“Then I’ll gladly die trying, because I refuse to be the reason that your friends lose their jobs or your brother loses his boat,” she says. “And there’s no way I’m going home with my tail tucked between my legs so everyone I know will say, ‘Yup, we were right about her. She’s so delicate she can’t even eat some berries.’” Leaning in, she tries to look menacing. “So, either get your weak arse out of my face or be a man and come with me. I don’t care what you choose, but you are giving me that map.”
And cut to commercial. The audience breaks into applause with some scattered shouts of, “yeah, girl!” and “you told him!”
I glance over at Arabella and she gives me a sheepish grin, clearly not knowing that that was the moment I knew without a doubt that she was the one for me. I fight the urge to ask her if we can give this another try, but I do let myself lean in and whisper, “Tiny but fierce.”
Her eyes soften and she glances at my lips for a second before a makeup artist swoops in to powder her forehead.
* * *
And now…the bit when I fall in the ravine and break my ankle like a complete moron. It’s dark, so there is only audio, for which I’m glad because I know I was wincing a lot down there.
“What do I do, Will? You’re the guy who knows how to get out of these situations. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Do I go back for help? Or is there some way I can get you out of there? Just tell me and I’ll do it.”
“Just stay put. It’s the safest choice,” I answer. “There’s no possible way you can navigate your way out of here. Not at night, anyway. Cover yourself with a sleeping bag and try to get some sleep. At first light, you start walking.”
“I’m not leaving you here.”
“You’re going to have to. It’s my only chance of making it out of here alive. Yours, too.”
There’s a long pause, then I speak again, sounding calm and quiet. “Arabella?”
“Yes?”
“I’m probably going to pass out, so if I do, I want you to promise you’ll leave as soon as the sun comes up. Just go. Do everything I taught you so you can get out of here.”
“No, I don’t want to leave you. There must be a way to lift you out of there.”
“There isn’t. I can’t walk and you can’t carry me. You’re already defying the odds to have made it this far after being so sick.”
The scene cuts, then a new one starts up again. The sound of the birds tells me it’s early morning in this part.
Arabella’s panicky voice is heard. “Will?!”
“It’s time. Get going, okay?” I say.
“Can’t I—?”
“No. If there was a way, I’d have thought of it by now. But, there’s still a chance that you can make it back and someone will find me in time.”
“But—”
“You can do this, Belle. I know you can. Forget all that BEEP I said to you yesterday. I was just angry and hurt and … being a BEEP. I didn’t mean any of it.”
“I’m so sorry, Will. I didn’t mean anything I said, either. Well, that’s not entirely true because I do think you have commitment issues…”
The audience laughs, and I feel my entire head heating up with embarrassment.
When they quiet down again, I hear my voice.“…It’s about a five-hour hike from here straight east. Do you remember what I said about how to make sure you’re not going in circles?”
“Yes,” she says, sniffling. “Pick an object in the distance, keep my eyes on it, and when I reach it, pick a new one. And then keep turning back to make sure the last one is behind me.”
“That’s right,” I say. “You’ve got this, Belle. I know you do.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so. You can do this. Just think of everything you’ve done over the last nine days. You’ve rappelled from a helicopter into the jungle, swung from vines into a lagoon, free-climbed down steep cliffs, you’ve hiked for over ten hours straight at night. You made it this far. You’ll make it out.”
“Okay, I’ll go, but you have to promise me you’re going to survive until I get back with help.”
