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What the River Swept Away |
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I sat on a boulder, and took in the beauty of the valley I was recently exiled from. Hundreds of miles beneath me, a river meandered through a thick green forest. It's pine trees swayed in a gentle breeze that lifted the peaceful smell to my nose. As I inhaled, I closed my eyes and lost myself to my other senses. My ears heard the river roaring as it pushed it's way against the rocks, it's soothing constant babble was interrupted periodically by the screech of a large bird. The bird's call echoes across the valley and was soon lost amongst the water's ranting. The leaves on the trees behind me rubbed against each other pleasantly, a sound that was like a simple gift. It was appreciated just for being there, and it's calming rustle created a perfect partner to the river's unstoppable babble.
My nose smelled the clean smell of upcoming autumn. It's a clean smell, like air coming straight out of a filter. The leaves leave an earthy, wholesome aroma, filled slightly with the sad sense of decay. The evergreens over powered my sensory receptors, coming off as a strong but calming feeling of home. Everything just smelled so clean, so natural, and so unbelievably unreal that it had to be a dream.
But as I felt the soft cold dirt underneath my skin, the tiny specks of dust gathering beneath my nails, I knew that it was real. The rock I sat on, cold but strangely comfortable, was there. The spongy, grass-like moss that tickled the underneath of my feet did exist, and the wind, which blew stray hair out of my eyes, was gentle. Everything was warm with life, happy to exist, and I could feel it pulsing around me.
Opening my eyes I looked to the clear sky, which was bleeding reds and oranges, the sun seemingly attached purple ribbons to itself, and as it sank lower the ribbons grew in size and darkened across the sky. Glancing further down the black satin streamer, I could see the mountains that created the valley. Their black figures casting shadows across the trees, blocking the symphony of colors of the sunset. Their ominous stature guarded the peacefulness of our small and secret valley.
Nobody ever left, nobody ever thought to. The valley was our refuge, our only home. The way the world was inside the ravine was so perfect that nobody ever even thought about leaving. This was our everything; our family had lived here longer than anybody could remember. I didn't want to live this perfect life. I wanted adventure, and it called to me from over the mountains. It beckoned to me from down the river. The wind carried the message from tree to tree, knowing that the need to do something more was only going to be heard by my sensitive ears. Every time I heard that call for adventure, my blood would race through my body. I suddenly would have the energy to run away, to climb vertical mountains, to try to be free. But that energy was always contained, nobody knew I would leave; nobody thought it would or could happen. As far as I knew, I would never leave. It’s not for a lack of trying, but the only thing I had was the Group that kept me alive. I couldn’t leave and I never had any miraculous adventures, but that all changed the day the river flooded.
We were all waiting the rain out underneath the Tree. The Tree was home, was where we went when we were tired, where we slept, where we lived as a family. My job was to watch the children of our present Leader; I had to excel at this because of my position. My parents had not consulted the Leader for permission of my birth and I was seen as a threat to the Group. Of course, we had some younger members of our family at the time, and they all thought that it was cool to try and swim in the rain. When their parents had turned their heads, they all ran off towards the river, their feet splashed through puddles, leaving behind giant ripples that where interrupted by the natural and precise ones from the rain. I yelped out a warning to the parents, but it went unheard as thunder clashed through the sky above us. I debated with myself for a moment before speeding toward the river.
The mud splashed up against my legs, the rain was pounding against my body, I couldn't see a single thing through the gale. I only stopped running when I realized I was ankle deep into the river, and I called out to the younger ones. Where could they be? My ears picked up a sound, a whimpering sort of whine. Zeroing in on that sound, I bolted towards it, finding two of the three that had left the Tree. They were scared and crying, although it was hard to tell from the rain. I was about to ask what happened when I heard a scream from down river. Their eyes grew wide, and I realized what had happened to the third one.
In a menacing growl I told them to go back. They whined at the order, then started to run home before I could yell at them. I think they saw it coming. I stood there for what seemed like forever before I heard the plea for help again. It was farther away than the first time and my worst fear had been confirmed. He's being pulled down river! He can't swim against that current! I sprinted down the banks of the river, screaming out that help was coming. Flying across the space that was in between me and him, the wind stung my face and the rain pelted me, leaving me bruises the size of small rocks. At an outcropping I saw his head bob above the white foam, and without thinking, I plunged into rapids headfirst.
That impact left me breathless. The cold water seemed more like a snake constricting my chest, killing me, making me lose my breath. My foot found a rock in the weed bed and desperately tried to push myself out of the freezing inevitability that was drowning. As my head surfaced, I gasped for the air that seemed so dry before. Looking in between the waves for the child, I was dragged under by the sinister invisible grasp of the undertow. I screamed out as the water pushed and shook me around like a child with a toy. Then, I saw him again, struggling against the current and as he yelped out for help once again, I knew why I could hear him. The river reached the end of it's flat rambling, and was going to tumble off the cliff. His scream was the last thing that echoed in my ears as I hit a rock with my head and sank into water and deep blackness.
When I awoke, the sun was warming my back as I lay upon the shore. I wearily opened my eyes, looking for the child, but when I found him I wished that I never woke up.
His limp, young body floated there in the middle of a calm pool. I heard the waterfall in the distance and knew he didn't survive. Mustering what little strength I had, I waded out to him and tugged his body back to land. He was the Group's oldest child, destined to one day be Leader. As I spread out his body on a nearby rock, I knew I had to leave the Group. I was illegitimate, a problem and a bother. The Leader might see this as an act of my own anger against his rules and an act of revenge against the death of my parents. I knew, before anybody passed judgment, that I would be exiled. The younger children wouldn't back me up, and the only one who saw me try to rescue the lost child was dead. I cried out a long and mournful howl, telling the Group where he was, then padded away into the forest.
Now, sitting on a rock far away from the Tree, I thought about what life had in store for me. Behind me was a wall of boulders that lead up the mountain. Under any other circumstance, I might have been excited, but now I knew that my life would never be as comfortable as it was with the Group, all because of what the river swept away.
I glanced across the trees for a final time. In some places it looked like a giant had stepped upon them and made areas bleed red. In other places the yellow seemed like healing bruises. The way autumn had swept across the valley showed healing and hope. The tree behind me was already a blaze of reds and oranges, burning through its last exclamation of life. I lifted my head and howled to the star spotted sky, my tail kept a steady beat against the rock swiping the dust from side to side. As I turned to continue the perilous journey, the pack of wolves that had been my family chorused back to me, wishing me luck and long life in my exile. I heard the younger cubs yip out their disappointment in losing their older friend. The Group had given me it's final blessing and goodbye, which was melancholy and beautiful, all the hairs on my body stood up, my paws started to plant themselves into the earth reading myself for my final reply.
Just like the tree I now stood next to, I let out a howl that reflected my final blaze of life in this valley. My ears flattened against my head as I let the sound echo around me. Soon, when all I could hear was the river, the leaves and the last reminder of myself, I turned away and began to climb towards a new beginning beyond the safety and comfort of the world I knew.
 NinjaWolf226 · Fri Jul 02, 2010 @ 07:55pm · 0 Comments |
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