraded rock. An immense body of water jutted out from the lake into the cove. Below me, ripples of crisp, clear wind snapped like so many fingers upon the caliginous water. My heart beat resoundingly in my chest.

“Come on Bryce! It’s not that far!” My families’ muffled voices reached me from a boat not too far away.

“You got it!” my sister told me. As I stood, thinking of all that could go wrong, my legs started to shake. Why the heck did I come up here?

Earlier that day, the boat trundled along, spraying water unconcernedly. I sat, legs extended, looking fixedly at the marvelous spires of rock that stood on either side of me. The massive heaps of stone rose, it seemed, without care for gravity. They doubled back on themselves and curved outward, displaying the elegance and intensity of a hunting tigress. Wow, this is amazing! I thought. Craning my neck to the side, I saw blurry figures soaring through the sky and pounding the water. Idiots, they’ll break every bone in their bodies. It amazed me that they were hurling themselves into a gauntlet of potential injuries.

Turning widely, the boat entered a small cove, dotted with numerous outcroppings of rock. As it pulled towards the beach I jumped out into the cool water, letting it engulf me. I let the boat’s wake pull me onto the pebble strewn beach. For many hours, my family and I fished and shared many laughs and exchanged stories from days past. I actually caught a six pound carp! During a lull in the conversation, my sister, a moody teen of 16, shouted at me to come and check something out.

My mind snapped back to the present. As my legs trembled, the wind tousled my hair. Why did I come up here? I thought again.

“Let’s do it Bryce!” my sister said eagerly.

“No way! I’m never doing that!” I gasped shockingly. “You know I hate heights!”

“I guess I’ll have to leave you up here alone!” she jeered. I looked down again and quivered with fright.

“No, wait!” I pleaded. I felt my heart through my chest, beating away like a frenzied drummer. I took slow and tranquil breaths and stared out at the horizon until I felt that I could take on the world. “I’ll do it.”

“Ok, on three. ONE!” I clenched my palms in excitement. “TWO!” My legs trembled. “THREE!” I hurled myself off of sure ground, and into the uncertain depths.