‘Yuck.’ Laura shook her head. ‘Maybe, I don’t know. I don’t like the idea.’

‘Would you rather she was alone for the rest of her life?’

‘No – I guess – I want her to be happy. But the idea of her – you know – being with a man. That’s just like – yuck.’

The couple in front of them suddenly shook their heads, wimping out, and stepped away.

‘Shit, we’re on!’ Laura said.

Two young men in green T-shirts beckoned a suddenly very reluctant Cassie forward and began clipping her into the harness.

‘Get some photos, L!’

‘On it!’ She was setting her phone camera to video. Then she stepped forward onto the viewing platform and braced herself against the guard rail. She raised the phone and started recording Cassie’s terrified face. ‘Here’s Cassie, moments before the piranhas eat her!’ she announced for the recording.

Moments later, Cassie was launched, shrieking. She hurtled down the wire and low over the gorge. But then, suddenly, to Laura’s shock, instead of continuing on to the platform on the far bank there was a loud TWANG.

Cassie stopped dead, for an instant. She plunged down into the water then bounced back up. Then down again.

All around, people were screaming.

Her insides feeling hollowed out, all Laura could do was watch in horror as her friend dropped back down into the foaming water, then rose up again, then dropped down again, staying submerged for several seconds before springing up again, dangling and bouncing like a marionette.

If the wire snapped and she was swept along the rapids, she would be over the rocky gorge in seconds.

Shaking and feeling utterly helpless, all she could think for a moment was: This could have been me.

Then she turned to the two operators who were shouting at each other. One, looking bewildered, was stabbing buttons on a control panel. ‘Do something!’ she screamed at them, then looked back at her friend, who was now dangling, legs flailing, in obvious terror, perilously close to the raging water.

A door opened behind the operators, revealing a large cog. A bulky man in overalls and covered in grease came through holding a crank and yelling at the two younger men. He gave the crank to one of them, opened a metal cabinet cover and began throwing switches inside it. Laura looked back, fearfully, at her friend.

Suddenly the wire tightened. Cassie rose a few feet, then a few more, away from the water. Laura looked back and saw all three men were turning the crank, which had been inserted into part of the apparatus close to the open door.

Steadily, slowly, inch by inch, they wound Cassie up in the air. The wire was tight now and she’d at least stopped bouncing. Staring at it, Laura was thinking, Oh God, please don’t break. Don’t snap. Don’t. Please don’t.