Too Far

I’ve never been one for thrills, but he is quite the opposite. Bungee jumping, freerunning, even hang gliding. We’ve done them all. At first I deny his crazy plans, but every time he manages to convince me to join him. So when he proposed his plan to go white water kayaking, I was a little relieved. What he chose not to tell me was what made me unsure. So here I am, flying to one of the craziest and most dangerous rivers in America. 

The man at the rental shop we go to tells us to get out of the river as soon as possible after the last big rapid. My stomach churns. He says that if we go any farther down the river, our chances of survival are slim. What! I think to myself I could die. I mean, I could die before, but those words disturbed me more than I could imagine. 

As expected, the first part of the river is smooth sailing. Quickly, the water gets choppier. We go over the first few rapids. Intense, but not life threatening. The river got narrower. The river banks rose up to form walls on either side. We paddled around a protrusion from the canyon walls. A great roaring sound filled my ears, and the water in front of me smashing against itself unsure where to go. Water hit my face, my kayak spun like a top in the chaos. I paddled.  

The water came to a conclusion and settled down. I cheered. I looked around, there was no one. I spotted him on the bank of the river, jumping and screaming at me. I remembered why. I was too late, the water fell away from me, I was falling, falling, falling! Time froze. I saw the veins in the leaves of a tree by the river. I saw the feathers on the wing of a bird in the sky. I saw the grains of sand on the shore of the river. I saw the...Back to reality! I was falling! The basin of black water shot up at me. Darkness. 

I woke up with a start, but kept my eyes closed in relief. I looked back on the detail and complexity of my dream. After a while, I opened my eyes. I was in a hospital bed, my whole family standing above me.

~ Max W.