https://Voice.club - Grit filled my mouth. Lead lined my stomach while I clasped the letter. Sinking to the floor, I painfully read the sparse dreaded words.
“Down by the river…” sounded like a friendly invitation to meet in a quiet serene setting. It wasn’t…
Long ago the river once had all the allure of enjoying valuable time with nature. Relax. Breathe. Admire. Swim or just contemplate.
I knew this day would come, but even after decades of silence, it was still too soon!
My mind wrenched back, dragging over sandpaper. That fateful night when five mates met down by the river but only four returned home.
What happened? We drank too much and made outrageous boasts…Jake swore he would swim across the river. He claimed it would be easy, forgetting or rather ignoring the turbulent water swollen by long days of deluge and melted mountain ice. Idiots! We should have held him back. Tied him to a tree to prevent his foolery. Instead, we whooped words of encouragement and hastened him on his way. Uproariously, we laughed until he seemed like flotsam caught in a maelstrom. He went down. Our jaws fell and we became cold sober. We just stared. Didn’t go for help. Didn’t run downstream.
We just packed up and left, swearing two oaths. Never say a word. The last two survivors would meet down by the river.
I went down by the river a boy and returned a liar! Not being honest with Jake’s parents burnt emptiness in me. If only I could have told them before they died. I became brittle leaves blown carelessly by life.
Tortuously, I went to the summons wondering which other mate was still alive. A little delirious, I stumbled across tangled tree roots, yet from behind able hands steadied me.
“For not looking for me and for not telling…..I want to thank you. Your lies saved me from abusive parents. You saved me from beatings and neglect. Crawling out miles down stream, I started life afresh.” Jake playfully clapped me on the back, but I sounded hollow.