Warped Narrative

     "Do it!" yelled my brother, "It's not that far down the cliff." I looked down and gulped. The azure water was lapping at the jagged rocks below in small soft waves. The low sunbeams just bounced off the surface of the lake, giving it a slight yellow tinge. It was beautiful but scary at the same time. Here I was, being egged on by my brother to jump, standing right next to a rotting sign with peeling paint that clearly stated "WARNING: Two people have died from cliff-jumping here. Don't take the risk.". The sign was obviously old, and I wondered how old it was and how many more people had died since it have been put up. I took one last look at my brother with a teasing look on his face, took one last deep breath, and took one jump off the edge. It felt like I was suspended in air for hours before I finally started plummeting down. I was greeted with a million cold sharp needles on my skin.
     I looked around and saw only blue. I couldn't breathe. My body ached. My heart yearned for air. Suddenly there was a splash. It sounded like it was a million miles away. It was right next to me at the same time. I felt something pull me. I didn't know what was going on. I was on solid ground. How did I get here? People were yelling. My mom was crying. My Aunt's dog barked. I was being shook. What was going on? My Dad pulled my head up from the concrete. His clothes and hair were dripping. He looked me straight in the eyes with a worried look. He mumbled something. I mumbled something back. He smiled. I started to cry. He hugged me tight. I closed my eyes.
     I opened my eyes and it was dark. My Dad was still hugging me and my eyes were still stinging from crying. It smelled like dead bodies that had been soaked in hand sanitizer. I looked next to me at my Grandma laying on the cot. Her breathing was shallow and raspy, and she had so many tubes coming out of her that I could barely distinguish her face. I was surrounded by complete scilence other than the faint beeping of the heart moniter. I prayed in my head constantly. Beep. Please be another beep. Beep. Please be another beep.... Beep. Please........ Beep. Please............ Complete scilence. Everyone held their breaths for what seemed like forever. My Grandma stopped moving and an alarm started to go off. Nurses and doctors and people I didn't know rushed into the room and started yelling at each other. I looked over at my Grandpa; he just fell to the floor and started balling his eyes out. My Mom ran over and hugged him tightly. My Dad hugged me even tighter. I just continued to cry.

By: Rachel Cutler