They say that as long as you dive straight into the water you’ll be fine. That as long as you go hands first in a dive, the impact won’t kill you. I’m more skeptical. There can’t be any way that you can jump straight 30 feet down into a dangerous ocean and survive. But this is my culture. If I don’t make the jump and swim back to shore, I’m as good as dead. At the most they’ll let me live for one more meal before they throw me out into the wide grassy plains with no food and water for days walks. At least making this jump, so have a chance of surviving. Everybody in our tribe over the age of 14 has done this, so obviously the odds aren’t impossible. But they still feel bad. I sigh. Close my eyes. Sigh again. And leap off the edge, hoping for the best.