A Beautiful Day to Fall into Infinity

A Beautiful Day To Fall Into Infinity 

The day started sunny and without fear. All five of us girls bumping along in Isabella’s jeep down the dirt road. English and Spanish being tossed around the car, as well as snacks from trader joes. House music floated from the car stereo, passing through my heart and out into the sky. I'm thinking I'll be young forever, with my friends I feel so alive. A sharp halt and we arrive, my friends hop out like cheetahs- powering down the trail, my sheep legs falling behind. 

finally, reaching the waterfall, how it towered over all of us! I dip my foot in, toss my head back, cool water rushing under my feet, Isabella grabs me- ”make sure you don't fall in ''. My friends think it's a good idea to hike to the very, tippy top, my stomach wrapped in knots. I'm breathing beyond my body, but this is where I'm meant to be. After struggling up to the waterfall crest, the people below look so tiny, my friends have already jumped inside, swimming at the top, laughing like hyenas ``come play, don't be afraid”. So I decide to take flight, I decide to not be a scaredy-cat this time. Little did I know I was deciding to die.

As soon as my body found relief in the cool water, the current yanked me in a different direction, laughing menacingly. I was heading down the waterfall! I looked around in awe- is this really how I die? My friends' screams were mute to me, their eyes popping out of their heads. I clawed and clawed, trying to hold on to something- unfortunately, the rocks were soft and kissed by moss. There was no other option, so I took a deep breath- falling over the top, my tiny body hitting SMACK crushing against the first set of rocks. I flipped in the air- preparing for a bloody descent, when suddenly- from the clouds a hand reached out for me. 

This hand was strong, looked just like mine- but covered in tribal tattoos of some kind. A beautiful woman yanked me up, she had long hair and wild eyes. She sat me on her cloud and began to laugh- “You think you're going so easy? I’ve got lots to show you.” She picked me up, placed me on her back, and we floated into the future. I recognized this woman immediately, but how could it be? Either way, I felt safe, calm, and excited for where she was taking me. As we entered another dimension, she said “I'm going to tell you a story, see, I love you infinitely, so I'm going to show you all the reasons why it's not your time to leave”. Suddenly, we were in the jungle, flying over a beautiful house with a huge garden- I knew this place, I’d seen it in my dreams. The woman smiled at me, she knew exactly what I was thinking. We flew alongside the colibris, and then in a blink, the woman was gone! So I jumped onto the colorful colibri, held on tight, and let him guide me. He showed me this woman's life. She was running through the forest, dancing under the sun, cooking for everyone, stirring a pot of medicine, all of her life fueled by a heart that radiated love. I was still watching from above when I saw the women open her arms- who was she opening them for? And then it hit me- I knew this was no ordinary dream. Into her arms jumped the most beautiful, radiant, little girl I’ve ever seen, she held on tightly to the woman and said “I love you, mommy”. I watched them embrace, they were protected by an aura of rainbows- this sight immediately brought tears to my face. Then, a breeze flew me away from this sight and I was at the beach, wrapped up in the humidity, watching the sunset, and the woman came out from the trees and placed her hands on my shoulders. I looked deeply into her eyes, and I realized they were mine. We smiled and embraced. She said “Now do you see why you have to go on living? All of your dreams- they are meant to be a reality- and if you live by your heart- your impact will ripple out across the galaxy.” I did not need to respond, by just being in her presence, my whole life had changed. She kissed me on the head and told me “It will be more beautiful than you can ever imagine”. The veil was thinning, my other life calling for me. A drum began to play, rhythmically guiding me to dance into the center of the sunset. I looked back, there was the future me, waving goodbye, her daughter also waving to me. I know this next step will not be so easy.

I come back to reality with  SLAP- the sound of my back hitting rocks. It must have slipped my mind that I was falling to my death. 60 feet can really seem like forever. I can hear families screaming, am I dying? How did I just survive that fall? Angels, aka a nurse and a paramedic on their day off, pick me up from the bottom of the waterfall and place me gently on soft rocks. They tell me not to move my neck- ask me to wiggle my toes-and everyone is making sure I don't fall asleep. I can feel my bones breaking, I know it will be a while before I can walk again on my own, but at this moment I had never felt so grateful- or so alive. And for that, I am forever thankful for that beautiful spring day, the one where I almost died.