So many noises; the whoosh from the helicopter blade cutting through the air and the thumping of my heart as we took off. So many thoughts too. Did that just happen? Am I alive? Am I dead? Is this Heaven?  

            Two days before: “Colin! Where are my skiing goggles?” I yelled across the hallway.  

            “Why are you asking me? I have no clue!” Colin responded sounding exasperated.  

            Oh, sorry. I haven't introduced us. My name is Makenzie, but everyone calls me Izzie and I have a best friend and her name is Audrey. You also might be wondering who Colin is. He’s my brother and all he cares about is himself. Ever since our parents died, he has not been himself. 

             “Our plane leaves in an hour, so get your skis out here!” I yelled again. We were invited to visit our grandparents in Switzerland for a month and we are both hyped but also nervous. This is our first time traveling without our parents, but I kept telling myself it would be fine.  

  An hour and a half later we were boarding our plane and when I found my seat and sank into the cushion, I took a breath of relief. For the next twelve hours nothing could go wrong. As I looked around, I realized my surroundings.

 “Oh my gosh! Our grandparents got us first class!” I exclaimed. A 10-inch TV and a snack bar is all I needed to be twice as excited. I had a private room and a little window that you could slide open to see the person next to you. In my case Audrey! Oh, by the way Audrey was invited to come too! 

I open the window and say to Audrey “twelve hours to go!” This will be the best twelve hours ever! 

 

            Being in this seat reminded me of four years prior when my parents had been sitting in first class. We were coming back from a family trip to Switzerland. I was only 10 and Colin, 8. We both had assumed that they had a fight because when they left the plane, they did not talk to each other. Soon after divorce papers were signed, and they went their separate ways. 

            Dad got remarried and started another family in Australia. He died on a trip in the jungle two years later. We lived with mom, who took the divorce hard. A year ago, she went on a getaway to Hawaii and while swimming, got stung by a stingray. She didn’t come back. Both me and my brother were devastated but we picked ourselves back up and now lived under our neighbor’s care.

            A voice over the intercom woke me up from my daze. “We are now at cruising altitude,” said the sweet voice of one of the attendants. “The dinner cart will be coming around shortly with menus.”

            I opened the little window to see what Audrey was doing. She was watching Planes “There’s not very many options are there,” I said as I tapped her. 

            She took out her headphones. “Ya,” she says as she leaned over to talk to me.

            Just as she does, the flight attendant walks by, pauses, and hands me the menu. “The cart will come around shortly,” she said, and I nod. She continued walking and I turned back to Audrey looking at the paper. 

            “Oh my gosh! They have caviar!” I said, very excited. “I have always wanted to try that!”

            “That sounds good. Maybe I will have that to but with some steak” she responded.

            Soon after the cart came by giving us both a steak as big as my hand and some caviar. I put down the tray table, take a deep breath, and dig in.

             It was a few hours after we had that delicious meal. I took a nap and watched a show. So far, the trip had been good. Good food and great service.            

            Right after I woke up from my nap, I heard the pilot over the intercom. “Sorry folks. We are flying though some turbulence. Please remain calm and in your seats. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

            Suddenly I felt a big lurch, and the computer that was sitting on the tray table, bounced off. It was not just happening to me. Everyone around me was having the same problem. Books and laptops tumbling to the ground and the sounds of distress coming from though out the plane. 

            “Bing” was the noise that came over the intercom. It was the seatbelt sign. Suddenly, there was a scrambling to collect items and to get back to the seats. A few of my items had fallen on the floor too so I leaned over and collected some bagged snacks and my computer that had toppled on to the floor and out into the aisle.

            The rest of the flight went somewhat smoothly with some bumps here and there, but finally after twelve hours we arrived in Andermatt, a small mountain town in Switzerland.

            After collecting our bags, we headed out of the airport looking for our grandparent’s car. Our mom was born in Switzerland, so most of our family lives there, but we have only visited once. 

            “Colin, do you remember what their car looks like?” I asked because I have no idea.

            “Ya, it’s a black Mercedes,” He responds. “Remember?” 

            “Look that’s it. Right?” I say as I pointed to the other side of the street. We started to head that way, pulling our suitcases behind us. 

            “Hey Grandma, Grandpa,” I say excitedly. “This is Audrey my friend from school! And Audrey, these are my grandparents!”

            “Please call us Diana and Mark! We are delighted to have you!”

            After all of our suitcases were squeezed into the back of their car we pull away from the airport. 

            “Oh, I completely forgot,” My Grandma said in an excited voice, “Your cousin had a baby! Her name is violet!” 

            “How wonderful,” I exclaimed. This is going to be one heck of a week!

            When we arrived at my grandparents’ house, we were all run over with excitement. There were so many noises! A baby crying, kids playing hopscotch in the living room, and parents bustling around trying to get coats and bags organized. I was a madhouse. Literally. 

            After introductions we all got settled in our rooms. Audrey in the room down the hall, Colin in the room downstairs, and me in the room next to Audrey.

             As soon as I walked into the room, I was blown away. There was a huge window across the room and a wonderful view, the walls were painted light blue, and a huge bed sat in the middle with the softest blanket draped across. I started to unpack when I heard a knock at the door.

            “Can I come in?” It was the soft voice of Audrey. “I have already unpacked, so I thought you might want some help.”

            “Thanks!” I responded very thankfully because I packed a lot of stuff. “My grandma was going to take us site-seeing! You interested?” 

            “That sounds great! Anything to get out of this loud house!” 

            “And if it’s alright we can take the twins. They have been looking for an opportunity to get out,” I say.

            “Ya of course!” she responded. I knew that she would be too polite to say no.

            As soon as I unpacked, we headed to the car where the twins and my grandma were sitting listening to a podcast.

            “Ready for this girl-outing?” my grandma asked.

            “Ready!” We both answered together. We both hoped in the car and off we go. Soon we were driving though white trees and then finally to the storefronts. 

            “So, what do you guys feel like doing?” My grandma asked over the radio. “We could walk around and look in the shops or we could go get something to eat even though it’s not quite lunch time yet.”

            “Let’s look around for a bit!” I respond. “I am not really hungry right now.”

            “Ya that sound great,” Tina, my cousin, agrees

           “Sound good,” My grandma says.

            As soon as we find a parking spot, “which was weirdly easy”, we got out and walked around. The air was ice cold and snow flurries were dancing around the sky. We walked into a small boutique, and all spread out. Audrey and I walked over to the accessories because I wanted a new hair clip and sunglasses.

             After we all checked out, we headed outside where the wind had picked up and the snow were more than flurries. I look at the weather on my phone.

             “The wind is going twenty miles an hour out here!” I exclaimed.

            The icy air was rushing like in a current. Snow swirling around everywhere and falling from the sky in big flakes. Across the street there was a couple making their way back to the car but having a hard time doing so. The storefronts behind them were barely seeable though the cloud of snow.

            We stumbled our way back to the car. The air was pushing against us, so we fought through the snow. When we got back into the safety of the car everyone started talking.

            “Should we go home?” I ask.

            “Definitely,” my grandma and Audrey said together.

            We slid all the way home. Every turn I held my breath hoping we wouldn’t crash. We got close once, but we found a grip on the street, and we were all fine.

            When we got home, it was as loud as when we left but a little softer. Both me and Audrey went up to our rooms and spent the time until dinner writing in our journals and packing for our skiing trip. For dinner we had grilled ham and cheese croissant and milk. It was delicious with the cheese stretching at least a foot.

            After everyone was done, Audrey and I cleaned the dishes. There were a ton. Then we retreat to our bedrooms. I closed my blinds, turned off my lights and turned on my lamp. After I changed into my pajamas, I got into bed. It felt great to get into a real bed after a long day of travel and exploring. I read my book until I dozed off with it in my lap, the wind and snow swirling and blowing behind my closed curtains.

            The morning shown bright. I woke up with my book in my lap. I must have not put it away before I went to sleep last night. I got out of bed, put on my slippers and headed down the hall to Audrey’s room. I knocked on her door. Behind the door I could hear movement.

            “Good morning!” I say as the doorknob turned.

            “Hey,” Audrey responded in a tired tone of voice. “I am not a morning person.”

            “Me either,” I answer, “you want to go down for breakfast?”

            “Sure,” she says.

            For breakfast I had a sunny-side-up egg and some orange juice. It was delicious. After clearing the table and doing the dishes I went upstairs to get my skiing gear. When I ski, I wear tons of layers. First, I put on pants, then my shirt and sweatshirt, I put on rain pants over that, and finally a coat, boots, gloves, a hat, and a ski mask. I packed my ski gear last night, so I brought it all downstairs. 

            “Audrey, you ready?” I yell upstairs. 

            “Almost!” she yells back.

            “Leave in ten?” 

            “Sure!” she responds. 

            As soon as my brother and Audrey were ready, we headed out. 

            “When will you be back?” My grandma asked as we headed out the door. 

            “We should be out for the day. So around five,” I responded, shutting the door behind us.  

            It was a beautiful day. The skies were clear blue, and everything was coated in a layer of snow. As we drove through town, I could see people wandering around the shops with bags in their hands. Lots of dogs were having a great day too! We could see dog walkers everywhere. Even my grandparents’ dog, Sandy, was having a good time looking out of the window. 

            When we arrived at the lodge, we warmed up a bit while we drank hot coco and sat by the fire. When we were ready, we took our skis and headed outside. The snow was very thick after the wet snow from the night before.  There were tons of people on the mountain this morning, taking advantage of the great weather.

            “Ready you guys?” I ask Audrey, Colin, and Sandy.  

            “I think so,” Colin said while Audrey nodded, and Sandy barked.

            We found a good trail and set out on the tracks. I have been backcountry skiing for as long as I can remember. It is so peaceful, and you can enjoy so much nature!

            Right off the bat we met people going the opposite direction towards the lodge

            “Great conditions out there!” they say, “It’s a bunch of fun!” 

            “Thanks!” we all respond together.

            Because we were planning to be skiing the entire day, we bought lunches. At about Ten, we pulled out our snacks and found a place to sit down. After our little snack break, we found ourselves on a hill. I love downhills! Something about the wind in my face and the speed you gain when going down, but they are really fun.

            “Ready?” I asked. “I will go down first then Audrey and then Colin, alright?” 

            “Sounds good!” Colin replied.

            “Here I go,” I said before bounding down the hill.

            Backcountry skiing has always been something special to me, with a place in my heart. Something about the calmness or the nature, it has always made me look forward to winter.

            “Should we take a break and eat lunch?” I asked. “We have been at it for quite a while now.”

            “Sure,” Audrey said as she took off her skis and pulled out a sandwich. “I have a BLT, what do you guys have?”

            “I have a ham and cheese,” Colin said.

            “And I have a salami, cheese, and lettuce,” I answered.

            We stopped under a big pine, covered in snow. There is a good two feet of snow under foot, and it was solid in some places but soft and fluffy in others. It was a real gamble to go out today because of the storm yesterday but we thought that the weather was going to be good, and the avalanche report was low. 

            Avalanches happen sometimes and are still a big deal. Everyone who goes on the mountain carries a shovel, avalanche radar, and a probe stick.

            Today was a wonderful day to go out. The sun is shining, the snow was mantled everywhere, and it was the perfect temperature. We saw a few people out but overall, no one was out. 

            “Want to go down here?” Colin asked because he was the front of both of us.

            “Sure,” I said, “Audrey if you go after Colin I will go after you.”

            “Alright,” she responded.

            First Colin went, then Audrey and finally it was my turn. 

            “K, I am coming down,” I yelled down the hill. I took a deep breath and pushed my skis. “This part of the mountain is a little steeper than what I would usually ski down and has very fragile snow,” I think to myself. 

            As soon as I left the peak, my skis started to send small chunks of snow sliding down the hill. Suddenly, as I turned around a bend, I heard, a crunch and a crack. “Shoot!” I said to myself.

            More cracks followed the first. I felt the snow underneath me sliding like I was riding a big sled made of snow and ice. I tried to keep my balance, but I toppled over.

            “Help!” I called down the hill, but there was no hope. They were already at the bottom. I tried to stay on the surface of the snow racing down the hill. I was about halfway down the hill. I could barely see Audrey and Colin screaming my name, but I couldn’t hear them, only see them. 

            My heart was pounding a million miles a minute. Snow was surrounding me.

            “Get away!” I yelled down the hill again. I didn’t know if they heard me because a second later, I was thrown under feet of snow rolling even faster down the hill. Thump. 

            “Ahh!” I yelled my head throbbing. I must have hit my head on a tree or a rock. A blink later I blacked out.

            The next thing I knew I was surrounded with snow. Over my head could see the smallest bit of light trying to peak in. I must have been under two feet of snow, at least. My head was still throbbing, and I couldn’t move a bit. Heart pounding, I tried to move my hand but there was no hope. Buried under two feet of snow you can’t really do anything. I tried to stay as calm as possible, taking deep breaths and holding it for as long as possible.

             It was below freezing under the snow. I was hoping Audrey and Colin went for help because they would not be able to find me in time. 

            My mental timer started. “I have only a little amount of time to get rescued,” I told myself. Every time I exhaled my timer went down. The heat from my breath will slowly make a cocoon around me, slowly decreasing the amount of oxygen around me. All I could do was stay calm, breathe and pray.

            It was freezing down there. Were they looking for me? Did they get help? So many questions ran through my head. I couldn’t hear anything from above. I wondered tons of things “How long have I been down here? Probably a few minutes, but to me it has seemed like hours. Should I yell or will they not hear me? They would probably not be able to hear me plus it would use my energy.”

             “Help!” I yelled but I heard no response “I am down here!” I yelled again but no response. Its not like I could have heard them. “Is that the whoosh from a helicopter above?” I asked myself. I was gasping for air. My head didn’t feel right.

              “Crunch” I hoped that that the sound of someone stepping around me. 

            “Hello! I am down here!” I said with the last breath of air I had. Did they hear me? Was the last thought I had before all the lights went off in my head. 

 

            “Mackenzie! Are you ok?” 

            “What?” I said in a dazed voice. I was laying on the floor of a helicopter. “Where are we? How long was I unconscious?”

            “We are taking you to the hospital and we found you about twenty minutes after the snow settled,” Audrey said, still with a worried voice. I sat up. So many noises; the whoosh from the helicopter blade cutting through the air and my heart thumping as we took off. ISo many thoughts too. Did that just happen? Am I alive? Am I dead? Is this Heaven?

            After warming up in the hospital, I was fine, just a bit shocked. We went home straight away, booking the soonest flight back to San Francisco. 

            It has been six years since that accident. Now I live in a small apartment in LA working a day job as a barista. Audrey and I are still best friends. She lives with her parents in the suburbs of LA. We are both twenty now and both go to the University of Southern California and living the best life. Colin lives with his friends in a small apartment they all bought. He goes to the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) and is a student worker. We plan to go visit the family in Switzerland this summer and spend some quality time with the family.

             Even though it might sound like I am living a normal life, I am living life with the most intention. Surviving a near death experience made me look at life in a different way. Spending lots of time with family and friends going places all over the world and living life to the fullest.