Learn the terrifying moments of a spring break gone wrong
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| Spring |
| It starts with the flat swords of iris leaves poking up from the ground. It moves on to the delicate white and pale pink of pear and peach blossoms. Next comes the bold, yellow forsythia flowers followed by its waxy, green leaves, and suddenly, the Earth is alive again. Everything is green and in bloom. Heavy sweaters and jackets give way to long sleeve tees and the occasional scarf; everyone feels the pull of new life and the desire to shed those winter skins. It is spring. And with spring comes spring break. |
| I can remember driving down across the Mexican border for spring break of my senior year of college. The same old Volkswagen bus that had transported my brother and me across country as children, took my college boyfriend and me into Ensenada for a week's worth of sun and sand, and the occasional homework assignment. We ate fish tacos and fresh churros at roadside stands, and we camped on a cliff edge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was absolutely beautiful, but I will always remember the last night as one of the scariest nights of my life. |
| The rain began in earnest at about nine PM, by which time we couldn't see anything beyond the louvered glass van windows. It was only then that we realized our campsite was nothing but loose dirt, there was no guardrail, and we were, again on the edge of a cliff. |
| "Did you feel that?" I whispered. |
| "What?" he whispered back. |
| "Did the van…did we…move?" |
| "I don't think so," he said, pulling himself away from the windows and pulling me into his arms. "We're fine." |
| The rain pounded against the metal roof, and we held each other, not sleeping, until the morning brought weak sunlight to the world. We left as soon as we could push the van out of the mud, and away from that staggering drop to the sea. |
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