THE LEAP

Everyone turned back.

The path to Gallu waterfall had become so narrow, so steep, that one wrong step meant falling — and falling there meant something final. Couples turned back. Groups of trekkers turned back. Everyone looked at the path and made the sensible choice.

We kept going.

When we finally reached it the sun was already low. The waterfall was fed by glacier ice — the water so cold that when I put my legs in I lost all feeling within seconds. I looked at that water and thought — I did not climb that path to stand at the edge.

I jumped.

Everything went numb. I couldn't stand. I came out laughing in a way that had nothing to do with anything being funny. It was the laugh of having done something you weren't sure you could do.

Amazonite for the blue-green of that glacial water — cold, honest, fearless. Cherry Quartz for the warmth that came after. The feeling of being completely, unexpectedly alive.