Skydiving in Santa Barbara
by Lucy L.
One day a friend called me and asked, “Lucy, would you like to go skydiving in Santa Barbara?” “Yes!” I tell her automatically, nothing thinking. Next week, four people coming in the three big trucks with equipment. It was a warm summer day and nice company. We driving to the mountain, a lot of joking, good feeling, adrenaline, and exciting! When we drive on the mountain road, it was one circle up and up and up.
It took us two hours and my happiness disappeared. The weather extremely changed. No sun and big black clouds covered the sky. Finally, we got to the top of the mountain. The wind was so strong. After two hours, the sun is out and everything changed completely. We looked down. Everything was so tiny: trees, houses, electric lines. Only lazy white clouds. As Max start to collect the parachutes, I ask my daughter Veronica, “Do you want to jump in the sky and fly?” She was fourteen, so sweet, but so wild girl. She said, “No Mommy! I’m scared.” She start to screaming and said, “You know Mom, you can’t push your daughter to the death!” Max told her she did not have to do it if she couldn’t. After ten minutes, she started to study the lesson on how to do the skydiving. They were checking the parachutes to make sure we are safe. Veronica make the position in front of her coach. Then Max tell my daughter, “Run as fast as you can. Looks like a tiger hunts for you.” Then they are running twenty meters on the edge and jumped. My sweet daughter continued to run through the air. It was so dramatical and so funny and everyone start laughing.
They flying in the sky and became less and less and vanished from the eye. My heart stop beating. I start to panic and we jumped into the cars and drove away. All the way down, I thought I’m stupid, stupid to put my daughter to the dangerous situation! I mentally prayed, “Oh my God, forgive me.” The time stood still. In the valley then, I saw my daughter not landing on the trees, not broken her legs. Her face was smiling and happy. We hugged each other and she said to me, “Mama, it was so awesome!” I thought the angel was with us that day.