L’appel du vide • (la-pell-doo-veed) • noun Definition: The call of the void Origin: French A Bizarre Fear of Heights I do not know if most people have this sensation, but I have had it for as long as I can remember. Whenever I am in a high place like the top of a mountain, the observation deck of a skyscraper, or the sides of a bridge, I am never nervous about slipping and falling to my death. I am not worried about having an irrevocable, calamitous accident. Instead, I am nervous about going insane for a split second and intentionally jumping off the ledge. When I look over a high point, a chill goes down my spine when I realize how far up I am, and then a small voice in my head wonders what jumping would feel like. There is no urge to jump, but just a subtle curiosity. In response, I always back away so that my brain cannot get filled with these deadly curiosities.