2003-07-24 - 1:19 p.m. Love 1 Soaring Hearts Flying almost half a mile above the earth, Thomas and Kendra were going for their third jump of the day. Tom�s parents had bought them these skydiving lesson as a gift for their honeymoon. Tom and Kenda were just 22 and right out of college. They loved each other so much that they couldn�t stand being apart. They eloped about 6 months ago in secrete. They just had their formal wedding this last weekend. The two sets of parents both approved of the wedding mostly because of the passion that Tom and Kendra had. They were doing so many typical silly things that people in love do. Feeding each other, finishing each other�s sentences, talking baby talk to each other with their pet names; Kitten and Sourbread. Tom was the first one interested in the relationship, and pursued Karen fervently. They worked in the same office for a few months and Tom threw company policy to the wind while he hunted his Aphrodite. She however, had no interest in a relationship and dismissed him advances. He finally managed to get her to go out with him by scratching the words, �Kendra, I am in love with you and I don�t care who knows �Tom� into the glass of the Xerox machine. Tom was then fired for multiple reasons (mostly a memo that the boss sent out to all the employees about the sexual harassment policy [oh the irony!]). But Kendra took pity on him, and told him that anyone willing to get fired for a date deserves at least one chance. Here we are two years later, flying in a machine build to soar on wind current and their backs strapped to a device used to capture air and slow the rate of decent. Kendra actual purposed to Tom on her living room couch. After they were watching and episode of Blind date, Kendra realized that most people in this world we idiots. She told Tom, �Sourbread, I know that you aren�t an idiot, and I know how much you care for me. I never want to leave this moment, this couch. If time were to freeze right here I would be happy forever, and nothing in my life has changed expect you are here. Will you marry me?� Tom, of course accepted, and the next day they called in sick and went to a small Chapel outside of Atlantic City. Then they both sat down and wrote a thank you/testimonial letter and sent it off to Rodger Lodge, care of Blind Date. One week later they announce the news to both sets of parents, who were both unsurprised and accepting. Kendra was the braver of the two and went first out of the plane on the first two jumps. The first two times were lesions where another person is on your back. He pulls the cord the first time, you pull it the second time. The third jump is solo. Tom, despite being an aggressive pursuer to begin their relationship, is actually quite a coward. Kendra took him to six flags and he lost his lunch 3 times. At least he�s a trooper. Kenrda said that she had never seen anything whiter than the way Tom looked on the Hellavator. He knew that she loved it though so he went anyway. Tom also was scared of skydiving. This is why he went second. However, after the first two jumps he was hooked. He told Kendra that he could spend the rest of his life skydiving. The feeling made him feel free and alive. He felt like he could fly. Kendra accused him of being clich�, but he insisted that it was the best way to describe it. Kendra said he was still a big chicken and dared him to go first. He accepted the challenge. In his head he reviewed the steps. 3-2-1 jump, then count to ten and pull. Simple enough. If the first cord doesn�t pull, yank the second, on the shoulder. Okay�Great. He steped up, and turned around to Kendra and mouthed the words �I love you�. Kendra giggles because all the weird goggles and wind being blown at him made him look like he was in a wind tunnel. Kendra then realize that the kinda were in a wind tunnel. Tom lept. The motor sound faded and he could hear only his own body cutting through the wind. He spread his arms and wanted to glide. He though of the flying squirrel and wished he could fly like that. Then he laughed at himself for wishing to be a squirrel. He pulled the cord. He was yanked back and began sailing slowly down to earth. At that point he saw something he would never forget. Like a comet he saw Kendra fly past him, shooting toward the earth. He immediately feared the worse. He hoped, he prayed that it wasn�t true. The closer she came to the ground the more desperate he pleas became: Please let her soar like the squirrel, give me the strength to stop her, give her my parachute, Turn her into a bird so that she can fly away. God let her live! Let her survive! Let the Earth open up and accept her. Let her live in someway� Please let her know that I loved her. But Tom�s wishes didn�t come true, and Kendra story ends as she collides with the earth, dispersing dust and dirt up in a mushroom cloud visible to anyone one watching. Tom�s eyes are the first to see. He tears well as he thinks of their lives as he thinks of his wife, and her words to him. He thinks of their wedding. Their wedding vows were impromptu, but nonetheless timeless. Kendra told Tom that as long as they were together, she would be happy, as long as they knew that they would be together she would wait for him. Because she knew that they had love, and she would never let go of it. He told her that he promised to never keep her waiting, and to always think of her. He promised that he vowed to always respect her and allow her to be his first though in the morning and the last thought at night. She always would come first in their family. He promised to love her like he would want to be loved, and that he could never imagine a world without her. Tom was going to live an incomplete life, and maybe in time he could have adjusted to living without Kendra. But today he wasn�t thinking about the future. He loosened the straps around his shoulders and slipped out, allowing himself to freefall to the ground. As he fell he closed his eyes and imagined the first date the Kendra and him went on: The romantic dinner, the extended eye contact, and the witty banter. Oh the banter! How he longed for her voice. He was so happy now as he was gliding. He already missed their banter and knew that he would be home with her soon enough. He smiled as the wind blew against his face. He extended his arms and legs and imagined soaring. He felt more alive than he had ever felt. He couldn�t wait to tell his Kitten about the squirrel and how he finally did get his chance to fly. | |||||||||||
