Tahn's Tales

Two and a Half Minutes

It’s amazing how quickly the mind works when in an emergency situation. I had watched in slow motion as my best friend grabbed me by my straps, and cut them with a knife before shoving me out of the airplane. It took me a few precious seconds to understand what had just happened.

The plane above me grew smaller, and I froze in shock. As I turned over to look at the ground getting closer I could feel the warm wetness in my lap that comes with abject fear. My mind kicked into overdrive, and thought of many things, my wife, my daughter, my best friend. I wondered why he had done this to me, then I thought back to the times I had noticed him staring at my wife. I also remembered him asking the instructors how long it would take for someone to hit the ground from 13,000 feet. Two and a half minutes the instructor had replied.

I looked at my watch. Had a minute really taken that long to pass? It was now the time that I was supposed to be pulling my parachute, but there wasn’t one to pull. The wind made it impossible for me to hear anything but itself, but I still had my mind working non stop. Memories flashed through my head, kissing my wife on our wedding day, watching my daughter being born, her first steps. Snapshots of a happy life like the flickering of old movies.

30 seconds more had elapsed and the ground was a lot closer than it was the last time I looked. I decided that I didn’t want to look death in the face, so turned over and watched the clouds slowly wander across the sky. I felt at peace. The fear had left me as I know there is nothing I can do. I spent my last moments giving a prayer for the safety and happiness of my family. I hope my little girl remembers me on her wedding day, and that my wife isn’t sad for too long.

30 seconds have once again slipped away, and with my final half of a minute I close my eyes and think back to my wedding day. She had looked beautiful in her ivory satin dress with the little crystals in it that sparkled as she moved.

20

I remembered the night I proposed to her on the bridge overlooking the city lights.

10

Would she be broken by my death? I hoped not.

5

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But, would my best friend be the one comforting her?

4

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Would he be the one to tell her of the “accident” that had taken her husband away?

3

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Fear of a new kind flooded my system.

2

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She needed to know!

1

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My best friend is a murderer! He can’t be allowed to...........