Mom, I'm scared." I was filled with dread.

"It'll be fun! You should do it", she said

So I glanced back at the zipline and decided to jump. I decided to fly.

"Tyler, get up," said my mom.

I blinked my eyes open and then shut them again. The sun glared angrily into my room, and I rolled over in bed. The previous night, I tossed and turned, trying to fall asleep in the sauna that was my bedroom.

Howler monkeys would constantly be outside the window, throwing rotting fruit and other things at the house. They even managed to take out the power line for a few days. We recently flew to Costa Rica for a vacation, but it wasn't fun here. I mean, there was always something we were doing. Yesterday we went on a hike to some waterfall, which was cool, I guess.

"Come on!" My mom yelled, her voice rising.

"I'm coming." I rolled out of bed and threw on some clothes.

My parents always managed to create something good for breakfast, and today, we had the classic: eggs and bacon. My brother was already at the table eating his food. He said something about eating my breakfast, but I didn't care. I just sat down at the table and started eating.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," my dad greeted me.

 It wasn't a good morning. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to go back home. "Good morning," I replied anyway, picking at my food.

"Guess what we're doing today," my mom chirped.

Probably another hike, but I decided to play along with her game. 

"What are we doing?"

"We're going zip lining!" She exclaimed.

Whoop-de-do. We were going to go to some kids' playground with those zip lines where you had to stand in line for thirty minutes for a boring ten-second ride to about thirty feet away.

I ate my eggs and bacon, quickly showered, and got in the car. It was black as ink outside, probably due to dense clouds overhead. I stared out the window as the radio spoke in some strange tongue. 

Hours and hours went by as we drove down the crooked, gravel roads of Costa Rica. There was always something interesting to see, from weird-looking animals to giant rainforest plants to small little shacks like the one we were staying in.

When we finally arrived at the place, I noticed that there wasn't a little playground like the one I had in mind. Instead, a well-kept building had an old wooden tower that seemed to sprout from the ground and cling to the mountain.

Now, these mountains weren't any like those back home in Pennsylvania. No, these mountains were giants, jumping from the ground with their heads disappearing in the clouds.  

"We just got to sign a waiver, and then we can go," stated my dad.  

A waiver? What kind of sketchy zipline was this? We walked into the building, and my parents signed the wavers. Some guide introduced himself and talked with a thick accent.

"Hello, my name Xavier, and I be your guide today. Before we begin, I talk about safety, which is number one priority for us. First, you no run. Walkway is very slippery and I don't want you die…"

He rattled on and on about what not to do and what to do, and I stopped paying attention. I should have paid attention when he showed us how to put on a harness, but I couldn't understand what he was saying, and I was a bit tired.

The ascent began.