Damian was never thought of as a brave kid, a risk-taker, or one to deviate from the safe path. This might explain why the summer of ’52 would stand as a momentous one for not only Damian, but also for the other kids in town.
Let us imagine Damian’s town, Somersville, as a small post-industrial area with a tight-knit community. Although the population was small, the town seemed to have a good amount of youth. Somersville had two main streets that led in and out of town on either sides. The main street echoed images of the past, and gave off the feeling of nostalgia to anyone who visited. There was only one of everything in town. One gas station, one hospital, one school, one court house, one market, and one reservoir. While school was in session, the streets were quiet, but when the final bell rung, the youth could be found playing all over town.
Damian came from a family that wasn’t well-to-do in the least bit. They had experienced their fare share of hard times. His father worked at the local foundry, while his mother was the local librarian. Damian was the only child, very smart, first in class, and an upstanding young’un in the community. It’s easy to see that all of these didn’t make him the most popular kid in school. Some might say that he was a bit of an outcast. He tried to fit in with the “cool kids,” even had a stint of slight popularity in middle school, but now that he was in high school, all his cool went out the window.
Approaching 15 years old, Damian needed to win the approval of the other kids in town, now more than ever. His next door neighbor, Christina, one of his best friends since they were both young, had recently caught his eye. She had become the one girl in his heart.
The problem was that Christina had become one of the “cool kids” and had also caught the eye of Josh, the head of the varsity football team. When Damian compared himself to Josh, he felt defeated before ever trying to ask Christina out. Josh was everything Damian thought he could never be. He was cool, athletic, charming, and admired by all kids in school.
This summer, all the kids in town picked up on a dangerous game that hadn’t been played in Somersville for decades. Many years ago, the kids of the high school created a game called, “The Fall.” The local reservoir had a long wall that lined the south bank. The wall sat above the deepest part of the water. Jimmy Walker, the hope of the town, the valedictorian, helped create “The Fall.” The object of the game was for the kids to walk along the wall, not holding on to the fence to the right, and avoiding the long fall to the water below. The goal was to get all the way across the wall. Everyone who tried, could hardly get steps out on the wall before the fear and lack of balance would grab them, forcing them to grab the fence and climb to safety.
On the last day of that fateful Summer, Jimmy Walker took to the wall. All the kids of the town stood around to watch. Jimmy balance his way far past that of any other. At the mid-point, all the kids held their breaths, as they watched Jimmy raise his hands victoriously. At that moment, Jimmy must’ve lost his footing, slipped, hit his head on the wall, and fell down into the water. That day, the town lost a hero, a great hope, and “The Fall” was forbidden from that time on.
Back to our present story…
Josh and his friends had figured out a way to get past the boards and gate that blocked off the wall from the public. They decided that the Summer of ’52 was going to be one that would live in the memories of the town forever. Everyday, they would sneak in past the guards and plan out how they could get across the wall. Not before long, they were having their tries at “The Fall.” Similar to the decades before, the kids would take only a few steps before having to grab the fence. They would spend as much time as they could at the wall, and in short order, more and more kids gathered around to see if someone could finally cross, and complete “The Fall.”
Damian would go to the reservoir with all the other kids in hopes that he would be able to talk to Christina, but to no avail, she was always next to Josh. He would sit there and think of ways to muster up the courage just to show Christina that he could be the one for her, one of the cool kids.
The Summer waned like the phases of the moon, and the time Damian had was dwindling. Near the last weekend, Damian thought of all the way to catch Christina’s attention, but everything he tried was ruined by Josh and his friends. All these attempts made him feel more and more alienated. Then came the day of all days, the last day of Summer. It was the day that Damian was finally going to prove himself.
All the kids of the town gather around the fence to the wall to see who would be the daring soul to finally conquer the game. Josh stood tall at the gate to give his grand speech about how he was the only one brave enough to do what no one else had yet to do; unless there was someone who wanted to challenge him. All the kids looked around to see if anyone would stand up to Josh. At that moment, Damian saw his chance. His chance to show Christina who he really was.
Josh laughed at the sight of Damian standing there shaking among the kids. With his eyes fixed on Christina, Damian declared, “I’ll challenge you, Josh!” “Ok, twerp, let’s do it.” Josh replied. “I’ll go first and show you how it’s done. I’ll show you that you’re nothing. And stop looking at my girl!” Josh barked.
Turning around quickly, Josh scaled the fence. Stepping out to the wall, he slowly worked his way farther past anyone had gone Just like decades before, just like Jimmy Walker, Josh turned around with the fire of victory in his eyes, but then lost his balance. Whaling his arms, he grasped the fence. All the kids gasped. Josh couldn’t do it. Defeated, he returned to the gate.
“Now you go!” Josh yelled at Damian.
Without hesitation, Damian jumped out onto the wall. With the deepest breaths, he slowly made the smallest steps. The crowd began to cheer as Damian approached the spot where Josh had reached. “YOU’RE A LOSER!” Josh screamed from the gate. Damian blocked the commotion out of his mind and kept on his way. Reaching the highest part of the wall, his heart raced. The roar of the crowd grew. Just then, Damian lost his footing. Thrashing for his balance, he fought for his life to stay on the wall. When it felt like he was sure to fall, Damian felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He looked up, and couldn’t believe his eyes. Christina was there above him. She had left Josh’s side and ran out on to the wall to help Damian. Pulling him to his feet, she hugged him tightly.
“It’s ok, Damian,” she whispered softly. “If you fall, I’ll fall with you.”
Peering into his eyes, she smiled and asked, “Will you fall with me?”
They both embraced each other and fell into the reservoir. The crowd screamed as they watched the two plummet into the water. Scanning the surface for the two to come up, the crowd was suddenly surprised to see them both emerge quickly. The water was only waist deep. The two, drenched, with their hearts both racing, began to laugh hysterically. The crowd cheered, as they all had just gained their new heroes. Damian and Christina hugged each other, then jumped into the reservoir to swim away hand in hand. That Summer and that was remembered in Somersville forever.
END
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