Crossing Nile

Have you ever dreaded something so much, you’ve considered to do anything to get out of it? I have. It was a crispy cold day where the clouds were covered in silver pillows casting a storm of despair on my being. We made our way down a chocolate slip n slide, laughing and tumbling as we went. As we reached the root we cast our eyes upon a sky blue river. Our experienced leader explained the task that lay in our future. We were to be a circus act and tightrope across a river, then turn into a zipling arborist coming back to our starting point. My mouth turned into a donut, who did she think I was, Bear Grylls, I thought not.

I plonked myself onto a rock by the river away from the pack. I figured if she didn’t see me I wouldn’t do it. One by one clowns did their circus tricks. I observed the show in a bubble of boredom from my riverfront seat, solo, until a ginger baboon accompanied me. He was then followed by his brunette baboon friend. The pair made me smile and laugh, we skimmed stones across the lake, or at least tried to. The activity was nearing the end of the people, I still did not want to be a funambulist and I learnt that my brunette friend Harry, didn’t either. The only two left to do it were Harry and I. We were thrown our harnesses and helped each other into them, we made sure we had double security. Our leader then shot a curious look to us, “Which one of you is going first?”, we looked at each other and being a good friend Harry offered to go first. He clambered to the top of the staircase and clipped on, away he went, zooming down the wire like a rollercoaster he soon reached the finish, the leader then looked at me, and I knew I had no way out of this. Those steps looked like big gaping holes to hell, I just did not want to do this. My hands were shaking, my knees were trembling and my heart was playing on a pogo stick. I staggered up the steps and clipped on, I triple checked everything to make sure I was not going to fall to my death (a major over exaggeration but this was how anxious I was). I took to the shiny plaited grey wire. I was unable to find balance and realised I wasn’t going to, so I decided to ride the wire like a teeter-totter. Keeping my arms close to my pounding chest I soon learnt that this was causing an unneeded added struggle. My ginger companion started to scream at me, instructing me on how to have my arms, I tried to push them out but that was worse and they came straight back in like a yo-yo. The tabby still found the need to scream at me, I couldn’t deal with it and unleashed my fury and frustration on him like a dog barking at a cat.

Baby steps seemed to be the way and before I knew it I wasn’t above the bank but above the river. I kept going and step by step I inched my way across the wire. It wasn’t going exactly smoothly but it was tolerable until I found myself in the middle of a tornado and that’s when trouble started to stir. I was being blown about like I was pegged on a washing line. I persevered and soon enough made it to the end. I was so proud of myself and felt like I accomplished a lot, then I turned around to see I crossed a skinny little puddle, that's it, that’s all I crossed, it felt like I had crossed the Nile not a piddly stream. I was then reminded I still had to go back, but at least I just had to sit there while being pulled across. Harry plodded his way to the edge where he awaited his circus challenge. Up he went and like me he immediately started complaining, he did well and made his way through tornado valley, but then “Whoosh”, Harry falls off the wire and dangles like an ornament on a christmas tree. He made his way back on and crossed the finish line. Right now it's time for me to join my pack on the other side. I clip on and “Zwoosh Zwoosh Zwoosh”, I am pulled back to safety. I hop down the stairs and rejoin my two pals.

I was very proud of myself for what I had accomplished. Even though it seemed like nothing to others, it was a lot for me. I learnt that things like that are just mind over matter, instead of looking at it as a piece of spaghetti waiting to snap, I should've just seen it for what it was. I used a lot of perseverance and resilience to get through the activity and it was worth it.