The walls of the gorge stretched up on either side of the channel straight into the sky where a slim slice of startling blue was visible against the grey stone.
‘The rocks are so tall, and it’s such a narrow river.’ Maddie’s heartrate increased tenfold. ‘I can’t even see the waterfall.’
‘Don’t panic.’ Charlotte laid her hand on her arm. ‘It’s just around the corner. Hardly any distance. Sof and I will be with you all the way, one in front and one behind. We won’t let you drown.’
‘Drown?’ Maddie’s legs were about to go from under her. ‘Surely, I’ll be in my depth, right? It’s only a little channel.’
Both her friends had shifty expressions on their faces but stayed mute while fiddling with their possessions. Charlotte pointed behind the nearest rock.
‘Clothes over there and…’ Charlotte studied the stretch of water in front of her. ‘Let’s get in over here where it’s shallowest. Hurry up. There’s no one swimming at the moment, so we’ll have the waterfall to ourselves.’
Although the sun was hot on her face, Maddie’s first exposure to the water was a shock.
‘It’s freezing!’
Charlotte turned back, already thigh deep.
‘The stream’s coming from much higher up these mountains, so it’s not like the sea. Just get in slowly. We’re right here with you, so shout if you’re worried.’
Maddie couldn’t hold in the scream which burst out of her mouth when she tried to put her shoulders under.
‘Everything OK?’ Charlotte turned back.
‘Yes, fine.’ Maddie wondered if giving up at this point was an option. The yellow butterfly was still with the group, fluttering just above Charlotte’s head, which gave her the strength to carry on.
For the first few strokes, all she could focus on was coordinating her limbs and trying to get enough air into her lungs. But little by little, she found herself able to look up and see trees far above her and enjoy the sun on her back. When they finally turned the corner, all three of them stopped still a moment and just trod water to take in the sheer majesty of the waterfall in front of them. They could barely see the top of the rock, it was so far above them.
‘Look at all that water, cascading down hundreds of metres.’ Charlotte was the first to recover her voice. ‘It’s been there for thousands, maybe millions, of years.’
Maddie and Sofia continued to stare, fixed to the spot, but Charlotte motioned them to move forward.
‘We need to try and get behind the waterfall, where there should be a natural platform.’
All three of them swam round and found the rock ledge, heaving themselves up to sit in a row and watch the curtain of water fall in front of them, rainbow-edged droplets breaking off into the still air and flying free.
The roar of the water was loud enough to stop any possibility of conversation, but no one seemed moved to speak anyway. Maddie reached out and held hands with the others. An enormous feeling of peace washed over her, something she hadn’t experienced for a very long time. She hoped the others felt the same. It was a precious moment out of time, the rest of the world pushed far away.
When the voices of the next swimmers floated over on the breeze and broke the spell, all of them plopped back into the water without having to discuss it, and gave the incomers a satisfied smile on the way out.
Back on the bank, rubbing some warmth back into her body, Maddie looked down into the dark green water.
‘Would I have been able to touch the bottom if I got into trouble?’
‘God, no,’ Charlotte replied. ‘No one knows quite how deep it is down there.’
‘Oh.’
‘But you were really brave.’ Charlotte moved in for a hug. ‘And we kept you safe, didn’t we?’
‘You did.’
Maddie gave her friends the first genuine smile of the day. It had been scary at times, but she was so proud of herself for doing it. Connecting with nature was always a big part of her and Tony’s free time away from their busy jobs, and it made him feel closer for a few precious minutes. He’d be proud of her too, wherever he was.
Chapter Twelve
Venturing down the hill into town late the next morning took a hell of a lot longer than Maddie would have liked. There were hundreds of steps to negotiate, and just as she thought they’d reached the bottom, there was another flight to conquer. Sofia and Charlotte were skipping down them like baby goats. Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but they certainly seemed to be doing better than her. She couldn’t even imagine what it would be like going back up.
Still, she’d said out loud that she loved being at the hotel up the hill, so she could hardly moan about it now. At last, they seemed to have reached some sort of high street, if you could call a few shops and cafés a high street.
