Rhine Lake, The Jump

There it was. The edge. I could smell the fresh salty misty air and if I inhaled through my mouth I let myself believe I could taste it too. I should jump and get it over with while I still have the nerve. Into the deep pool of water below me, that was Lake Rhine. The area we're in is mostly secluded and hidden, you would only know it if you were told what you were looking at...or if you accidentally found it like I did. There's almost always a mist rainbow over the water making the water itself look multi-colored. Today the weather is perfect to jump. The sky is blue and the water is cool. I came here today with my boyfriend, Lukas. He watches me carefully wondering if I will chicken out again, but at the same time, he is extremely supportive. While I work up the nerve to jump I debate which parts will be the scariest to endure. The moment before you hit the water is the worst part and yet the best. I'm a smooth diver I guess, the lead swimmer on my team at school. I've never done anything like this, though. Never would have before if Lukas hadn't opened up my mind to adventures. It's the anticipation of the cold, fresh water compared to the breezy and warm summer air that I think I will like. Lukas looks at me reassuringly and takes my hand. It's the first time I've taken him to my favorite spot in all of my hometown, Rhine and he doesn't even seem fazed by the height of the cliff we're going to jump off of. It's the first time I've been able to actually jump too. Because of him. Everything I am today is because he makes me so much better of a person. I smile back at him and count down. Three. Two. One. I smile and we jump in unison. He screams on the way down with excitement and complete joy. I scream in terror. As soon as we jumped I thought of everything that could go wrong. Nothing did go wrong though, at all. Going down and feeling the wind grasp at my hair and roll across my skin felt like I was swimming through air. The feeling faded too soon, and before I knew it we were at the water. Neither of us held our breath when we hit the water with a huge splash, still holding hands. So we end up surfacing and choking up water looking like quite the pair. When we finally stop coughing and look at each other...he splashes me with water. This starts a flurry of flashing hands and diving underwater to escape the water being pushed at us. Eventually, we stop playing and just look at each other. We burst out laughing. He stops laughing a few seconds after I did but the beautiful smile he has that bares his top row of teeth and hides the bottom row doesn't fade in the slightest and it makes my heart flutter uncontrollably. He kisses me on the forehead lightly and I blush. We twine our hands together, his practically enveloping mine.

"Again?"

We spend the rest of the afternoon jumping twice more, each time more magical than the last one. I wonder if it is time for me to finally tell him I love him. It's been six months since we started dating and I feel more for him than I have anyone else in my entire life. He awakened a part of me that wants to see the world and do new things. An adventurous part of me. We set up the blanket and food and watch the sunset as we eat. Well, he watches the sunset and I look at him nervously debating what the best way to tell him how I feel is. I look at his blonde hair and my gaze works its way down, brown eyebrows, green eyes, roman nose, and then to his lips wondering if they'll say the words back when I confess to him those three big words.

"Lukas," I start, but he looks at me with a strange look on his face that I instantly like. This expression of seriousness, anxiety, and affection. My voice fails me when he looks at me and beats me to the words I was going to say.

"I love you, and I don't care if it's too soon to say it. I really, really love you and you mean the world to me," he says. My heart sputters and practically dies at those words. I remember to kickstart it when I take too long to respond and he looks down feeling embarrassed. I reach over and cup his chin with my palm.

"And you're my universe, I love you too," I say back to him. His gaze floods with meaning and I love it. I want to freeze this moment and look into that expression forever. Unfortunately, I can't, so I settle on snuggling up close to him, and then we both look to the sky. All of the sudden a shooting star passes and we both snap our eyes shut and make a wish. I wish for infinity with you. I think to myself. He opens his eyes and I realize I must have said the words out loud. I look away and pretend I didn't say anything until he looks at me.

"That was my wish, too," he says.

10 years later, here we are sitting with our beautiful daughter Rhine. She's turning three today, and next month is our five-year anniversary. To this day Lukas still gives me the same look when I walk into a room, and I still have to kickstart my heart when he does. Infinity we said, and infinity we are getting. I will never regret taking the leap of faith with him at the Rhine Lake, and I thank the universe for that shooting star every night when Lukas kisses me goodnight.