Adventurous Alice

ADVENTUROUS ALICE

Alice heard them talking about her—Aunt Bonnie, Cousin Lorna, and her sister Meg. How she’d lived, practically her entire 49 years, afraid of one thing or another. Spiders. Heights. Deep water. Basements. Exotic food. Germs. You name it, she’d find some reason to not join in on an activity or make new friends, they stated.

“I’ve always wondered,” Aunt Bonnie said to Meg, “what caused Alice to be so scared of everything? Did something traumatic happen to her in childhood that I was unaware of?”

“Not that I know of,” Meg answered. “She’s been to every doctor under the sun and none of them found any physical or emotional reason for her to be the way she is.”

“Maybe she was just born anxious,” Lorna suggested. “Some people are. I feel so sorry for Alice. She hasn’t had a bit of fun in her whole life.”

“And no romance, of course,” Bonnie added.

“Unless you count Stan Simpson, who invited her to the prom her senior year of high school,” Lorna replied.

Meg sighed. “We all know how that turned out. My sister has missed out on so much. She’s frittered her life away hiding in the house watching movies and reading books and magazines about places she’ll never visit, things she’ll never do, and people she’ll never meet. And now…” Her voice trailed off.

The three of them didn’t realize Alice was listening to their conversation. As soon as they’d started gossiping, her feelings were devastatingly hurt, but the more they talked about her sad, lonely life, Alice realized they were right. Every person had one life to live, and she’d completely wasted hers. Time was ticking away. This could be her final and only chance to make a change.

At that very moment, Alice made a critical decision. It would take stepping out of her comfort zone, but she would no longer be someone that others felt sorry for. She couldn’t die a miserable spinster whom everyone pitied. It was time to try new things, meet new people, and enjoy the time she had left.

Alice had heard of people making bucket lists, so that’s where she would begin. After myriad ideas ran through her mind, the first thing she did was book a flight for a hot air balloon ride. May as well face one of my biggest fears right off the bat, she thought.

She’d always been afraid of heights, but the experienced pilot made her feel at home the moment she arrived at the launch site. Strangely, she found herself interacting with the crew and she even helped assemble the balloon, carefully helping to lay out the balloon and basket. As the pilot turned on the fans, she watched the balloon slowly start to expand until it fully inflated. Once she hopped aboard, she experienced an incredible rush as the balloon slowly and gently lifted off the ground.

Never could she have imagined the exhilarating feeling of floating quietly above a beautiful patchwork of land while peacefully gazing at the skyline in the distance.  

Upon landing, Alice joined the pilot and crew for a traditional champagne toast. Giggling as bubbles tickled her nose, she’d never tasted champagne before, but she liked it and made a promise to buy a bottle for herself. When the pilot handed her a flight certificate, she proudly shook his hand, unconcerned with germs, for once.

Having made it through that first challenge with flying colors, she moved on to her next adventure. She “took the plunge” and found herself swimming with dolphins in tropical, sunny Florida. Although she’d never taken swimming lessons, and she’d felt claustrophobic wearing any kind of tight clothing in the past, in that moment she felt comfortable wriggling into a wetsuit and treading water 15 feet deep. The trainer showed her how to interact with the dolphins and taught her the commands for getting them to shake hands, high jump, and kiss her cheek. One dolphin even pulled her through the water as she held onto his dorsal fin! Experiencing those magnificent creatures was something Alice was sure she’d never forget for as long as she lived.

Next, she headed to the beautiful northwest, where zip lining through a forest wasn’t nearly as frightening as she’d imagined it to be. She felt completely free defying gravity and zooming over trees with the wind blowing her hair and her feet dangling below. In fact, the ride was so thrilling, she clipped into the next zip line and took off again after finishing her first ride.

What would Aunt Bonnie, Cousin Lorna and Meg think if they could see me now, she wondered as she checked off another item from her bucket list.

When she arrived in Kenya after her first ever plane ride, in which she chatted with her seat mate a good part of the way, Alice discovered the country to be brimming with romance, thrills and adventure. The safari she joined boasted spectacular natural beauty in one of the most unspoiled places on earth—and they’d not exaggerated. As she rode through the nature reserve in a jeep with her guide, Alice gasped at the breathtaking vistas, abundant wildlife, and endless plains.

“In this reserve, there are more than two million wildebeest, zebras and antelopes, as well as elephants, buffalo, giraffe, lions and cheetahs, and four hundred fifty species of birds,” the guide told her.

While they drove, she learned that leopards were frequently encountered on the tour, and the endangered black rhino often hid in the dense thickets. When the guide pointed at one of those thickets, Alice looked through binoculars and spotted a rhino!

While nearing the water, she used the telephoto lens on her new camera to snap pictures of large rafts of hippo and enormous crocodiles swimming in the river. She had no desire to get any closer, but her heart pounded with excitement, not fear.

During her stay, the Maasai interacted daily with her and the other tourists, many of whom she made friends with. She enjoyed visiting a traditional Maasai village, and she was pleasantly surprised at how much she liked the local food that was served. Saucy stew, cornmeal paste, boiled beans, Coconut spiced rice, and collard greens with tomatoes and onions never would have made it into her grocery cart at home, let alone into her mouth. And wouldn’t her family be surprised to hear that she’d slept in a tent with warthogs quietly feeding outside it!

With each new venture, Alice felt braver, more confident, and happier.

She drank her first beer, learned how to line dance, shot pool with a couple of cowboys, and rode a mechanical bull in a Texas bar. When she was thrown off the bucking monster, the cowboy hat she was wearing flew off her head and was caught by a winking buckaroo. Even though she landed on her shoulder when she hit the mat, she laughed so hard her sides ached.

While attempting to make up years of a solitary life by packing so many adventures into a short time, Alice trusted her greatest one was yet to come. Now that she’d proven to herself that she could take risks and come out unscathed, her next challenge would be to find romance.

Alice felt Meg’s warm hand slip into hers. With newfound hope, Alice lightly squeezed her sister’s fingers.

“She just squeezed my hand!” Meg exclaimed.

“Are you sure?” Aunt Bonnie asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. Lorna, hurry and find the doctor!”

Alice heard high-heeled footsteps leave the room and felt someone lean over her on the other side of the hospital bed.

“Are you absolutely certain you felt her move?” Aunt Bonnie repeated.

“I’m sure,” Meg answered. Then to Alice, she said, “Can you hear me, sis? Can you open your eyes for me? Please try.”

Alice wanted to obey, but her mouth was dry, and her eyelids were like lead. She tried to nod her head, but it felt so heavy.

Soon, the door opened, and Lorna said, “Here’s the doctor.” Her heels clicked across the floor followed by heavier footsteps.

Alice felt shadows looming over her, and she heard her family breathing in unison and whispering to one another as they waited in anticipation.

“Alice, this is Dr. Patil,” the surgeon said in a calm, quiet voice.

She’d heard his soothing voice many times.

“If you can hear me, Alice, and you’re able to, please grip my hand.” He slid his palm into hers. It took great effort and a great deal of concentration, but she was able to do as the doctor asked. She squeezed.

“She did it!” he said.

Gasps and tears filled the room, followed by questions shooting out like bullets by Alice’s family.

“How long will it take for her to come around?”

“Will she make a full recovery?”

“Will her brain suffer any damage?”

Dr. Patil answered them patiently. “People who wake up from a coma usually come around gradually. Some people make a full recovery and are completely unaffected. Others will have disabilities caused by the damage to their brain. It’s going to be a waiting game once she completely wakes up.”

“Our Alice is stronger than she realizes,” Meg said, sniffling. “She wants to live; I know she does.”

Aunt Bonnie and Lorna murmured their agreement.

Alice wished she could look them in the eyes, speak, and assure them all that they were right; she wanted to live more than anything. They’d have to wait a little longer to hear those words, but it would happen.

Once she did recover, she’d take some actual adventures, and maybe even meet a man who wanted to share them with her.

  The End