Pushing Indi off a Cliff

We live in a hole in a sandstone cliff, carved by unknown hands, listening to some music after lunch, hiding there from the sun, and looking out over the sea. Before us, twenty metres of rock stretch to the coast, whitened by the sun and ready to burn the soles of our feet. To the left, the inhospitable terrain suddenly disappears, where the sloping sandstone cuts away to reveal the deep blue of the Mediterranean, visited only by schools of small dark fish, occasionally reflecting the sun as they swim around. It is exactly what I’m looking for.

I swiftly return to our hole in the sandstone, careful not to wake my girlfriend Indi just yet, and explore the waters beneath the cliff with our swimming goggles. To my satisfaction I can barely see the seafloor, which is also slightly terrifying as I can’t see what’s around me in the deep blue water, and there might just be enormous sharks and other sharp toothed creatures hiding in the dark. Nonetheless I climb to the top of the cliff and jump off.

Happy to find myself alive I go to wake Indi and drag her to the same spot, about five or six metres above the surface. I propose to jump together, as that seems like a perfect bonding experience to me, and after ten seconds of doubt, her still sleepy brain assents. She counts down from three, jumps, and as soon as we start crashing towards the sea, in the few seconds that we fall, she starts screaming as the full fear of what is happening hits her. Even before we hit the water I start laughing, but karma notices my evilness and a rush of salty water fills my nose and mouth, bringing me to the surface coughing and gasping. Indi gives me a single askance glance, but immediately forgives me and in a hug she attaches around my body, so I can swim us both to the lower edge of the cliff.

In the following half an hour we repeat the exercise, first from half a metre, then a metre’s height, first jumping together, then alone, each time without screaming out in fear, until we reach the same spot on the cliff’s edge, the highest above the water. Here the psychological knowledge from the previous jump and the fact that we have reached the summit reduces her to fear again. She stands and dawdles for minutes, asking for kisses and hugs to reassure her. After a while I start teasing her, telling Indi that she’s too afraid to jump again, and that I am sure she can’t do it.

She knows exactly what I’m doing, trying to play on her sense of pride and induce her to jump again to prove that I’m wrong, which doesn’t stop my tactics from working though. However, I’ve just turned my back and started walking towards our little cave, handling as if I’ve given up hope, when I suddenly hear the loud splash of Indi hitting the water. In an act of revenge she jumped in perfect silence, when I wasn’t looking. Of course I don’t mind at all, and I follow her down and together we celebrate in the blue water, both proud at her brave display, happy she overcame her fear of the cliff.