The wind whisped slightly taking my strawberry blonde hair with it, leaving the aroma of a sand, chlorine and seagulls mix as it flirted with my nose. The treacherous, towering, gray stairs stood just feet away from my soul just daring me to put aside my fears and step on! Our four brave souls stepped foot on the cold damp cement step, hoisting our tiresome bodies with the hopes of a massive adrenaline rush! “Drip, Drop!” the leaking water from the slide sent chills up my fragile tiresome almost limp body, as the blonde hair of my sister Daryhl did not glisten in the sun today as she huffed and puffed up the rough stairwell along with my aging, hair receding father. Level after level, the stairs seemed to increase in more of an incline and my body shook more as the cold mist lingered too long in the wind. The rush of the raging water was our only friend as our eyes searched for the colorful array of the usual mass of thrilled riders. In reality, the lonesome lifeguard in the red jacket, who drug an abandoned inner tube for five into the artic bone chilling water, was the only soul at the top of this vacant slide.


My body soon rested on a rough navy blue raft that waded back and forth, but was restrained from wandering off by the beautiful sun bathed lifeguard. The lifeguard’s voice cracked as he spoke from the loss of accompaniment as he instructed us to even out the tube for our benefit and hold on at all costs. My eyes locked with the big brownie colored eyes of my sisters as her pupils revealed the fear welling up inside of her. I grasped the rough braided rope entwined in the savage raft as my lips could taste the unnecessary sunscreen applied hours earlier. Out of the blue came a “err!” As I looked back, to my dismay I realized that we were drifting toward the edge where life ended and limbo began on the monstrous ocean blue slide.


The rough raft made a strange creaking sound, like an unknown monster of the deep blue just awakening, as the raft slid up the side of the spawn of the devil. My hands began to burn like they were in flames when my fingers tightened around the rustic old rope. My neck jerked from side to side along with the tube in an unmanageable pace. As I built up the courage to look straight up that only made my fears come to life again because I found my dad towering over top of me in a mass of red. With every side, bump, and knick in the slide I felt a thud sending my stomach plummeting at full speed up to my mouth and back again. Shrill screams echoed form all around me trapping my poor defenseless ear drums. With every splish splash I took a gulp of chlorine and once more drenched like awakening from a nightmare. The massive tube treaded up the wall for the billionth time with a chuckle; as I looked down to where my feet should have been I was mesmerized to find my sister. “AHHH,” filled my mind, but with our whole tube screaming it was pointless for me to join in. Sometimes the shrieking subsided, but only for “This is stupid,” a laugh, or “I hate this!” To my pleasure the four frightening minutes were finally fading into the past as death faded farther away from reality.


Our tube took one last thud and a harsh jolt sent vibrations threw my helpless body. The ice water gave me never ending chills as my legs took control and sent me plunging into the water. Splashes of chaos surrounded me as I got out of my death bed. I treaded the water with what energy remained until my fragile pruned hand rested on the shining kiss candy wrapper colored metal rail. The rough concrete brought me to realize that my feet were numb from the combination of horror and the ice cold water.


With the fuss of the bright fish towel I came to a conclusion on what a giant hot dog felt like, warm! The clicking of my chattering teeth was uncontrollable and unavoidable, but luckily the rotting smell coming from the garbage distracted my chattering. Our unanimous decision sent my legs aching toward the blue exit building with blinding lime green trim. The tiny voice inside my head told me to glance over my shivering shoulder making my hair catch in the frigid wind. I stared; repulsed at the ride of doom. The wind carried the sand that stung my mouth and tasted like dirt, bringing along the disgusting satisfied chuckle of the menacing slide.