rippled. One. Two. Three seconds he was under. Then suddenly he flew out of the water gasping for air.
“It’s so cold. It’s so cold!” he screamed.
The other passengers fell about laughing. He was splashing around trying to warm up and get out of the jump zone. Then, one by one they jumped in. Same outcome every time. Screams and loud gulping sounds as the air tried to stay in their lungs. Then it was Asmir’s turn. He copied the same action that Viktor had done. The ring cushioned his fall and he went under. Unlike Viktor though he didn’t hold back as he surfaced. He belted out a series of repulsive sounding phrases with expletives thrown in sporadically. It was a filthy phrase but no one even blinked because obviously the cold made it justified.
Finally, it was Dante’s turn. He moved closer towards the edge and suddenly felt a hand shove him hard in the small of his back. He flew forwards. But mid-air he miraculously managed to swing the ring underneath him and land it perfectly. He wasn’t prepared for the wave of icy water that passed over him next though. It knocked the air clean out of his lungs. But even worse than that, his ring popped and he fell an extra three feet beneath the surface. He felt the bottom with his feet and pushed up exploding out the water.
“Ahhhh!!” Dante screamed. His face was numb and instantly he knew why Asmir had uttered that phrase. It was crippling. Now without a ring he was floundering around trying to keep his head above water. A couple of times he tried to throw the yellow plastic back up but failed. Third time he got it. They threw him a new ring and he jumped in it. After a few minutes of floating about, his body got comfortable with the icy water and he barely noticed it any more.
Finally they linked up and the old guy began to drag them through the darkness. Dante was right at the back with Asmir just in front of him. He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to hear what the old guy was saying but that was put to bed pretty quickly when he began barking orders. His voice reverberated around the caves easily.
“Right, before we get to the glowworms I will tell you that below you there are very large eels that are almost completely blind and they like to chomp anything that comes across their path. So, try to keep all your parts off the bottom.”
“What about you?” someone shouted. “You’re standing on the bottom!”
“Protective footwear,” he said without flinching.
Dante could smell the BS from where he was. It was another story that he was aiming to control with. It would probably work too.
For the first couple of minutes they talked amongst themselves but as it got darker it also got quieter until they were floating in silence. But there was a very good reason for this. Above them the roof of the cave shone a mystical shade of blue. It was like a sky full of stars. Dante knew that it was just worms up there making this fluorescent masterpiece but it didn’t take anything away from the magnificence of it all. In fact, it added to it.
As they drifted through the darkness all of them were transfixed by the roof. Every single passenger was looking upwards. Dante noticed that the old guy had slowed down now. He shot a glance towards the front of the raft and sure enough, he was transfixed by the beauty of it. Dante imagined that this experience never got any less magical.
As he lay there reclining in his ring and watching nature’s show, he felt a strange peace come over him. He had seen the brochure, he had researched the caves, he had even seen pictures of the glowworms, but nothing could have prepared him for this. It was mesmerizing. He didn’t want to talk or even move from this spot. But, after an incredibly short five minutes, the old guy moved on.
Every now and then they came across small clumps of glowworms as they eased their way through the tunnels. Dante would know when he was about to see another because there would be a collective
“It’s so cold. It’s so cold!” he screamed.
The other passengers fell about laughing. He was splashing around trying to warm up and get out of the jump zone. Then, one by one they jumped in. Same outcome every time. Screams and loud gulping sounds as the air tried to stay in their lungs. Then it was Asmir’s turn. He copied the same action that Viktor had done. The ring cushioned his fall and he went under. Unlike Viktor though he didn’t hold back as he surfaced. He belted out a series of repulsive sounding phrases with expletives thrown in sporadically. It was a filthy phrase but no one even blinked because obviously the cold made it justified.
Finally, it was Dante’s turn. He moved closer towards the edge and suddenly felt a hand shove him hard in the small of his back. He flew forwards. But mid-air he miraculously managed to swing the ring underneath him and land it perfectly. He wasn’t prepared for the wave of icy water that passed over him next though. It knocked the air clean out of his lungs. But even worse than that, his ring popped and he fell an extra three feet beneath the surface. He felt the bottom with his feet and pushed up exploding out the water.
“Ahhhh!!” Dante screamed. His face was numb and instantly he knew why Asmir had uttered that phrase. It was crippling. Now without a ring he was floundering around trying to keep his head above water. A couple of times he tried to throw the yellow plastic back up but failed. Third time he got it. They threw him a new ring and he jumped in it. After a few minutes of floating about, his body got comfortable with the icy water and he barely noticed it any more.
Finally they linked up and the old guy began to drag them through the darkness. Dante was right at the back with Asmir just in front of him. He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to hear what the old guy was saying but that was put to bed pretty quickly when he began barking orders. His voice reverberated around the caves easily.
“Right, before we get to the glowworms I will tell you that below you there are very large eels that are almost completely blind and they like to chomp anything that comes across their path. So, try to keep all your parts off the bottom.”
“What about you?” someone shouted. “You’re standing on the bottom!”
“Protective footwear,” he said without flinching.
Dante could smell the BS from where he was. It was another story that he was aiming to control with. It would probably work too.
For the first couple of minutes they talked amongst themselves but as it got darker it also got quieter until they were floating in silence. But there was a very good reason for this. Above them the roof of the cave shone a mystical shade of blue. It was like a sky full of stars. Dante knew that it was just worms up there making this fluorescent masterpiece but it didn’t take anything away from the magnificence of it all. In fact, it added to it.
As they drifted through the darkness all of them were transfixed by the roof. Every single passenger was looking upwards. Dante noticed that the old guy had slowed down now. He shot a glance towards the front of the raft and sure enough, he was transfixed by the beauty of it. Dante imagined that this experience never got any less magical.
As he lay there reclining in his ring and watching nature’s show, he felt a strange peace come over him. He had seen the brochure, he had researched the caves, he had even seen pictures of the glowworms, but nothing could have prepared him for this. It was mesmerizing. He didn’t want to talk or even move from this spot. But, after an incredibly short five minutes, the old guy moved on.
Every now and then they came across small clumps of glowworms as they eased their way through the tunnels. Dante would know when he was about to see another because there would be a collective
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