ㅤ ㅤㅤㅤ my story is called jump ♡ 8:00 am. the competition had begun. i climbed up the never ending ladder, almost scurrying to reach there before the time limit. the rust from the decaying handlebars rubbed off onto my pale hands, my knuckles white, holding on with each step upwards. i nodded a simple nod to my friend nat, and continued to ascend the tower that reached high into the sky. i held on tighter and tighter as i climbed further away from the blanket of pure-white snow that covered the stony tarmac floor. after 30 minutes i made it to the top. my pride outshone even my athletism and determination when i found out it had only taken me half the time to reach the top. but there was still no sign of nat. five minutes left. a crowd had gathered towards the left side of the tower. i walked sheepishly and peered through the fog to see nat holding onto a bar. she wispered: 'non rinunciare mai', never give up. with all the strength she possesed, i watched as she courageously pulled herself up with just twenty seconds to spare. next was the endurance challenge. the trial to see who could stay on the tower for a whole day. the timer reset and me, nat and 30 other individuals began. twelve hours passed, and as time went on the board updated, subtracting one person from the screen. by hour twenty only 3 others remained with us. the final five. our legs were getting weak. nat was struggling. she laid her thick brown locks on the coarse metal and tried to sleep. an hour later she awoke with a nightmare, a fear of heights was put into her previously fearless head. but we were so close. i knew she would regret leaving now, but i couldnt stop her. nat jumped. i was alone, left all by myself, forced to spend the next couple of hours without my best friend. but apart from feeling lonely, i knew something else didnt feel right. the board hadnt changed.
