Jump on in, the water's fine for swimming...

My stomach plummets to the very base of my body, air catches at the back of my throat, a heady rush of realisation that I'm travelling at a speed I can't control washes over me and I don't know how this will end. 

A pulse of panic ensues. 

I strain to breathe out. 

Finally there's that sweet addictive kick of adrenaline that lets me surrender to it all. Free and alive, I accept the pace and the journey and I treasure the rush of  pleasure they bring. 

It's only afterwards as my thoughts and heartbeat slow that I realise I've been smiling the whole time... No, this wasn't a sky dive, nor was it a bungee jump. It was the Boomerango water slide at Splash Jungle, Phuket. I think the kid who went on it before me was 9 years old and the face atop the rounded belly of a man that emerged after me looked distinctly unimpressed, yet it scared me enough to get my blood flowing and my inner child giggling. I went back again and again and again...

When was the last time you scared yourself silly and let your inner child giggle?

Frances M. Thompson

Londoner turned wanderer, Frankie is an author, freelance writer and blogger. Currently based in Amsterdam, Frankie was nomadic for two years before starting a family with her Australian partner. Frankie is the author of three short story collections, and is a freelance writer for travel and creative brands. In 2017, she launched WriteNOW Cards, affirmation cards for writers that help build a productive and positive writing practice. When not writing contemporary fiction, Frankie shops for vintage clothes, dances to 70s disco music and chases her two young sons around Amsterdam.
Find Frankie on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+.

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