• I was sliding so fast down the slope that my surroundings were a blur to me. Even so, I sped up, braced myself and felt my stomach lurch as I flew into the air. I hung gently, feeling and seeing everything in slow motion. The chairlifts whirred leisurely above my head. A couple of skiers flew past me in a smear of red and blue. I could see the beautiful mountain peaks, sparkling in the afternoon sun. The clear blue sky was painted softly over the horizon, orange and pink slowly blending in. It was magical.
    Suddenly, my gut rose to my chest and my whole body started to fall. I heard the crunch of snow as my skis collided with the ground and my body thumped on impact. But still, I kept my stance, landing perfectly just as before.
    I prepared for the next grind rail. Bending my knees, thrusting my head forwards and holding my arms out wide, I pushed with my poles and sprung with my legs, leaping right into the air. I skidded along it easily, listening to the loud scraping of the rail against my hard skis. I kept my arms out wide and my center of gravity low to minimise the chance of slipping.
    I slid along to the end and jumped off executing my landing impeccably, then I sped off to start the twisty run back to the chairlifts.
    Soft nippy wind touched my olive skin and wisped through the maze of my shiny blonde hair. I listened to the crunch of snow being sliced by my skis. As I skidded to a halt, shards of ice sprayed out into a pile in front of me. Taking in a slow, deep breath I let the cool air slide down my throat. This, was my home.
    I took off again, drifting down the hills like a professional. But why shouldn't I be? I've been skiing since I was six and go every holiday; to the slopes in winter and SnowPlanet in summer.
    Skiing is my passion, luckily it's my dad's too. I can still remember my first time. Dad said I was so cute on those little skis but I remember him having a lot of trouble just holding my hand. Well, he was two metres tall and I only just reached three feet. My mum watched us wearing two pairs of pants, three skivvies, big woolly boots, three pairs of underpants, a huge ski jacket, thick waterproof pants, five pairs of socks, a woolen scarf, all topped off with a beanie, from inside the heated cafe with a hot coffee. As you can see, she hates the cold.
    As a compromise, every holiday we go skiing for one week and to the beach in the other. It makes no difference to me. I love the beach.
    The soft warm sand sparkles as I dance and splash in the beautiful, shimmering salt waters. My mum sits on the beach soaking up the hot sun while my dad huddles up to an ice pack, trying to keep cool under an umbrella.
    I was at the mountain on a school ski trip. I had to do a lot of paper runs to be able to go because my parents wouldn't pay for it. They didn't want to pay for something that took up school time and that we did every holiday anyway. I would never give up the chance to go skiing, or swimming for that matter.
    My friend Raven came with me but she did snowboarding instead. The teachers objected to the entirely black snowboarding costume complete with black equipment, boots and board, but they had long since given up trying to make her wear any other colour so they let it be. Snowboarding was a lot harder than skiing and I was a lot more experienced so I was ahead of her today. Maralyn did not want to miss one second of school so she stayed back in Auckland.
    So, my two loves, water and snow. Snow.
    “SNOW!”
    I cried out as I slammed into a rock. The hard, rough surface scraped along my skis. I slid right over it my poles flying out of my hands. My head jerked back and then flung forwards smashing into the snow. Sharp, harsh ice stung my face and smothered my goggles. I gingerly got up and raised a gloved hand to wipe the melting snow off them but the gloves were wet and all it did was smudge more water onto them. I could hardly see a thing.
    Suddenly I felt my skis moving down the slope. Dizzy, disorientated and without poles, I tried to stop by flopping down onto the snow. I fell down but my skis kept their course, dragging me along as if they were on a pair of tracks. Puzzled, I blindly balanced myself on them and tried to move them to a halt. The skis didn't budge. What on earth was going on?
    I wiped my goggles again but my gloves were still drenched. I squinted trying to see where I was going or where my skis were taking me. I would soon know because as I was getting faster and faster the droplets of water started sliding down to the side of my goggles, clearing my view.
    After every second that passed, my skis grew more rapid, my vision got more clear and I became less confused and more scared. I was now able to see almost everything and I realised that I was sliding down a long, narrow ramp of snow.
    There were rocks on either side of me, clothed in little white blankets of ice. A murky haze had formed round me and the surrounding air seemed strangely stuffy.
    My eyes slowly followed the ramp.
    Suddenly I tried to breathe but the sheer terror of what I saw ripped the breath right out of my mouth. I shut my eyes trying to get a grip on myself. Trying to believe this was all a big nightmare.
    This can't be happening,I thought, I'm only fifteen! I'm too young! But the instant I thought it, I knew it wasn't true.
    My cheeks were still stinging from the crash and I know first hand that when you hurt yourself in a dream you immediately wake up. Plus, thousands of children, younger than me, die all around the world because of starvation, war, cultural and religious beliefs, ceremonies and traditions, disease and many other reasons we don't understand or can't explain.
    I just couldn't comprehend what was happening to me and why the heck my skis weren't stopping.
    I had followed the ramp with my eyes about fifteen metres down and then stopped. There was nothing more to follow. It just ended with a big, black drop.
    About a mile in front of it, was a huge, jagged rock wall with little patches of ice scattered over it. The rocks were like huge gigantic teeth, so rotten that only a few traces of white were left showing. And it was about to chew me up and swallow me into a huge throat of darkness.
    I knew in that moment, that I was just seconds away from my death.
    I had never thought about dying. I had always thought that I wouldn't need to even think about it until I was at least sixty. With such technology and anti-aging products now, so many people are living longer than they could have ever imagined, or at least look like they are. But when you think about it, some babies die before they even leave their mothers womb.
    I hadn't really thought about God either. My parents aren't religious which is probably the reason why I'm not either. They basically believe that when you die, you go to heaven. They didn't talk much about rebirth and reincarnation, so I just tried to make the most of my life in case I really didn't get another chance. Looking back, I thought about all the things I could have done but it's a bit too late now.
    I snapped back to reality as I soared into the air. I screamed in terror, my heart racing in fear.
    I clamped my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut. I hung there for a second before plunging down. My beanie flew off and my limbs flailed about.
    Suddenly I felt myself turning upside down. It was my skis and it was because of their shape and length. Other skis would do exactly the same. I was terrified.
    I opened my eyes and saw huge rock walls surrounding me on every side, almost a blur from the speed I was falling at. Mist still framed my eyes.
    I looked down.
    I saw nothing.
    I was falling into a great big pit of nothing. It was completely pitch black.
    Suddenly two huge, piercing red eyes opened from the darkness. They glared menacingly at me, two flames burning through the shadows.
    I fell into unconsciousness as I was swallowed up by the abyss.