It was a small, intimate group of us that decided to camp alongside the Blue River. We entered its cold waters armed with sweatshirts & flannel & began navigating through the smooth canals of Southern Missouri together. The shallows were riddled with dark rocks as we got out of our canoes to explore our surroundings. We threw bottles of soda & snacks to each other while lazily drifting downstream, feeling like kings on the river.
We soon approached a towering, rocky cliff & agreed to jump from it. With just a moment’s hesitation, we climbed & climbed as we scraped our knees & toes along the way. We looked down into the deep blue below before counting to three, & then, my heart flew out of its chest. I decided to let go of Dan’s hand & felt the rush of the flight for myself; falling through the air as Alice fell down the rabbit's hole. I hit the icy river hard & broke the water's surface with exuberant joy, splashing around in my shock. Dan grinned at me, when I came up gasping for air.