The Water Cycle

The river’s depths were so murky that Carey almost collided with the bottom before she saw it. As she gently pushed deeper, out of the darkness her hands uncovered the smoothest rock she’d ever seen. Barely the size of her palm, and so pure white it almost seemed to glow in the dirt. It begged to be touched. Carey felt drawn to feel its weight in her palm, mold her hand around it, smooth her fingers along its surface. She hovered for several moments, never in her life had something been so desired, and so close.

The pull was so overwhelming, Carey forgot where she was, and sucked in a breath. Instantly the thick water and soil invaded her lungs. A good kick sent her spinning for the surface, to joyous fresh air. But before she could kick again, the rock glimmered, and she reached out. How could she not. Lungs forcibly emptied of water as well as air, burning for freedom of breathing screamed at her not to go back. Another voice, the same one that got her in trouble in high school, spoke up, “Just once. You may never find it again.” Her fingers slid across and grabbed. It was heavier than expected, and she cradled it in her hand.

A bolt of pain shot into her palm, erupting across her body and down through her feet. Every muscle felt like it was tearing apart. Her chest constricted into itself, and her throat swelled. Legs pushed together from the current felt almost like they were melting. Between lungs burning for oxygen, and cells straining in agony, her body thrashed in the water. A storm of dust and debris encased her vision, blocking out any indication of sunlight or how deep she was. She was going to drown, she was actually going to drown! Halfway through college, a decent career in marine biology was all planned out. All about to be thrown away because she was drowning while diving in a river to pick up a pretty stone.

Slowly the sensations faded from her chest and neck. Her legs still felt stuck, but she was so desperate for air she began kicking them as one. Separating them would be a problem for later. Her one kick was strong, and her body righted itself towards the dim light of the surface. Even though swimming upwards felt easier on her limbs, the quick current of the top of the water pushed her back. Again and again, fingers grazing the waves, making ripples she could almost breach to feel the air. Only to hit a barricade and sink. The force pushing into her already constricted chest forced another breath.

Water filled her nose and mouth, plunging down her throat. But this time, rather than rushing her lungs, she felt the grimy liquid flow out of her neck. Her skin felt a bubbling below her ears, and the tension in her lungs eased. She breathed, again water rushed in but then flowed out. Her body was feeling renewed, her head had cleared, so she started to ascend. Stiff from the lingering pain. Carey tried to breach the surface. Each time the water crested over her fingers, forming a dome. But then she was pushed back down. She wasn’t drowning anymore since she could, strangely, breathe. But she was stuck. Stuck under the water, pressing in on all sides. Looking to the left she felt a spark of hope, the dark shape of her boat. Ray should still be on it. He was supposed to be spotting for any trouble, and should have seen her splashes.

Swimming towards the boat, kicking her stuck together legs with her hips as one, which seemed to feel right. Swimming felt easier than it ever had, even if her body didn’t feel right. Coming up under the boat’s shadow, she touched the hull. Warm and solid, she couldn’t resist pushing it once, creating a rocking motion. Ray would need to know she was there, especially if she still couldn’t completely surface. Another gentle nudge of the underside, and she began to swim up around the boat. Close enough to the surface, and calm enough this time, that she could see a scene above her. The sky, so blue, tinted with white. The darkness of the boat loomed on her right, and Ray’s silhouette peered over the edge at her.

Relief flooded her system, even as the surface of the water still refused to let her pass. Fingers, her whole hands pushed at the edge but only created waves and ripples. She resisted the push back down better now, or at least the force felt less solid. The only thing more frustrating than the unseen force, was that Ray didn’t seem happy to see her. His warped face twisted further the longer he looked, and he disappeared back into the boat. Good, she thought, he can grab one of the oars, or that rope. Safety and dry land were within reach. The temptation of a cold beer and juicy burger were calling her as well.

Distracted by pleasant thoughts, she slipped further underneath the waves again, the force pushing her down. Suddenly, from above, the barrier was shattered by a whack, water rushed further into her face making her cough. Temporarily blinded, she reached up again, if Ray had the oar she could get it. A hard and flat surface collided with her fingers once, and then again. The pain radiated down her fingers, to her hand and settled in her wrist. Red floated into her vision now, not that she noticed. The pushing force shoved on her shoulders and chest, pressing her down. Ray’s whacks with the oar made her move away from the boat, to the middle of the river again. The brown murky cloud began to engulf her again. Silt and soil, garbage, sticks crowded her vision and sunk into her skin. With the pain from her hand, cradled against her chest, she could just make out her first and middle fingers. Bent at angles they shouldn’t be. Deeper, deeper, the quick middle current faded to the slower bottom.

Her back, arms, and legs landed with a thud onto the bottom of the river. A rock under her left arm and the branch sticking into her right shoulder told her she was exactly where she started. Where she found the stone. The force stayed, not pushing this time, just holding her in place. The dipped in space almost felt made for her. A dark shape passed her vision quickly. Ray, speeding off in her only salvation. Why had he hit out at her? Why couldn’t she move? She swam fine before, better than ever. If she could just see what had happened to her body. But the dirt cloud became thicker, nothing could be seen even an inch from her eyes.

Slowly, her body settled, no longer straining to move. Her chest, worn out from struggling to breathe, and from the water that invaded it earlier, slowed too. From the encompassing cloud above, an object came through. The white rock, floating through the dirt towards her. The force on her bowed to allow it through, and it settled on her chest. Not hard, almost being placed there. Unlike the water, it held no weight at all. The sounds around her, muted already, cut out. Tearing her gaze from the stone, she looked to the sides. Still not able to see, but feel the ground coming up around her. Around every inch of her now. Her ears were blocked with it, she couldn’t move to either side. The force had stopped pushing, it didn’t need to anymore. Realizing her situation, sinking into the riverbed, she screamed. Or tried to, what little air she had came out as bubbles drifting up and disappearing. Muscles, skin, bone, all felt like they were melting. The stone on her chest seemed to be growing, inching towards her face. It grazed her mouth, covering until it nudged her nose as she melted into the riverbed. Until there was nothing but the polished white surface again.