Nothing Else Matters

She looked down off the cliff, her eyes following the waterfall straight down to the pool far below.

“How deep do you think it is?” she heard her friend ask, sounding a little worried.

She shrugged and asked impishly, “Should we find out?”

“Don’t even think about it,” came a deep, authoritative voice behind them. Two hands came down on her shoulders and pulled her back from the cliff. Reluctantly, she allowed herself to be directed back to the sunny path where everyone else was waiting.

“Haven’t you ever heard of taking the road less traveled?” she mumbled to her older brother, who was still pulling her along and back to the trail.

“Jumping off a cliff is not considered a road less traveled,” he growled in reply. “It is considered suicide.”

“Not if you live,” she said sweetly.

“If you do manage to live through a jump like that, I’ll kill you for making it, so it is still considered suicide,” he stopped and looked meaningfully at her, hoping to make a point.

“And here I always thought that was murder,” she looked up at him. “Relax; all I want to do is have some fun.”

“And all I want is to make sure I don’t end up in trouble for allowing my baby sister to hurt herself.”

“Hey now, murder does not entail me hurting myself!”

They were close enough to the path now that everyone looked at them, hearing that comment.

“Don’t you know not to listen in on other people’s conversations?” she snapped at them, feeling unusually bitchy at the moment due to her plan being thwarted. All because that condescending tour guide had seen her wander off the path.

“Who should relax now?” her brother commented. Smartly, he let go of her arm, knowing that he was pushing her limits.

“Why do we always have to do what everyone else says?” she mumbled. “Forever constrained by the beliefs of others, doing as we are told and never letting go.”

“There’s that poetic soul that always got you kicked out of school,” her brother laughed. “I was wondering where that went.”

“I’m serious here!” she rolled her eyes.

“So am I,” he said. “There are reasons that this path is fenced off, and those have to do with insane people like you who always like to do stupid things that get them in trouble.”

She paused for a moment, looking back at him. He had stopped behind her to talk to the tour guide. Exchanging a glance with her friend, a smile slowly spread across her face. This is it, a little voice in her head said. You can do as they say, be bored, and follow everyone else, or you can just go, jump and see where it takes you. You never learn to fly if you stay on the path.

She looked at her friend again, his smile matching hers in their mischievous manner. A small nod told her that he wanted to do it too, to be free, to run wild and never allow anyone to constrain them. His eyes told her to go, and she did.

The two of them took off running, brushing past her brother and the tour guide, ignoring the shouts and the looks of fury that they knew followed their forms. She felt free, running away, knowing what was coming at the cliff. Never slowing down, the two of them got closer and closer to the edge, both wondering what was beyond but neither caring. All they had was this chance, to live, to be free, and to fly. Hitting the ledge, they vaulted off and catapulted through the air, falling with the waterfall and laughing the whole way.

Their landing in the water below was nothing short of spectacular, plunging into the turquoise depths. It took a few moments to gain awareness after the initial shock of the freezing water, but both broke through the surface with grins on their faces and shouts of joy at the feeling of caution being thrown to the wind, abandon of the ties that bound so many to the intangible rules of society. Neither caring of the repercussions of the actions, the reactions to the brazenness of their actions. All that mattered was what was here and now, the pure ecstasy of life truly lived. Nothing else mattered.