Tree Story

Pine trees whipped by on either side. It was all I could do to keep the canoe steady as we dodged a constant barrage of huge rocks and stumps. The near-misses kept adding up, and I knew it couldn’t go on like this.

“Timothy! We have to get to the riverbank! If we don’t get out of the water we’re going to die in here!”

He wouldn’t listen. He sat up front, slouched and grinning.

“Don’t chicken out now, Mud Sucker!” he jeered back at me.

He turned forwards again just as the prow glanced off of a submerged obstacle. The boat spun sideways in the rapids. The water rushed against the boat, pressing and tilting it. I angled upward to try to keep myself level, but it was no use. We flipped over.

I fell headfirst. The water hit me, not the other way around. I felt the shock of the temperature course through my limbs. The stream started from far up in the mountains; melting snow was making its journey back down to the lakes and ponds. It was near freezing.

I started to swim, hopelessly kicking with my heavy boots on. I realized I was still holding the paddle. I let go of it, and saw it float downwards. I was still underwater. I was swimming the wrong way.

I spun awkwardly, then tried to follow the paddle. I felt so heavy, and my lungs were starting to give out. A huge dark shape loomed ahead of me, and I found myself jammed under a fallen pine. It was enormous. I struggled and yanked, but the water was pressing me with a weight that I had never felt before.