With that, both girls push themselves up and glide along on their heel -side edges to the middle of the exit ramp. And they both slide to the right and then lean to the left, getting their boards pointed straight down the ramp. Side by side, the girls crouch low and lean forward to pick up speed. At the same time, they lean slightly to the right and turn to take off from either side of the third orange flag at exactly perpendicular angles. Sara takes flight.
Time slows down.
Flying through the air with her knees almost touching her chest and with one arm stretched out in front, Sara can hear her name being shouted by friends on the chair lift above her. She is smiling so wide that she can barely see through the little half-moons her eyes have become. She leans back and feels the board connect with the snow. Everything goes white. Imagine something you love enormously and that you love it so much that you'd give up almost anything else to be able to do it.