Made up a plan to jump from the sky,
To feel the thrill, speed
acceleration no car can give,
wanted to fly like an eagle
to cut through the skies
Needed to find the ultimate thrill,
As has been said
so,
went to the people
who do it professionally, everyday 24X7
Reached there at 12
On a bright sunny day
Paid by the credit card at the counter
Got loaded with the gear and Chute on my back
Watched a video and got scared
Signed a legal document and assured the people
That I wont sue them if I die
A question popped in my idiosyncratic head
how can a dead sue the living
told to my heart...
Never mind....things happen...go ahead
Boarded the plane with the instructor
Was a 7ft giant with blue eyes
Got mechanically coupled to him
Taxied to the runway
Plane was not sophisticated and was small
Was a 4 seater and had a hole in the door
Was sitting by the side of this door that he finally closed
Asked me to relax and enjoy
Again a question popped in my inquisitive head
Why I'm doing this...don't I love people on earth
Are there not other extreme sports that I could try..
But told my nervous heart...
Shut up and do your prayers...Don't disturb no more
Engine was roaring on the runway
It followed the bernoulii principle and was in air at 90 mile/hr
Went up in air quite fast..
I waited and waited...was a journey of 20 minutes
Instructor took a nap that had my pulse rising...
What the hell...don't he realize.. its my first jump
Then, there was hole in the door
air got colder and colder as we climbed
approached 11000 feet and it got freezing
Took my hand out of that hole
To have a glimpse of what I will feel when I jump
Couldn't hold my hand for more than 3 sec
Pain and wind,...
Me alone and scared...was excruciating
Luckily, the pilot poked instructor
Hey, I think you need to jump with this new chap
The blue eyed yawned and looked down the window
Then glanced at the altimeter and said
Climb till 12000
Pilot changed the throttle and the mixture
And raced, with nobody behind us...
Except memories
The moment was approaching..
Skin had lost all sense of touch and was numb
Finally,
He opened the door and we stood on our feet
Checked all the cables and the hooks
Wore our caps and goggles
And wished each other, 'All the Best'
He looked for the jump-spot
Asked me to come at the verge of ....nothing
I was suspended in air
With my hands holding the top bar of the gate
He holded me and coupled me from behind
On the count of 1-2-3,
We left the plane, me my hands, he his feet
I was in air,
Totally, utterly, completely and without a doubt
I was falling
Not in Love, certainly not in hell
Height didn't matter any more, wind either
Didn't felt a thing
Couldn't understand
I was actually going towards earth or..
Time has stopped
The first 2 seconds of fall were 'something'
Then, tried to Move my hands and feet
Realized that it was Impossible to maneuver anything
I was in a gravity fall
The fall was small and got over before 20 seconds
No neurological registration done
Had already lost the sense of touch and time,
Of past and future,
Present seemed absent
Didn't know what to do.
The blue eyed patted my shoulder from behind
Spread your legs and your hands,
make a bow of your body and
FLY
Life was cool then..
I remember very clearly
I wished I was here....for Ever
Free from everything ...memories too
Totally void
Was asked to fold my arms inwards for
He was opening the chutes
And he ripped the cord
O man,
From a free fall....to this controlled fall
Was the most severe jerk ever experienced
Everything seemed so hard
So pressing...so demanding...felt like
Being torned by my waist ...head becoming heavy
Coming back to life from a void
Gravity was good in doing her job
And he was skilled in cheating her from my behind
Our umbrella opened
I realized sun was shining,
Cars were moving on the terrain down,
There were mountains
Memories came back too,
And we were floating amidst clouds and vapour
Journey from chaos to peace was fast
Very fast
Happened within 2-3 seconds
Did some 360 maneuvers with the chutes
Circled like a spindle
towards left and towards right
one by one
Finally came close to ground
To the runway where we started
Landed smoothly
And
It was over
chuting is cool; the gravity-fall is unregistered
in a journey of 2 minutes..
won the battle..
with fear and
with my little self, still engaged in prayers
Walked another mile
On my logbook
Looked at past pages
and smiled
At the end of the day,
Nothing changed
I was home in another hour,
Listening to radio and checking emails
