Page 84

Rocco squeezed my hand, and I nodded.
A woman wearing the nametag “Lydia” attached a video camera to our karabiner outside our harness. Then, she showed us the straps to hold and release in an emergency.
Rio showed us how he operated the boat and the rope he would use to lift us into the air.
“I’ve been doing this for twenty years and taken hundreds out, but accidents happen,” he said, giving us waivers to sign.
We signed them and sat down as we rode from shore. Then we slowed, and my pulse pounded so hard I could feel it in my ears.I’d flown in helicopters and small planes, but this was scarier.
Rocco took my hand. “I’m right next to you.”
We put on life vests and connected to the harness like a swing. I held on to the straps, and we moved to the boat’s back end and sat with our legs out. Within seconds, we took to the air!
There was no warm-up or pause. It was instant. As we soared higher and higher in the air, I peered at our dangling feet, the boat, and the blue sea below. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky; it was just us with birds high above the blue water.
“Oh, my God,” I yelled.
“Yes,” Rocco roared, and I looked at him. He had his head back and looked up at the sky. He was always ready for more.
A swift movement had us lowering, and my stomach dropped, and my heart hammered. It was that fear of falling, the dread of losing control and plummeting into the unknown. But what would happen? I had a life jacket, and the parasail wouldn’t pull me under. Still, there was no safety net. We had a rope and a boat.This is wild!
I let out a sob. “Can we stop?”
Rocco clasped my hand. “A few more minutes, Bella.” His touch was a reassurance, but then out of the blue he started singing loudly Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.”
I turned my head to him in shock. It was so silly and so unlike him. “You’re crazy.”
“For you, Bella.”
I laughed as Rocco kept singing and howling, keeping all my focus on him. Somehow, his distraction eased my nerves, and the fear that weighed me down lessened.
“You all right, Bella?”
I smiled. “I think I am.”
I stared at him and marveled at how completely he had surrendered to the experience, lying back and floating.
I decided to give it a try. I slowly loosened my hold on the straps and leaned back fully in the harness until my arms and legs dangled. My heart still beat hard, but I closed my eyes and let myself sail the sky.
“Wow, this is amazing,” I called out, then took a peek down. The boat seemed far away, but I could see the island with its palms and the mansions carved into it. It was so beautiful.
My head turned and met Rocco’s gaze on me.
“You let go, and now you can have fun.”
I smiled and looked out again. We were in the air, and the sun was higher. There were no clouds, just pure blue, and I wasflying—free. The joy of that moment was like a burst of sunshine on a rainy day, a happy puppy running over to get a pet—that sweet feeling of happiness.
“Woohoo,” I cried out, looking at Rocco.
He threw his head back, laughing.
Then suddenly, we started to lower from the sky. Fast.
My stomach dropped, and my heart beat fast. I was puffing air between whimpers and squeezing the straps, but I could see the boat getting closer and closer.
Two staff helped guide us down from the air, pulling the rope down for us to land on the back of the boat. I stared at my pink toes as they planted on the ship’s surface. They took hold of the harness and helped us detach, and then we returned to sit on the boat. And all the worry and fear came out, and I shook all over. Rocco placed his arms around me, and I hugged him tight.
“You did it, Adelina. There’s absolutely nothing you can’t do.”