“Wait,” Jessica stopped Tiffany as she kept her shirt in place. “I can’t do this.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Tiffany was taken aback at the sudden actions of the other girl. “Don’t… don’t… don’t you want me?”

“No, no, no,” Jessica clarified as she giggled at the misunderstanding. “It’s not that. It’s nothing like that at all.”

“Then what is it?”

“Someone’s watching,” Jessica answered, tilting her head to the side.

“Someone’s… watching?”

Tiffany turned her head towards the direction where Jessica was looking. As her eyes searched for the person whom Jessica was talking about, she let go of Jessica’s shirt.

“Where?”

“Over there!” Jessica pointed with her fingers.

Tiffany stared at Jessica’s index finger, and her eyes followed where it was pointing to. At last, she was able to see what Jessica was insecure about. It was a deer.

“That?” Tiffany asked as she laughed at what she saw. “You don’t want to take your shirt off because of that?”

“Yes. Precisely,” Jessica answered. “Seriously, I can’t do it with something like that looking at me.”

“Oh come on,” Tiffany muttered, thinking that it was pathetic of Jessica to feel that way. “The deer’s not even looking at you. Besides, it doesn’t even know what we’re doing,” Tiffany argued as she stared at the brown-skinned animal.

“How do you know?” Jessica debated. “Deer can do what we’re doing to each other too, you know.”

“Do you know how ridiculous you’re being right now?”

“But I really can’t do it with that thing staring at us.”

“Fine then.” Tiffany finally gave in. “Then do you want to go someplace else? Where there are no deer?” Tiffany asked as she raised an eyebrow at Jessica.

“Yes. Where there are no deer. And no other animals,” Jessica answered as she clapped her hands and jumped up and down in joy. She was like a little kid who was about to buy ice cream. It seemed like her brain still wasn’t functioning properly and Tiffany was forcing herself to put up with it. Jessica’s actions would seem cute on a normal day, but it was annoying at this particular moment.

“Fine. Let’s go,” Tiffany said as she stood up. “And bring the towel with you.”

Jessica stood up from the tree stump as well, and the two went deeper into the forest, avoiding the animals which were, according to the blonde girl, watching them. As they walk deeper, it seemed as if the winged and legged creatures started to decrease in number and the trees and bushes started to get more abundant. Though that was the case, the sunlight perfectly penetrated through the spaces between the leaves on the trees. With that kind of scenery, and with the two holding hands as they walk briskly, it was quite a scene.

After a few more steps and trudges, without intent, they reach a cliff, leading to an astonishing scene. It was a breathtaking sight of a waterfall, what anyone in their situation would consider as paradise. The two girls had sweat on every inch of their skin and dirt from their long hike mixed with the perspiration. The two were sticky and dirty and were in need of a long, refreshing bath.

The sight was quite a marvelous one. There were a few plants on top of the waterfall and when the water from the top reached the bottom, it created a wonderful sound. It was loud, but soothing to the ears. Right below the waterfall was a wide body of water which was crystal clear. Even the pebbles and stones on the bottom were visible due to the water’s cleanliness. It was a little bit deep, about seven feet in depth, but it didn’t bring much fear in Tiffany, who doesn’t know how to swim. The water was calm, even with the waterfall above it. If it were real, it could’ve been part of the Seven Wonders of the World.

It was quite unexpected for them to see such a thing at that part of the island, but a lot of unexpected things have already been happening, so it wasn’t that shocking for them, especially for Jessica. The two of them sit down on the edge of the cliff and rest for a moment before deciding what to do next.

“Who would’ve known that we could see something this wonderful in a place like this?” Tiffany exclaimed as she admired the beauty of the landscape. Her eyes were wide open in awe at the beauty of the scenery that was in front of her.

“It’s beautiful,” Jessica uttered involuntarily. She too was staring intensely at the setting.

“It is,” Tiffany agreed as she continued to look intently at the work of art, which was in the form of the waterfall.

“It reminds me of you,” Jessica continued. She looked at Tiffany with a solemn expression, waiting for a response.

Tiffany grinned at Jessica. She was happy that the old Jessica was back. It has probably been good for them to come to a relaxing place such as the one they are at. It loosened up Jessica’s mind and Tiffany noticed the change in her mood.

“There you go again,” Tiffany started as she sat closer to Jessica. “With your cheesy lines and all.” She looked at the girl and smiled with her crescent-shaped eyes,

“But I really meant it,” Jessica answered with a serious expression on her face.

“I know,” Tiffany replied, resting her head on Jessica’s shoulder.

As Tiffany rested her head on the other girl’s shoulder, Jessica put her arm around Tiffany’s back. Her other hand Tiffany’s hair lovingly. Tiffany put her arms around Jessica too and embraced her softly. Soon enough, it was another sweet and serene scene.

“Jessica…” Tiffany muttered. “Can I tell you something?”

“What is it?” Jessica asked as she continued to look at the waterfall.

“You’re…” Tiffany hesitated for a bit.

“Go on.”

“Kind of… sticky,” Tiffany continued, unintentionally breaking the solemn mood that was between them.

“What?” Jessica exclaimed, surprised at the statement. “Why did you have to say that?”

Jessica removed her arms from Tiffany’s back and stood up. Tiffany was laughing out loud, but kept seated. After she stopped laughing, she looked up at Jessica and she could see that sweat was still trickling down from every part of the girl’s body.

“You’re sweating an awful lot, Jessica,” Tiffany told the other girl.

“That’s why I’m going to do this,” Jessica answered as she stretches her arms and legs.

“Do what?”

“Jump.”

“Y… you… you’re going to jump?” Tiffany asked. She moved away from the cliff’s edge first before continuing. “From here… to down there?”

“Yup,” Jessica answered as she continued to stretch. “Want to come?”

“Oh no no no no no,” Tiffany declined numerous times as she moved further away from the cliff’s edge. “You’re not going to make me jump from here.”

“Are you scared?” Jessica asked teasingly.

“Yes! I’m scared!” She yelled out as her eyebrows crossed at Jessica. “I don’t know how to swim, for crying out loud!”

“Come on,” Jessica told the terrified girl. Jessica moved closer to Tiffany and reached for her hands. “It’s not that deep, and the cliff’s not that high.” Jessica encouraged as she pulled Tiffany’s hands.

It was true. The cliff wasn’t that high. It was about ten to eleven feet high and the water was quite shallow for the five foot five girls. Though that was the case, Tiffany refused with all her might.

“I’m not going!” Tiffany screamed out as she resisted Jessica’s tugging.

“Come on, it’ll be over before you know it,” Jessica persisted.

Jessica kept on pulling Tiffany by the hands, but the girl was stronger that her, unexpectedly. The fear probably added to her strength. She really didn’t want to do it and she still probably wouldn’t even if her life depended on it.

“I said I don’t want to!” Tiffany bellowed at the top of her lungs.

The sweat on their hands made their grip slippery and the pulling force that they added caused their hands to slip slowly. Jessica pulled towards the cliff’s edge and Tiffany pulled the other way. Then, it was only their fingertips which were holding on to each other. Finally, their hands separated. However, they were pulling each other too hard that both of them fell backwards. Tiffany fell down on the hard, rocky ground, and of course, Jessica fell backwards in the direction of the cliff. She didn’t fall flat on her like Tiffany; she was forced to keep walking backwards. Soon, only her right foot was on the ground. She was leaning backwards and was flailing her arms to keep her balance, but her foot slipped and she plummeted to the body of water below. Tiffany saw what was happening and ran towards Jessica to try and grab hold of her to prevent her from falling, but she was too late. Jessica was falling down head first towards the waters. All Tiffany could do was watch from above. Her head poked out of the edge and she could see that Jessica had a fearful expression on her face. Then, after what seemed like forever, Jessica splashed into the water.

“Serves her right,” Tiffany said to herself.

She was frustrated towards Jessica for trying to make her jump. She was terrified and her heart was about to beat out of her chest. Thankfully, she relaxed for a bit as she stepped away from the cliff. She lay down on the uncomfortable ground and caught her breath.

“What happened to her?” Tiffany thought to herself. She sat up and wondered why Jessica wasn’t making any noise. “Where is she?”

Tiffany decided to take a look at the body of water below the falls to look for Jessica. She slowly crawled towards the edge of the cliff. She was on her hands and feet and was navigating away from the sharp and jagged rocks which were scattered on the ground. Finally, she was at the edge. She poked her head out once more, with her eyes closed. Then, building up courage, she opened them. Putting fear aside, she looked for Jessica in the waters, but unfortunately, there was no sign of the girl. Her worried eyes searched for the other girl from the cliff, yet, Jessica was still nowhere to be found. Then, from the corner of her eye, Tiffany caught a glimpse of something yellow in color. Her eyes squinted and she looked closely and intently at the object that was floating on the water. The distance between her and the yellow thing was quite far, but she saw and knew that it was Jessica.

“Jessica!” Tiffany called out. “Are you okay?!” Tiffany yelled a couple of times, but there was no movement from the girl who was floating lifelessly on the water. “Jessica!” She shouted once more, but the girl remained still. “Jessica! Stay there! I’m coming to go get you!”

Tiffany stood up with plenty of concern for the girl. You could see it in her eyes and in the way her hands were fidgety and restless. She looked around the place she was standing on for another way to climb down to where Jessica was. She looked to her left, then to her right, but there was no other way for her to get down and attend to Jessica, but jump from the cliff like Jessica initially wanted. She knew it in her heart too; that Jessica’s life depended on her strength against her fear of heights and the water.

Tiffany slowly inched closer to the cliff once again. Then, she looked down at how high she was. Then, the words even she didn’t want to hear came out of . “I… I can’t do it.” Tiffany fell down on her and finally gave up. “I’m sorry Jessica… I just can’t do it.” Then, tears started to form in her eyes. She was about to bury her head in her face to cry, but she suddenly sprung back on her feet. “No, I’m not going to sit here and do nothing. Jessica saved my life, and I’m going to save hers.”

Tiffany suddenly found a source of courage and she walked towards the cliff for the last time. She quickly looked at the figure which was still floating motionless on the water and then closed her eyes. She thought that maybe it was too late, that Jessica had already drowned, but she was going to jump anyways. Finally, her right foot lifted off the ground and she stepped off the cliff. Technically, she didn’t jump, just walked off, but it still took plenty of courage for her to do so. Her eyes were still closed but she could feel the air which was blowing her hair upwards. The ten foot jump felt like forever, but she was finally splashed in the water, feet first.

The vertical angle she had when she walked off the cliff caused her to plummet down the bottom of the water when she splashed in, but she instinctively pushed upwards with her feet. Though she didn’t know how to swim, she tried with all her might to swim upwards to the surface. She pushed up with her arms and legs and soon enough, her head was above water.

As her legs kept her afloat, she turned her body to the right, then to the left, searching for the other girl. After a few seconds, she found the blonde girl’s hair floating somewhere near her. She swam, or rather, paddled towards Jessica with only the girl on her mind. Her heart was beating even faster than before, with the worries of knowing that Jessica might have been hurt and the joy that she overcame her fear. She felt like it was going to beat right out of her torso. Finally, she reached the place where Jessica was floating. Without thinking logically, she pulled the girl’s hair upwards and it was really Jessica. Tiffany put Jessica’s arm around her shoulder and headed to the nearest dry land. The girl that couldn’t swim and couldn’t jump because of her fear was now swimming with one hand, while carrying the load of another girl. Then, after a few more struggles, the two were on land. Tiffany lay Jessica down on the ground and she momentarily lay down beside her, catching her breath. After regulating her breathing, she sat back up and crawled towards Jessica.

“Jessica, can you hear me?” Tiffany asked the unconscious girl as she slapped her face softly. “Jessica, wake up!”

Tiffany wiped the water of her face in frustration and she tucked her hair behind her ears. Thinking that Jessica might be already dead, she placed her head on the motionless girl’s chest. As her face met the wet torso of Jessica, she immediately felt the heavy thumping of Jessica’s heart. She was still alive, but Tiffany wondered why she wasn’t answering to her yells.

“Do I to do… what you did to save me?” Tiffany blurted out, staring at the girl intensely. “Well… if that’s the only think that can save you…”

Tiffany remembered what Jessica told her, how she saved her life. She needed to do exactly the same in order to save Jessica. Tiffany crawled to the left side of Jessica and leaned on her left arm as she tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear with her right. Then, she leaned closer to Jessica’s face. Her fingers parted Jessica’s closed lips. She closed her eyes and her lips inched towards Jessica’s. Once more, the lips of the two girls were about to touch. Suddenly, Jessica’s eyes shot open.

“Gotcha.”