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I sit in a boat with Caine, Diana, Bug, Tyrell, and that new girl Penny. I keep my arms crossed and take deep breaths. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve last seen dry land.
“How much longer?” I whine.
The only answer I get is a bunch of glares. I slump in my seat.
“Over there!” Tyrell shouts.
We all look to see, for the first time in what felt like ages, dry land.
Only it was in the form of a high cliff.
“How are we gonna get up there?” asks Caine.
“Can’t you just lift the boat and we all float up there?” I suggest.
Caine looks at me. “If I could make the boat fly with all of us on it, I would’ve done that a long time ago.”
I look away, embarrassed. “Forget I said anything. It was a stupid idea."
Caine then smiles. “But you gave me a better idea.”
I look up at him, hopeful. “I have?”
Caine nods. “I might not be able to lift the boat, but I might be able to lift each of us up to the cliff one at a time, and I know just who I’m gonna start with.”
Only then do I realize I made a horrible mistake. I close my eyes and desperately grab onto my seat.
I then feel a hand on my shoulder. I open my eyes and see Diana, who’s sitting next to me, giving me a reassuring smile.
“It’s gonna be alright,” she says. “Just remain calm, hold still, and keep your eye on the prize. Can you do that?”
I nod and let go of my seat.
Caine opens his hand and holds it out as if about to grab me. I then float up off the boat. I feel as if I’m caught in a small tornado.
“Whoa, whoa, WHOA!” I shout as I flail my arms and legs around.
My body floats away from the boat. I look down and see my reflection in the water.
Penny laughs. “Lower him just a bit, and he’ll be walking on water.”
“If this works, all of us will have to do it,” Diana points out.
That shuts Penny up.
Diana then turns to me. “Remember what I said. Hold still, stay calm, eye on the prize.”
I take a deep breath, get into a belly position, cross my arms, and look up at the cliff.
And up I go. Slowly, I float higher and higher into the air. I take slow, deep breaths. I fight the urge to scream or cry. I don’t take my eyes off the cliff.
With each second that passes, I feel like I’m going even slower, like the wind holding me up is slowly dying, like if I look down, I’ll fall.
Then, at long last, I reach the very top of the cliff. I feel a sense of hope as I uncross my arms and reach out.
Then the wind is gone, and I feel myself start to fall. Luckily, I grab onto the edge of the cliff, and I manage to climb up.
I made it. I MADE IT!
I let myself cry a little as I kiss the ground, then I stand up and wave to everyone else.
Caine brings Penny up next. She flails her arms and kicks her legs the entire way up. I feel a sense of satisfaction seeing it. Then she grabs onto the edge right as gravity takes over. In spite of myself, I grab her hand and pull her up.
Penny pants. “You saved me. Why?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Why not?”
Then Bug flies up. Unlike me and Penny, he seems to enjoy himself, laughing, cheering, and making all these poses.
Next, Tyrell. He also enjoys himself. When he lands, he gives me a little pat on the back. It feels weird, but good.
Finally, Caine takes Diana’s hand, and they both come up together. Once they land, they approach me.
“Thanks for the suggestion, Paint,” he says genuinely. “You spared us a lot of trouble.”
“Yeah, you did good,” says Diana.
I smile and feel my face turn red. “It’s no problem.”
Caine offers a high-five, which I accept, then we continue onward.