Against The Current

The black sack dips in the strong flow. It bobs up and down on the frothy surface, struggling against the current in its accelerated path down the river. The kittens meowl, the sound lost between shouts from the shoreside and the drone from the waterfall ahead. Drenched in darkness and merely a week old, they had no forewarning of what danger lies ahead. The risk is lost on Jason as well. He coughs, splutters a mouthful of water and dives deeper.

The rest of his group fled before the sirens reached the river. He had joined them in the chase of a thrill, to break up the monotony of summer holidays, but not for this. He will face disgust, hurt, humiliation. He will face his father’s belt. Jason is prepared for the consequences — but his will to fight against the quick flow is too strong to care. The current propels him against another rock, the water a crimson swirl around his kicking legs. Twenty feet ahead the kittens cry out.

A few miles up the road, his mother gets the call. She rushes to the scene, confounded by her son’s careless actions. She has long forgotten the kitten Jason once brought home. His face, frolicked with joy, and the tears that followed as his father took the kitten out to the woodshed. Death is a part of life, and it taught Jason compassion, care, and unfairness. But this is lost on his parents. So is the promise he made to never let another animal suffer.

Jason’s dark curls bob up and down, less visible as he struggles to stay above the surface. He can’t feel his body anymore, can’t hear the kittens either. The water pounds too hard on the rocks ahead. Despair hits him. He waited too long to jump in after. Blue lights flicker on the shore; dark figures rush back and forth along the grass. Jason pays their demands no attention. He ducks under and drives forward. The bag is so close, the slick surface teasing his outstretched fingertips.

The stream grows stronger; Jason’s body slams against rocks and dead branches. The pain doesn’t register anymore. His heart sits in his throat. Panic looms, regret following. He knew consequences. He knew life. Like most teenagers, he thought he was invincible. Death is an illusion, reserved for the older generation and the unfortunate — the careless. Approaching the plunge pool, death is now real. It awaits just beyond the dip on the horizon. Jason screams, a gurgled cry for help as the water swallows him up.

Search and rescue pull him out of the river by force. Refusing to let go of the sack, he hung from a branch over the waterfall for nearly an hour before they could get to him. For years, his father will speak of Jason, of his brave boy who refused to let a litter of unwanted kittens die.

Related posts:

It has already been said what characteristics does a person have to have to fulfill the requirements of becoming a remote employee. You have expressed your expectations clearly, thoroughly went…

He was a good looking young boy. Joy radiated from his face whenever he spoke about the teen idol that had captured his heart. So much so, that he had spent the next few years under the knives of…

Everyone who has managed, manage or wants to manage some investment Fund (nonprofit or commercial, big or small, private or public) probably thinks about Performance Fee. And when it comes to…