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‘Hi François. Thank you, I’m really looking forward to it,’ she improvised, hoping her expression didn’t give away the fact that she was terrified. Heights had never been one of her strongest points.
‘Had to keep Millie in the dark about our final destination, but I think as long as the activity doesn’t involve throwing ourselves out of the back of an aeroplane, then we should be good to go.’
‘Trust me, you’ll love the zip-line! Here, put this helmet on and take these gloves with you.’
Millie smiled and took the safety equipment from François. She should have known Zach’s “exploring the island expedition” would be something like this. She cast her eyes around the rainforest clearing that housed the Treetop Adventures offices and shuddered when she saw the mountaineering gear through the open door of the on-site storeroom – a separate wooden structure at the back of the reception lodge. However, now that she was here, she was determined to make the most of the ride that had been built on the St Lucian hillside.
It was only seven a.m. but already the humidity was rising. All around her, the lush tropical trees and plants crowded every spare inch of ground below what looked like a sky-high obstacle course. Shafts of diaphanous sunlight sliced through the branches overhead causing intricate shadows to dance on the forest floor. The aroma of coconut oil from her shampoo, and damp mulched bark, tickled her nostrils and the only sound, apart from the early morning echo of birdsong, was the persistent beat of her heart thumping through her eardrums.
At that time of the morning they had the place to themselves for which Millie was grateful. She really didn’t want an audience for her approaching arboreal ordeal.
Under François’s careful instruction, they climbed into the harnesses, pulled on their helmets, and stood in a clearing beneath the canopy of leaves for a short safety briefing, which Millie knew was solely for her benefit. She listened to every word, wishing she had a notepad and pen to jot down a few of his tips. But this was not an activity where you could take a quick peek at your notes if you got stuck, and a helix of alarm began to wind its way up into her chest. She pushed it aside and raised her chin in the air.
She was going to do this.
She plastered a smile on her lips and followed Zach and François to the wooden platform for her very first leap into the unknown. However, when she looked down and saw the zip wire dip steeply before disappearing into the dense congregation of trees, her stomach dropped like a penny down a wishing well.
‘Okay, Zach, it’s all yours. You know what to do. Have fun, Millie!’
She watched Zach leap from the platform and zoom down the wire with astonishing speed, the hum from the friction causing her nerves to sparkle. She tossed a glance over her shoulder at François, who gave her a smile and a brief nod of encouragement.
‘Relax,’ he said, clipping the carabiner onto Millie’s pelvic harness. ‘And it’s best to just jump before you have time to think about it too much. Trust me – you’ll love it!’
Millie wasn’t so sure.
‘Jump!’
Before she could formulate a cogent argument in support of a retreat to the lodge where she had seen cans of ice-cold lemonade, François had urged her forward. He must have detected her reluctance to tip her toes from the edge of the platform without persuasion, so he gave her a gentle push.
Seconds later, she was swept from the wooden tree-top balcony, the on-coming breeze whipping her fringe from her eyes and cooling the perspiration that had collected at her temples and beneath her breasts. She leaned back as François had instructed and the momentum of her weight took her whizzing through an emerald tunnel of dense forest. Her initial nervousness was swiftly overtaken by a feeling of exhilaration as she sailed through the leafy wilderness. By the time she landed in an undignified heap on the next platform, every trace of anxiety had vanished to be replaced by a feeling of accomplishment.
‘Enjoy that?’ asked Zach, offering her his palm to pull her upright.
‘It was amazing!’
Their eyes met for a brief moment and Millie struggled with the intensity of the feelings that swirled through her body. The impulse to grab Zach and kiss him was almost too much to resist.
‘Great. On to the second challenge then.’
Millie’s eyes widened when she followed the direction of Zach’s finger as he indicated the next part of their elevated obstacle course. Her knees weakened at the sight of the taut steel cables that sagged precariously through the vegetation to her right. She could just about make out the next platform through the hovering morning haze.
‘Want me to go first again?’
‘Please.’
She watched him fly through the air as though he was out on a Sunday stroll. When he arrived on the next wooden ledge he spun round and waved at her in encouragement.
‘Your turn!’
This time there was no François standing next to her to encourage her to jump. She had to do this on her own. She gritted her teeth, relegated her swirling nerves to the crevices of her mind, and launched herself forward. Immediately the cables began to undulate and sway to the left and right. She clutched at the wires above her head like François had demonstrated in their safety briefing to slow her speed, allowing the errant branches to brush against her shins instead of whipping at her knees with sadistic zeal.
Wow – what a spectacular view!
Trees as tall as telegraph poles crowded the area, their trunks laced together with a cat’s cradle of steel cables and ropes. The sun glanced from the glossy leaves of the banana plants, heavy with ripening fruit, and the local bird population launched from their homes squawking their objection to her invasion of their privacy. It was a perfect Caribbean paradise.
She was so busy drinking in the bucolic panorama that she had forgotten to prepare for her arrival. Within seconds, she had crashed into Zach as he waited to guide her onto the platform.
‘Elegant!’
