Jess is finally going! That New Zealand holiday is at its dawn, and all she can think of is landscapes, walks and adventures. But what she does not expect to find, is what is waiting around the corner - someone.
Someone who will turn her holiday up...
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Wind, air, water, light - they merged as the cord tautened and released, throwing Jess's weight around below the platform.
Exhilarated, utterly disoriented, she watched as the cloudless sky became icy waters and reversed again, the wind bitingly cold as she swung through it. There was no sense of direction, but the thrill of the free-fall - of throwing herself into the gorge - lingered. Her limbs tingled with it; her mind buzzed and her heart ran itself into a frenzy with the pulsing adrenaline.
Her eyes still stung with the first rush of wind but gradually the swinging and bouncing were slowing, and the reckless, tenacious bravura of the plunge wearing off. Jess began to feel the blood rushing to her head, so that the chilly gusts of air around billowing around her only felt colder.
She realised how precarious, how silly, it must look to be hanging upside down like a bat, in midair. She laughed out loud at the thought.
And suddenly in that moment, the clumsiness of hanging there gave way to a sudden rush of freedom. She wondered if there was a hormone, like adrenaline, that caused that sensation - the feeling that you could do whatever you wanted, that there was space for miles and miles around with nothing to stop your ballooning ecstasy.
"It was so thrilling, you know? I just felt like, I dunno I just felt so cool."
James grinned and shook his head, "You're kinda crazy, you know."
"Of course. I jumped off a cliff!" She laughed, her eyes were wide, as though in wonder of what she had done. It had only been a few hours ago, and Jess was still in that euphoric state where every tiny detail clung to the spangled fabric of her memory, like morning dew to a flower; fresh and bright and wonderfully clear.
They were sitting on one of the benches. The stream was gurgling by in front of them, reflecting the now fading light of the Sun, as it came to the end of its day's trek across the sky.
James suppressed a chuckle at her response. That slightly mad sense of adventure never ceased to amaze him. At times she could be so afraid of what was to come next, then she would suddenly be vaulting into the next chapter, without realising how brave she was capable of being. He watched her as she spoke, hoping she would always hold on to that innate excitement.
They had taken a relatively long walk and Obi Wan was lying, ready for a nap, at their feet. It really had been a lovely one - a warm summer evening, but still crisp, clear, and full of a glow that had nothing much to do with the Sun.
Now it was ending, and while both of them were thinking the same thing, neither wanted to say it as they sat there, in the comforting silence of each other's company. Jess was amazed by the sense of calm she felt in that moment. She no longer felt that wild need to go and explore. Just sitting, the warmth of his hand in hers, took her to a million wonderful places and beyond.
