I always had those thoughts. Like, what is weightlessness, really? What does it feel like? What does it look like?
I had hiked trails before, but when I found North Pointe I knew it was special. The overlook into the brush. The treetops swaying just at your ankles. The wind sweeping over and underneath you. It really was kind of a magical feeling. And when I stood just feet from the end of the rock--it's what I imagined weightlessness must feel like. I must have spent hours standing there, I mean, y'know, if you add it all up. Sunset after sunset, watching morning drift into afternoon, swatting mosquitoes at dusk. Creases formed in my thighs from all the times I sat on top of that rock. Any time I needed an escape, it was to North Pointe. Work got overwhelming, I'd head to the rock. Anything, and I would head to the rock. It was just my place. I never saw anyone else there, so it was my own little retreat. I always had it all to myself--the settled fog trying desperately to lift in the mornings, the crashing wave of wind barreling in as thunder roared just overhead, the murder of crows echoing all around. Even the sound of the river below would bounce all around if you sat just still enough.
So when Carol suggested a trip for that weekend, hey, what better place than North Pointe? I thought she would love it! In the end, I thought she would come to enjoy it. A girls' trip, just the two of us! As usual, Carol needed some convincing, though. She was never keen on doing new stuff unless she was the one getting you to do new stuff. I mean, who gave who their first hit of a joint? I did not like the taste of it. But, when I suggested a picnic in the park, did she hop on board? Hell no she did not! "It's, like, a hundred degrees outside," she had groaned. I think we ended up going to the movies that day. I knew it would take a little convincing. It always did. When we saw each other in Starbucks that first time, it took me a good twenty minutes to get her to finally talk to me. And I must have showed her, like, a hundred pictures from my make-up tutorials. She never even realized how much of that was inspired by her. I must have made up at least half of her views on Instagram myself because I would just sit in front of the mirror and spend hours painting my face just like her. We were only roommates after I told her that I would not only pay half the rent but I would also pay for the WiFi, and throw a little extra in for her. She had this little jewelry box on her dresser, and I'd slip a ten in there, sometimes a twenty if my tips were really good that day, just to surprise her. Every now and then, she'd claim something was missing, but then I'd show her the money I put in there, and she'd realize she'd just miscounted or something. Our followers loved that shit!
So, I told her it was a surprise. She loved surprises, and the best way I thought a surprise should happen was with a blindfold. She would never see it coming, and I kept imaging the look on her face when she saw it. I imagined the wind swirling her hair over her face, her voice echoing all around. And it was perfect. She wanted to pull the blindfold off a lot, especially after the first ten minutes of the hike, but I told her to hold her phone out and record the whole thing so she could watch it back later. As skinny as she was, it was hard to navigate her ass through there. I just never expected her to keep walking when I let go. What could I do? I always heard people say things like that happened in slow motion, but she fell so fast, I almost missed it. When I watched it on her feed later, the sound of her hitting the rocks, the sound of water, it was all so harsh. But I could have watched that video over and over again. It was exactly what I thought weightlessness must have felt like.
I had hiked trails before, but when I found North Pointe I knew it was special. The overlook into the brush. The treetops swaying just at your ankles. The wind sweeping over and underneath you. It really was kind of a magical feeling. And when I stood just feet from the end of the rock--it's what I imagined weightlessness must feel like. I must have spent hours standing there, I mean, y'know, if you add it all up. Sunset after sunset, watching morning drift into afternoon, swatting mosquitoes at dusk. Creases formed in my thighs from all the times I sat on top of that rock. Any time I needed an escape, it was to North Pointe. Work got overwhelming, I'd head to the rock. Anything, and I would head to the rock. It was just my place. I never saw anyone else there, so it was my own little retreat. I always had it all to myself--the settled fog trying desperately to lift in the mornings, the crashing wave of wind barreling in as thunder roared just overhead, the murder of crows echoing all around. Even the sound of the river below would bounce all around if you sat just still enough.
So when Carol suggested a trip for that weekend, hey, what better place than North Pointe? I thought she would love it! In the end, I thought she would come to enjoy it. A girls' trip, just the two of us! As usual, Carol needed some convincing, though. She was never keen on doing new stuff unless she was the one getting you to do new stuff. I mean, who gave who their first hit of a joint? I did not like the taste of it. But, when I suggested a picnic in the park, did she hop on board? Hell no she did not! "It's, like, a hundred degrees outside," she had groaned. I think we ended up going to the movies that day. I knew it would take a little convincing. It always did. When we saw each other in Starbucks that first time, it took me a good twenty minutes to get her to finally talk to me. And I must have showed her, like, a hundred pictures from my make-up tutorials. She never even realized how much of that was inspired by her. I must have made up at least half of her views on Instagram myself because I would just sit in front of the mirror and spend hours painting my face just like her. We were only roommates after I told her that I would not only pay half the rent but I would also pay for the WiFi, and throw a little extra in for her. She had this little jewelry box on her dresser, and I'd slip a ten in there, sometimes a twenty if my tips were really good that day, just to surprise her. Every now and then, she'd claim something was missing, but then I'd show her the money I put in there, and she'd realize she'd just miscounted or something. Our followers loved that shit!
So, I told her it was a surprise. She loved surprises, and the best way I thought a surprise should happen was with a blindfold. She would never see it coming, and I kept imaging the look on her face when she saw it. I imagined the wind swirling her hair over her face, her voice echoing all around. And it was perfect. She wanted to pull the blindfold off a lot, especially after the first ten minutes of the hike, but I told her to hold her phone out and record the whole thing so she could watch it back later. As skinny as she was, it was hard to navigate her ass through there. I just never expected her to keep walking when I let go. What could I do? I always heard people say things like that happened in slow motion, but she fell so fast, I almost missed it. When I watched it on her feed later, the sound of her hitting the rocks, the sound of water, it was all so harsh. But I could have watched that video over and over again. It was exactly what I thought weightlessness must have felt like.