Zip Lining

The tree house village is enchanting. It's a utopian castle in the sky, but my sense of wonder and adventure takes over yet again. On the other side of the bridge I spot two zip lines that run all the way down to the path below. I excitedly run to the zip lines. "Wait!" Olivia's concerned cry, halts me before I have a chance to place my hands on the bars. I turn to her. "Yes?" "Do you think this is safe?" She asks. "Safe enough." I attempt to place my hands on the bars again. "Don't you need a harness?" I casually brush off her safety concern. " I don't think so." "But what if you fall?" She pleads. "I'm not gonna fall. I'll hold on tightly." I'm sure deep down I could hear the fear and trembling in her voice, but when the ID takes over, the concept of safe flies out the window. All that is left at that point is fun and games. "There's two. You can go on one too." I say to Olivia, hoping that would cheer her up. Maybe she was actually feeling left out. There is a look of horror upon her face. "I'll take a pass, but you can do that." She says. "You sure?" I ask. "Yeah, you go on that thing. I'll take the path, and I'll meet you down there." At this very moment I can not fathom why she wouldn't want to zip line. It seems like it would fun, but that's her choice. I blow her a kiss and prepare for my ride. With my hands gripped tightly to the bars, I push off the edge of the bridge.

The zip line goes much faster than I had anticipated. For some reason I thought it would be a leisurely ride. It is anything but. I hang on for dear life as I pick up momentum. Branches slap me in the face. I try to put my legs out to slow down. It is not much use. I smack into an tree, causing me to become disoriented and fall. Luckily, it was only a few feet above the ground at that point. However, it hurt like hell, and if I were a cartoon character, I'd probably have little birds circling around my head.