JUMPING

My name is John Rice, I live in Washington D.C and when I was sixteen I became part of the most amazing thing I could possibly imagine. I mean, this secret I discovered, it changed my life forever.

I lived in a huge house back then, my parents had a lot of money; I didn't really know what it was they did for a living but whenever I asked them all I could understand was the word banking. They would travel all over the world for weeks at a time, not that they didn't spend time with me; I mean they really loved me, but sometimes I wondered if their job was really behind these longs absences.

Anyway, it happened during the summer holydays one night when I was coming home from a friend's house, I was parking my brand new car on the front yard – my father had bought me my first car for my birthday two days before – and I thought I heard loud voices and a crash coming from an upstairs window. The light was on. I ran to the front door, thrust the keys into the lock at top speed and flew up the stairs. I had just reached the second floor landing when I heard soft moans of pain and an anxious voice talking very fast, I stopped dead, rooted to the spot as fear gripped me, I couldn't quite hear what she was saying – I could tell it was my mom – heart pounding I crept as quietly and swiftly as I could towards the room at the end of the hallway, my parent's room.

"Come on baby its okay, just stay awake Davy, its gonna be ok…"

I felt like I had been hit in the face with a cricket bat, my dad, hurt? What was going on?

"Mom!" I yelled as I started forwards into the room.

I heard a whooshing sound like a soft breeze followed by a crash as I came in and when I stepped into the threshold the room was empty although several pieces of paper where whirling in the air and the curtains were settling back into their normal position as if a wind had just stirred them.

What had just happened? I could have sworn I had heard my mother's voice a second before, I had even heard her words, there was no way I could have imagined it. I swept the room in one look. The little spindly glass table that usually stood next to the door was shattered in the floor and the chairs around where lying on their sides all over the room, a porcelain vase lay cracked on its side near me, and as I turned my head I noticed something stirring in the air. I looked and I thought I could see some sort of ripples there shifting the air in front of me; what was more for a second I imagined I could even feel the ripples, like I could sense them in front of me or something.

Right behind me was the light switch, I flicked it on and looked back at the phenomenon, but even as my eyes adjusted to the dazzling light the things wavered into nothing but unmovable, texture-less air.

I remember that night as if it had been yesterday. I stayed up most of the night, curled up in an armchair staring at the front door, wondering whether my mother would walk in through it any moment and hold me and apologize for leaving when I clearly sounded frightened as I shouted her name – as unlikely as it may sound to me – or whether I had just imagined the whole thing and I would wake up the next day feeling exceptionally foolish. Either way I still couldn't explain the ripples floating there like a scar in the air; I had felt them even when I wasn't looking at them. I sat there for hours musing over the strange affair until my head tilted forward against my chest and I remembered no more.

I was shaken awake the following morning by the house-maid, she looked shocked to see me there – well I guess it's not very normal to spend the night on an armchair in the middle of the entrance hall – and started to ask me what was I thinking sleeping down here in the cold hall. It was really only slightly colder than my own bedroom really, the expensive heating system worked throughout the night.

" You're going to get ill and I'm responsible for you while your parents are away," she blabbered while opening the curtains so that the early golden sunlight flooded the place, then turning around she asked, " and why are you even here?"

"I thought I heard noises outside," I said without looking at her. I stood up and stretched, yawning, and then added tentatively, "Did my mother call?"

"Yes she did as a matter of fact," she said moving around the living room opening more curtains, " she says she will be here before midday, but your father won't be back for a few days yet."

I looked up at her, my eyes widening in fear of what I might hear from my next question…

"Did… did she say… why? I asked slowly.

"Well… no but you know Mr. David has returned after your mother many times before" she said over her shoulder as she bustled up the stairs to the upper floors.

"And please put that chair back in the living room for me will you?" she called from upstairs.

Well I couldn't help being slightly irritated at my mother for not leaving any more information especially since concealing dad's whereabouts meant that she probably wouldn't admit she had been home last night. But at least I knew that whatever had happened, dad wasn't that bad. Mom would have let me know if he was anywhere near death. With this "cheerful" thought I walked to the kitchen and started making myself breakfast.

At half-past twelve I was getting anxious again waiting for mom to turn up. I couldn't stand being inside the house so I got inside my car and turned the radio on, not really listening to the music but enjoying the noise around me. My car was an old Toyota pickup which dad had bought from a used cars dealer-shop. Sometimes I wondered why my parents rarely bought me expensive things since we had so much money but I think they just didn't want me to be this spoiled little brat, after all my father had been almost poor before he ran away from home when he was seventeen and mom hadn't exactly been rich either. Again like so many times before I found myself wondering how my parents had become so rich. Neither of them had inherited any money as far as I knew and they hadn't won the lottery or anything like that. No. The reason I was so curious about their income is that they never told me what their job was. Maybe they're bank robbers. I actually laughed out loud at this thought, like they could be criminals.

It was at the point that I saw a cab stopping behind me through the rear-view mirror.

"Mom," I half yelled as I got out of the car and walked toward her.

"Johnny honey," she said smiling and we hugged.

I looked at her with my eyes narrowed; she was acting as if everything was normal.

"What happened to dad?" I asked, my voice a bit accusatory. Her mouth twitched slightly but other than that her face only looked confused, even somewhat amused.

"What are you talking about Johnny, dad's fine…"

"I heard you in your room yesterday," said I staring at her eyes waiting for the slightest hint of guilt inside them. "I know it was you, I heard you talking and then there was a crash and you were gone!" " The table inside broke and the vase too!"

At these "news" she did look surprised, her eyes widened an her mouth opened. Finally she was going to tell the truth.

"Do you mean someone was inside our home?" she said shocked in the face. Dammit she wouldn't give in.

"Oh come on mom I know it was you!" I said getting frustrated and angry now.

She just wouldn't hear it. She called the cops and told someone had broke into our house and was busy making calls for the rest of the day. But it didn't matter, I knew what I'd heard and seen. Damn I'd even heard her say dad's name! I didn't know when or how but I was sure I'd find out what had really happened last night.

The next few days after that I didn't spend much time thinking about the whole "vanishing" thing but I still had it in the corner of my mind ready to bring it forth if I anything happened. Instead I hung out with my two best friends Tom and Maddy. Tom and I had been good friends since kindergarten and Maddy had entered our lives in the sixth grade, since then we were hardly ever apart, the thing is, I had started feeling like Maddy should be more than just a friend. I mean she was really beautiful and I could spend days together with her and still want to be around her. With the "vanishing" thing I had kind of forgotten about her for a while but now it had come back.

I remember sitting with her at Tom's house while he was in the bathroom, she was lying on the couch with her eyes closed – it was really late – and I couldn't help staring at her, her chest raising and falling slowly as she breathed; a lock of her auburn hair across her perfect face. The sound of the toilet flushing came from the bathroom and her eyes jerked open, her eyes meeting mine as I looked at her. I looked away quickly blushing; I hoped she hadn't thought I was looking at her the whole time.

Tom came into the room walking noisily and stared at us.

"What's up with you Maddy?" he said looking over at her. I turned and saw her staring at me with a look of confusion on her face, then she looked away and her cheeks reddened slightly too.

"Oh… nothing," she said looking at Tom, "I guess I'm tired".

"I'll take you home," I said quickly, and then added uncomfortably, "if you want to…"

Tom stared between us, an eyebrow rising.

"Okay," she said simply.

Maddy was waiting outside while I put on my jacket and Tom came over to me clearly planning to say something.

"You know she fancies you," he said softly so that she wouldn't hear him form outside.

I looked at him with my brow furrowed. This was really news to me, as far as I knew I was nothing more than a friend to her, thought even as he said it I could feel my stomach contracting with anxiety.

"What are you talking about," I whispered also careful not to let Maddy hear me.

"Oh please, for the past week you've done nothing but ogle at her whenever she can't see you," he whispered back with a wide grin spreading on his face. "And I think she's noticed and has started to do some staring too."

I didn't move.

"Oh man if you two get together I'll need to find some new friends… I won't be able to stand it," he said still smiling.

"Johnny?" came Maddy's voice from outside.

"I… I better go…" I stammered still thinking about what Tom had just said.

"Yeah you should; see you tomorrow."

I walked out the door and Tom closed it behind me. There leaning against my car was Maddy. God she was beautiful.

I was driving down her street when I noticed she had been looking at me the past few blocks. She was wearing a sort of challenging stare, as if bracing herself to say something. I pulled up at her house and looked at her. She didn't move.

"Are you ever going to say anything?" she said, her voice soft. I felt like I couldn't breathe properly, I had never been in this kind of situation before and found it extremely uncomfortable but I also didn't want her to go.

"I…"

She was looking at me very seriously; I even thought she was mad at something or me. I looked into her beautiful amber ayes and steeled myself.

"I… I really like you Maddy," I couldn't believe I had just said that out loud. The words sounded stupid and they lingered there for a moment while I waited for her to speak.

"I like you too," she whispered finally and I felt my stomach loosening.

She had just said she liked me. Me!

I stared at her for one more second and leaned across the seat, my face closer to hers than I could remember it having been. I could see her lips trembling slightly from here and I smelled her perfume closing my eyes. I felt her lips against mine and we kissed for the first time.

After a few seconds we broke apart and stared at each other. I could feel my face burning and see hers blushing too.

"I guess I should… go inside now," she whispered, her voice a little shaky. I could only manage a soft "uhu" and a nod.

"I'll call you tomorrow."

She got off the car and walked up to the front door of her house, opened the door and looked back at me for one second before going in and closing the door behind her. I stayed where I was sitting in the car for ten minutes or something feeling my lips with my fingers, then I turned on the car and drove away to my house. As I drove I started to feel like I could laugh and shout and jump up and down, god I had wanted to do that for so long! And it felt exactly like I had imagined… I wondered how it would be when we saw each other the next day.

I reached my house and just as I got off the car I felt it again. The ripples in the air; just behind me. I turned and saw them there shifting in the air, I stretched my hand in front of me as if to touch them and suddenly I was standing in my parent's bedroom. I lost my balance and fell on the floor face down. In front of me I could see a pair of shoes and I heard my dad's startled voice speak…

"Johnny!... you can jump!"