Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Upriver Transport, Part Three

     The riverbank disappeared from view. Day turned to night as quickly as though some celestial entity flipped a switch. The water whipped up tumbling the boat to and fro. An announcement over the loudspeaker ordered everyone inside. Instead, my hand over hand grip on the railing led me to the bow for a better view of what lay ahead. 
     We were sailing toward a giant waterspout. The engines cut off and  the boat drifted nearer, the spout split and took on the appearance of a water cave. The engines restarted in reverse, but it was too little too late. The water cave created a vacuum, drawing the boat forward and into itself. Impossible as it sounds, we were all going into some kind of a black hole. Not me. 
     Not me. I wasn't going to just float into somewhere unknown. I thought about going below to warn the others, but I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it back out and time was running out. I strained to see the riverbank. A beam. Might have been a flashlight. The light flicked on and then off and then on again. It was enough to make me brave. I jumped over the rail into the raging river and swam in the direction of the flickering light.
     The current was stronger than any riptide I escaped on a summer day at the beach. My arms strained to keep me on course, while my lungs struggled to keep me afloat. At some point I passed out, and when I woke I hugged the riverbank while my body from the waist down remained in the water. Someone, two someones- sunlight returned so I saw their shadows on the ground- grabbed my arms and pulled me the rest of the way out of the water. They turned me over. The bright sun made me shield my eyes with my forearms. After my eyes adjusted to the light, I looked up into the faces of my rescuers. I didn't know if I should be grateful or afraid. I never before saw faces such as these. I hope I never do again.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Upriver Transport, Part Two

     'Look, Daddy, we're sailing into the sky!' the boy cheered as he pointed to the reflection of the scattered white fluffy clouds on the river.
     'Right, son. Did we board a spaceship by mistake?'
     'Maybe,' the boy replied and then added, 'Nah. We're still on a boat.'
     'I dunno, son. Look over on the riverbank. Are those people or space aliens, do you think?'
     I couldn't help but overhear the father-son exchange, or to follow that man's gaze to a gathering of--. I couldn't be sure, but I noticed the boy maneuvered himself between his dad and the rail so that he now stood between the man's arms.
     'Want to go below and get something to drink, buddy?'
     'Sure, Dad.'
     I watched them walk away with a longing to go with them. I don't know why people always act like what you can't see can't see you. Some kind of caveman carry-over, I suppose. I maintained my position at the rail and turned my attention back to the crowd on land. But wait- what the hell!
   

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Upriver Transport, Part One

     It was a dark and stormy afternoon. Not the usual way a story begins. Not the usual story. Not a usual day, that late October day before the holiday. Holy day when spirits rise from graves to be remembered, to be honored with the remembrances of the living.
     The trees on the surrounding hills down to the banks of the Hudson shown like a rich-colored royal tapestry in the clear morning light. Blue skies and a moderate temperature inspired people to take to their boats and glide upriver to hike, to picnic, to relax in the fresh air of the Hudson Valley. This was the perfect start to a perfect late October day, the day before All Hallows Eve. Until, that is, everything changed.
     No one can say if something like what happened had ever happened before. No one survived to to tell. Well, no one but myself. Somehow I am able to testify to what happened, though to say I survived depends on how survived is defined.