Ep.2 Ski jump above the city

Storyteller: Oana Maroti

Since she woke up, Vanili felt an appetite for a certain sort of short flying that day. Her body-language shows she is very confident and with this mindset she enters directly in the VR room, where everything is prepared for the so-called aerobic session.

The VR room is a spacious, empty room, although it looks like a photo exhibition of a vibrant city. The walls are full of social life images: sports, catching sun at the beach, picking fruit, eating together, people laughing in a bar, markets full of customers, travelers in buses, trains or plain interiors, buying in a store, cinema, swimming in the pool, lovers kissing and even voyeurism, people surprised in intimate moments from the window.

Vanili puts her oculus on, selects the jump sequence, takes the pre-jumping position and she´s prepared for the takeoff. Here she is in front of an extremely steep street taking the leap in virtual reality.

The view is spectacular from above, it makes you inhale deeply the imaginative fresh outdoor air. The gentle wind undulates her hair and makes a sweet sound in her ears. From the beginning of the jumping track the city looks beautiful, full of parks, blooming trees, singing birds and nice alleys. No toot or pollution to be heard or seen, yet cars and people are present, doing their regular things, moving a lot, like ants do, as seen with the eyes of a human.

Vanili slips on the launch pad, picks up speed and jumps into a V-style position. She flies inside a corridor of tall trees with rich corollas, among she can recognize peach and cherry trees in bloom. She sees light shades of red-orange, light pink and dark pink flowers, but the speed makes the eye detect just a relaxing trail of color.

At the end of the tree path is the sea, a blue spot fused with the horizon. The sky is cloudy blue, it makes her smile. Her head just passed through one fluffy cloud and changed it´s shape.

She prepares for landing by taking the cannon ball position, pointing towards the sky. She hugs her knees and attempts to enter the water with her body shaped like a sphere and splash, she enters the water with her skis and land on the sea´s surface. Giant stingrays fly in the breathable air, playing with the clouds, rearranging them.

Once there, floating Vanili just looks down. In the water another spectacular world shows up: coral reliefs, playful light reflections and silver, shiny fish swimming around. The sea rhythm catches her movement. Vanili dances a bit with the waves and takes her oculus of.

With a big smile on her face, she says just for herself: This is way better than coffee.