Fear of Heights

Jared hunkered down in the plane, feeling wretched. He and his buddies would be dropped off with provisions in a remote area of Alaska for a survival trip. He hoped he’d live to experience it. Had anyone ever died from a fear of heights?

Rudy nudged him with a hiking boot. “What is it, motion sickness?”

“No. I’ll be alright.”

Marcus laughed. “I think it’s homesickness! We’ve been gone a whole hour. Waaah!”

Rich looked at his cell phone. “Will phones work? Marcia will freak if I don’t talk to her for a whole week.

Rudy shook his head. “Guys, the point of this trip is to get away from the stuff that ties us down, and be real men.”

Jared looked at them from his position on the floor of the plane. “That’s just another phrase for ‘midlife crisis,’ if you ask me.”

Just then the plane jerked and shuddered.

The pilot called out. “Shit! Lost the propeller!”

Things happened fast. Parachute packs were handed out and the Cessna’s side door opened.

Jared shook his head. “No, I can’t! I have a horrible fear of heights!”

“Well this is your test!” Marcus grabbed him, threw the pack on him and tightened the straps. “Count to twenty and pull this!” Then he was airborne.

Wind rushed. He twirled, tumbled, then spread his arms and became stable. He’d forgotten to count! He pulled. The chute opened. The world slowed down. And it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

Thank you for reading my 250-word micro-fiction story. Your comments are welcome!

I wrote this story when I ran a weekly micro-fiction writing contest, and I would also often contribute my own piece, just for fun. This story was my piece for the prompt, “test.”