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The early morning
dew filled Amelia’s sneakers with water.
She remembered choosing them that morning. “These
are old,” she had thought to herself.
“It won’t matter if they get wet.” But she had been thinking of river water –
not ordinary, everyday dew. Amelia made
a rueful face as she trudged down the hill in soggy sneakers.
“Hurry, ‘Melia,”
called her younger brother. Luke had
been a fireball of energy all morning.
The upcoming river trip was a dream come true for him.
It was a dream
come true for Amelia as well. Not even
her soggy sneakers could dampen her mood.
She had never been on the river before, but she had long hoped for an
opportunity like this. She tucked a
stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear, tugged at her hat to make sure it
was secure, and listened to the early morning chorus of birds.
There was another
sound, too -- one so subtle that it was
softer and deeper than a whisper. The
sound of the river. The water was nearly
silent in its travel downstream, but it lent an atmosphere to the world around
it.
The gravel road
turned and Amelia caught a glimpse of the river. It was the same river she had seen many times
before, driving across the little bridge, but with the knowledge that she would
soon be floating in its power, the view struck her as it never had before.
Her brother was
already at the water’s edge, conversing with the old man who would carry them
in his canoe. Amelia surveyed the old
man quickly. His hair was white, neatly
trimmed except for his beard, which was a little bit scruffy. He wore a dark brown, wide-brimmed hat that
would shade his face and neck from the sun.
His khaki pants were held up by black suspenders that contrasted with
his light blue t-shirt.
“Calm down,
sonny,” she heard the old man say. His
eyes were crinkled up with amusement, but he held one arm out as if to prevent
Luke from climbing into the canoe. “You’ll
tip the boat with that much excitement.”
“Can I help?”
Amelia offered as she got closer.
The old man
nodded. “Put a life preserver on,” he
said, pointing to a pile of gear on the bank.
“Then you can hand me the other oar and the sponge.”
Amelia did as
she was told while the old man tightened Luke’s life preserver to meet his
satisfaction.
“What’s the
sponge for?” Amelia asked, handing him the oar.
“For bailing
water…if need be,” the old man said, matter-of-factly. “Now you children hang on for a minute while
I get the boat situated.”
Amelia turned
away from the old man and stared wonderingly at the river. Her soul filled with the poetry of it. And in every direction she looked, there was
not a sign of man. There was nothing to
indicate the progress of the 21st century. Amelia suddenly felt suspended in time. The branches overhanging the river could have
belonged to any period of history.
Amelia held her breath and gazed into the water, her mind floating far
away until not even she was sure where it had gone.
“Me first!” cried
Luke, jarring Amelia back to the present.
She turned to see Luke clambering into the boat after the old man.
“Hold your
horses!” the old man yelped, with a disgruntled face expression. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not
flip the canoe before we even get started.”
Luke calmed down
at this rebuke and carefully followed the old man’s instructions for climbing
into the boat. Amelia followed him. The canoe trembled under her foot as she
stepped into the center of the boat, and she quickly lowered herself to her
knees. The old man was seated at the
back of the boat, Amelia in the front, and Luke in the middle. Once everybody was in, Amelia sneaked a peak
back at the old man’s face. He looked
pleased.
“Not bad,” he
said. “Your first time climbing into a
canoe and you didn’t tip it over. I’ve
got the makings to two good rivermen on my hands!” Then he corrected himself, “Or a riverwoman
and a riverman.”
Amelia sighed
with relief and once again looked around her, certain that she was absorbing
the beauty of the river into her very soul.
It was everything she had dreamed of and more.
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