THE RIVER (third installment)

The sustained roar roused him--constant, unrelenting and surrounded with silence.

Zeke came-to and raised himself until he was propped up by his elbows in the gravel. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the massive, undulating passage of water. Magnificent, it rose and fell, a mesmerizing movement of light and sound that streamed just in front of him. Time passed in which he forgot momentarily who he was and where he was, the shock of the previous incident wearing off slowly. His chest was sore from the concussion. His aching arms and legs were reluctant to begin moving again. What had happened? His mind fought for answers.

Angelique!

Jumping to his feet, he rushed to the shoreline like a sleepwalker who tries to run in his dreams, lumbering and disconnected, stumblingt over the pebbles, oblivious to the cuts and scrapes they left.

Where had she gone? She was just here a few minutes ago; at least he thought it was a few minutes. Now, both were gone in an instant--the massive, fallen log and his beloved sister, carried away by this powerful thing that surged through his life.

"Why..Why?!," he screamed suddenly, without restraint. Hot tears overflowed and stung his eyes as he sobbed, his face in his hands.

"Ze...Ze..."

A mewing cry, like a kitten, came from behind a raised berm of pebbles.

"Ze..."

Zeke spun around to the mound and trench left by the log when it was swept away. The small whispering pleas seemed to come from an indentation, a ditch beyond the grand hills that had anchored the log where it had lain. He scrambled quickly on his hands and knees to peer into the trough in panic.

A dainty form in a flowered shift lay at the bottom, golden curls splayed around a soiled, tear-streaked face.

"I...uh...I got my dress dirty!", she cried pitifully.

Zeke swooped down into the trench and swept Angelique into his arms. Holding her like a baby, he carried them both up and out and onto the riverbank. He laughed and hugged her tight, knowing from her struggles that she was completely unharmed. Squeezing her and dancing a little jig around in circles, he felt as though his heart had burst inside him with happiness and relief.

"Stop...stop..you're squishing me!", she complained, trying to wriggle from his grasp.

He laughed again and spun once more before setting his sister down on the shore to inspect her at arm's length. There was absolutely nothing wrong with her except a little dirt and dried tears. This was a strange event that didn't make sense to him.

Angelique was anxious to leave the scene of her mishap. "We'd better get going so Momma doesn't worry," she reasoned, hoping to get back soon to home and safety.

Zeke couldn't agree more. He quickly found and shouldered the basket for their trip back. This time Angelique dawdled in front and led the way to their path through the woods. Following close behind her, the boy turned to look back once more before leaving. Something had saved his sister from certain death at the hands of his adversary. What was it, and why did its mystery call to him?

Just then, the sun broke through the clouds and shone on the sinuous stream of water, droplets glistening like diamonds, a refraction of beams and spots of light that domed around the children and the dark canopy of the forest path. It was as if Nature herself had acknowledged his thoughts and displayed her pleasure in his recognition of something unspeakable, something he had always felt but would soon learn with certainty, the way things really are beyond the substantial.

J. Wallace