I swung my torso to turn the kayak, but the current had grown fierce. The river roared around me, tugging at the hull, urging me backward.
My arms burned as I thrust the paddle into the churning water, fighting against a tide that seemed to gulp at my kayak’s bow.
It all happened in an instant. My grip slipped—was it my hand or the paddle shaft?—and I caught a flash of submerged rock before the paddle clattered free and vanished into the swirling gray.
“My paddle!” I screamed, panic crawling up my throat as the rain wall advanced.
Voices rose in the distance; I thought I heard Sabrina calling my name. Through the curtain of droplets, I saw a lone figure paddling furiously back toward me.
“Hold on! I’m coming!” he yelled, his voice raw over the wind. He drew alongside, breath ragged, rain matting his hair against his forehead.
“I thought you’d leave me to drown,” I said, attempting a wry edge in my tone even as adrenaline hammered in my veins.
His face remained blank. “Shane and Sabrina wouldn’t let me.”
I braced one hand on the gunwale and swung my legs into his cockpit, my own kayak drifting free behind me into the vortex.
Once settled, I looked around for our friends. Only the rolling gray mist and the river’s hissgreeted me.
“I sent them ahead,” Caiden said, settling himself to paddle again. “They’ll wait at the bend.”
We pushed into the current together, oars slicing through the liquid mirror. But our brief respite ended when a lump of water—like a small, angry wave—pushed against our stern, driving us back toward the heart of the storm.
Overhead, thunder cracked so close it rattled my bones, and the sky darkened until even the water seemed black.
The river became a living beast: roiling, grasping. Rain turned to sheets of needles, lashing our faces. I watched in horror as Caiden’s paddle wrenched free from his grasp, tumbling into the angry depths.
In an instant his features contorted with shock and fear, an expression so raw, one which I had never seen on him before.
“Caiden, what do we do?” My voice was swallowed by gale and torrent. He stared at me, wide-eyed and wordless, as if weighing the fury of the water against our frail wooden shell.
I never imagined that this would be how I would die, trapped in a kayak during a storm with Caiden. Oh, the irony of the universe.
Ahead, I spotted a dip in the water. My lungs felt as if they had crashed into my chest.
A waterfall ahead of us. Not enormous, but enough to terrify me.
The sky roared with fury. Somewhere in the storm I screamed, but through the cacophony of the storm, it was hard to tell.
Caiden’s broad shape blurred in the dark atmosphere, mere shadows in the chaos.
The dip came closer, the sky screamed louder. The kayak tumbled about, spinning uncontrollably, until suddenly it wasn’t spinning anymore.
It was falling.
The sky was black, but my vision darkened further, everything plunging into silence as Caiden and I plummeted into the tumultuous waves, consumed by darkness.
THE PRESENT
AMELIA
A dream so perfect drifted through my mind, wrapping around me like a warm embrace. A grassy, flowery meadow spread out in front of me, vibrant colors dancing together under a sky painted in soft pink and lavender hues.
The gentle symphony of birdsong floated through the air, carried by a softened wind that whispered secrets of serenity. In this moment, tranquility claimed my soul.
Lillian sat beside me, her face smooth and glowing, radiating warmth and familiarity. Her hair cascaded down her back in luscious waves, and she smiled, her fingers brushing against my hand with a tenderness that sent a shiver of comfort through me.
My mother occupied the space next to her, transformed from the shadowy figure I had clung to in my memories. Her once-dull hair shimmered with health, and a vibrant smile lit her lips. Her eyes sparkled like stars, and her skin no longer bore the creases of worry and wear.
