"Today is February 29th 2016, due to a calculation error today is not only a leap year but it's also a twenty-five hour day. We encourage you to take this extra hour and do something you don't normally get to do. Something you'd never picture yourself doing." The words echoed in his head as he sat listening to the droning of the engines over his head. His face buried in his hands, he rocked back and forth in an attempt to calm his nerves and allow his breath to come back to normal. Heights were his biggest fear, just the action of getting on the plane quickly triggered a panicked reaction that made him want to get off and run back to his car. He fought through the feeling of dread and looked out the window.

    His heart jumped into his throat and he had to close his eyes. He could still see the ground as clear as day, even with his eyes clamped shut and his hands over his eyes. The doors of the small Cessna slid open and the pilot shouted "Thirty Seconds!" in a muffled tone drowned out by the rushing of wind into the cabin. He stood up and felt a hand pat him on the shoulder. "Everything's going to be fine, pal. Just breathe!" the instructor stepped up close behind him and clipped the safety cords to the back of his parachute. "Easy for you to say" he mumbled to himself. "Twenty seconds!" the pilot yelled. The instructor nudged him closer to the door. There was one guy in front of him and he looked just as nervous. "Ten Seconds!" His heart was racing so fast that it could have jumped out of his chest. He grasped hard at the tensioner straps if his pack. He pulled at them vigorously to make sure they were tight. All the news broadcasts and TruTV shows he's seen made him more of a worry wart.
    "5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Go go go!" The first instructor nudged his companion out the door and away they flew. The worry in his chest froze him in fear. His legs stuck fast to the floor and even with the gentle nudges of his own instructor he couldn't manage to take a step. He closed his eyes and pictured what he'd be doing right now. Standing at a stupid desk, daydreaming about being able to fly. The same ten songs playing quietly in the room behind him and his annoying cubical mate drumming on the desk with his fingers along to the horrible music he listened to all day. "Fuck it!" He yelled. His legs came free and he closed his eyes and jumped out the door.

    The rush of adrenaline made his eyes come back open. He could see everything and he didn't feel afraid. The different colored farms and hills and roads. The cars on the highway to the west. The houses and streams, Trees and telephone poles. Everything looked like ants. He let out a yell of excitement, the rushing wind in his face made him truly feel like he could fly. The instructor yelled, "Hang on!" In a flash the chute was open and they were slowly gliding along. This gave him more time to scope out the landscape. The feeling of anxiety and fear were now gone. Replaced with a kind of serenity that nobody could ever replace. They touched down, he packed his stuff and back to real life he went with a new spark of passion in his life. Its amazing what one extra hour could do.