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“So are we on?”

Anna took a deep breath. Now that she had calmed down, she remembered how much she had wanted to do this. She wanted to feel the air press against her face and the weightlessness of the fall. To see the ground from a bird’s eye perspective and feel how interconnected everything was. She wanted to do something crazy again, like flying through trees and canyoning, and see what she was really capable of. Anna let out a sigh of consent. “Fuck it.”

“Yes!” Hayley fist pumped the air. “Let’s fucking do this, come on!”

Hayley took her hand, and they approached the guides beside the door.

“All ready now?” Anna’s tandem guide asked.

Anna managed a nod.

They got attached to their tandem guides and were checked over by the main guide and then by each other’s guides. The guides then went through a well-practised drill that Anna listened to again. She had memorised the safety demonstration at the flight centre and watched countless YouTube videos on it, but one more time was helping her nerves. When the guide slid open the plane door, the roaring engines were immediately overshadowed by the air whooshing past.

She took a breath and looked over at Hayley, the love of her life. All that mattered was the feeling of Hayley’s hand in hers and her gentle and steady gaze. Anna was going to let go of control and see what that felt like.

“We’re good to go at our end. Are you both good?” the main guide said. “Ready to go?”

Both Anna and Hayley nodded at the same time. They glanced at each other, all smiles and anticipation.

“Nice one! Okay, on a count of three.”

Adrenaline thundered around Anna’s body. This was it. Hayley squeezed her hand, making Anna feel infinitely better, as always.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three!”

And with that, they leapt into the sky together.

~ THE END ~