The River

by Michael Neale

  Jacob paused for a second, almost as if he needed to collect himself. “Let’s raise one to good friends. . . to good food. . . and to The River!” Everyone toasted their soda bottles and iced tea glasses, and a chorus of laughter and frivolity ensued.

  The sense of celebration was intoxicating. The joy in the camp took Gabriel to a new place—a place where he could allow himself to be happy. He realized that he was discovering a newfound freedom—the freedom to enjoy being alive.

  He didn’t know everyone that well yet, but they shared something in common. They had all been captured by the beauty of The River and felt compelled to share it with others who came their way. Even though they had come from different parts of the country, even the world, he had felt accepted. These people wanted him there.

  He was becoming one of them.

  There was hardly a moment of silence during dinner. The stories circulating around the tables brought raucous rounds of laughter, and animated conversation filled the camp for a couple of hours. Gabriel, Tabitha, Ezra, and Jacob’s table was no different. Jacob regaled them with hilarious “city slicker” stories about the colorful characters who drove high into the mountains to experience the great outdoors, only to exit their Cadillacs in garish Bermuda shorts and black wingtips. Ezra recounted the pranks the guides would play on one another, like the time when one guide forged a “Dear John” letter to a lovesick roommate. Ezra’s stories seemed funnier because the older man had a formal and dignified way about him.

  Shortly after nine o’clock, Ezra stood up. “If you will excuse me, everyone. I believe it’s time for me to retire for the evening.” As the longtime chef made his way around the eating area, he collected dishes and stacked them in his arms. When Tabitha joined him, Jacob turned his focus to Gabriel.

  “I’ve noticed that you haven’t said too much tonight. I apologize if we monopolized the conversation.”

  “Are you kidding?” Gabriel exclaimed. “I love hearing these stories. It’s been amazing.”

  “We’ve lived a lot of life at The River, that’s for sure. Everyone has a story, though. Tell me about Kansas. What’s life like there?”

  “There’s not really that much to tell.” Gabriel looked down and picked at the splinters of wood in the picnic table.

  “I bet there’s a lot to tell. I’m listening.”

  Gabriel sighed for a moment. “I’m from a little town called Cairo. It’s really small. I’ve lived there with my mom since I was five years old. We live in a rented room off the back of a farmhouse. The Cartwrights who own it have been like grandparents to me, I guess. My mom works really hard at the Cairo Diner. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve managed. I’ll tell you this: Kansas doesn’t look anything like Colorado.”

  “So what’s good about living in Cairo?” Jacob continued his incisive questions.

  “I don’t know. Miss Vonda makes amazing fried chicken, and Mister Earl introduced me to fishing. . . I love to fish.”

  “Ah, food and fishing—two of my favorites as well.”

  Gabriel felt comfortable with Jacob, so he mentioned something that he’d never told anybody. “I’ve known some good people back home and had some good times, but I always sensed I didn’t belong there—I don’t know—like I wasn’t made for Kansas.”

  “Really?” Jacob was looking him directly in the eye.

  Gabriel nodded.

  “Well, I just want to remind you that I’m really glad you’re here, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.” Jacob switched gears. “I have an idea. Do you have any plans for the rest of the evening?”

  “Not at all. I was just going to read some before turning in.”

  Jacob looked up into the sky. “The moon is really bright tonight. . . Why don’t you meet me over at my Jeep in about fifteen minutes.”

  “Great. Where are we going?”

  “You’ll see. Fifteen minutes.” Jacob smiled as he took the last swig of his drink and got up from the picnic bench. Gabriel was intrigued and a bit nervous by the sudden invitation. He’d heard Jacob was a spontaneous man.

  At the same time, though, after one dinner together, he felt like he had known Jacob his entire life.

  Gabriel walked up to the faded red 1959 Jeep CJ-5. Jacob pulled some rope out of the back and threw it on the ground. Then he pulled off his long-sleeved buttoned shirt and reached for a white T-shirt lying in his Jeep.

  Gabriel couldn’t help but notice a one-inch-wide nasty scar that ran from the top of Jacob’s shoulder down the back of his arm to his elbow. He didn’t want to say anything about the disfigurement to Jacob, but he was curious about what had happened.

  Jacob finished putting the T-shirt on. “Come with me,” he commanded.

  Gabriel followed him over to the back of the rigging shack.

  “Here, grab the other side of this,” he said. Jacob walked over to a heap of fully inflated rafts stacked one on top of another.

  This really got Gabriel thinking. Jacob motioned for him to grab a side of the raft on top of the stack, and together they carried it over to the Jeep, where they hoisted the raft onto the cross bars. Jacob then collected the rope from the ground to anchor the raft to the rack.

  “Go grab yourself a PFD, a paddle, and a dry bag. I’ve got mine in the Jeep.”

  Gabriel did as he asked. Jacob fired up the engine, and they rolled out of the camp. “Are we actually going on The River. . . at night?”

  “Yup. You’re going to love this.”

  Though he felt safe with Jacob, Gabriel could feel the butterflies fluttering in his gut. He pushed those feelings aside as they weaved through the canyon on the bumpy mountain road. The cliffs rose sharply on the right side of the Jeep, and the dim headlights barely lit the path ahead. With every shift of the manual transmission, the old Jeep jerked and chugged in the darkness.

  “You ever been on The River at night?”

  “Are you kidding? It was all I could do to get on The River in broad daylight.” Gabriel shocked himself a little at his own transparency.

  “Well, there’s something about The River at night, when it’s just you, the water, and the light of the moon.”

  “How do you navigate, though? I mean. . . the rocks and waterfalls. Isn’t that kind of dangerous?”

  “It can be.”

  Then why are we doing this? Is this guy crazy? Gabriel rolled all kinds of thoughts around in his head.

  “You see, Gabriel, there are things about The River that you can experience only when it’s dark. The River reveals itself differently at night. It’s difficult to explain. I listen and watch more closely when I don’t know exactly what’s next. My connection to The River is deeper in the night.”

  “I think I know what you mean.” Gabriel recalled his middle-of-the-night experience at The River from a few weeks earlier.

  “Of course, you want to ride The River at night only when you know the waters really well. I’ve been here my whole life. I know The River. I mean, you can’t know everything about it, but I know it well enough. I’ve studied it. I’ve spent time on it. Not a day goes by that I don’t connect with The River.” Jacob paused for a moment. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes here at The River, Gabriel. . . but I’ve learned from them.”

  The older man quickly changed the subject. “Hey. . . look at this!” Jacob pointed to the left side of the road and slowed down to a stop. A small black bear was foraging through greenery. When he heard the Jeep slow, the creature looked back over his shoulder in their direction, his eyes reflecting a bright green shine.

  “Oh wow! Look how cute the little fella is!” Gabriel exclaimed with hushed excitement.

  “Yeah, they’re cute, but their mommas are never too far away. Momma bears will do anything to protect their babies. I learned that one the hard way. I tried to get up close to a cub one time, and then I heard a nasty growl that I still can’t get out of my head. I kept backing up until she had me cornered against The River.”

  “What did you do?
”

  “I had only one option. I jumped into The River and rode it. That was a pretty bumpy swim. . . I don’t recommend it.”

  Jacob put the Jeep in gear and rumbled up the road again. He drove about a half mile more and turned off into a clearing.

  “Okay. . . let’s do it!” Jacob jumped out of the Jeep, and Gabriel followed. The two untied the raft and lugged it down about thirty yards to The River’s edge. They gathered their paddles, PFDs, and dry bags and secured them in the raft.

  “So how are we going to get back to the Jeep?” Gabriel asked.

  “Tabitha will drive here with one of the other guides to pick up my truck. Then she’ll drop it off downriver for us. Otherwise, that would be a really long walk back. Oh yeah. It’s important to have one of these.”

  Jacob held up a large metal flashlight. He smiled as he flicked it on and off a couple of times, which made Gabriel feel a little better. “It doesn’t matter how well you know The River, it’s still important to keep a light with you. You never know what will try to spoil your experience.”

  “I was hoping you’d have something like that.” Gabriel flashed a grin.

  The two donned their PFDs and cinched them tight. They slid the yellow raft into the water and climbed in.

  The water was silky smooth and beautiful. The moon shone brightly and covered the water’s surface with a soft glow. With one stroke of Jacob’s paddle, the vessel glided into the middle of The River.

  The air was still and crisp and the canyon silent. Like a cosmic glitter sprinkled across the midnight sky, the infinite number of stars twinkled with radiant brilliance.

  The next few hours held exciting new discoveries for Gabriel. Little by little, the frightened, lost boy from Kansas was coming out of his protective shell.

  This night with Jacob. . . and The River. . . would change everything.

  TWENTY - ONE

  The Night Run

  THE SLIGHT GULPING SOUND FROM A PAIR OF PADDLES dipping into the water ever so gently was all that could be heard in the canyon.

  Perched on opposite sides of the raft—Gabriel in front and Jacob in back—the two men floated for the first hour, taking in the smell of the spruce and fir trees while marveling at the starlit canopy above. Gabriel felt such a sense of freedom and connection to The River—even more than in daytime. The feeling was mysterious, hauntingly eerie, and beautiful all at the same time. Knowing it was just the two of them—intertwined with the wilderness and The River—gave Gabriel the feeling that he was experiencing something special, unique, and powerful. He reached his arm down the side of the raft, and just as his fingers touched the water, two loud howls echoed through the canyon and startled him.

  “Whoa! What was that?” Gabriel looked back at Jacob.

  “Shhh. . . listen.” Jacob put his finger up to his mouth.

  After a few moments of silence, the howls began again. Each howl had a little different tone and pitch. The wolflike cries seemed to develop a sense of asymmetrical rhythm and continued for several minutes.

  “It’s like they are singing or something,” Gabriel commented with amazement. “Why do they do that?”

  Jacob lifted his paddle out of the water. “Oh, for lots of reasons. When wolves venture out and search for food, keeping the pack together is paramount. What we could be hearing is a reunion call—a call to stay together, to notify the others if they’ve found food, or to send a message to potential enemies that the pack will protect its own. Some speculate their ‘singing’ strengthens their relationship to each other. Humans could learn a lot from wolves.”

  As the howling chorus became more distant, the sound of whitewater arose. Gabriel gripped his paddle harder as the current picked up. The moonlight remained strong as they made a slow, bending turn. The glow of splashing white rapids could be seen down the canyon corridor.

  Jacob mused, “Even in a full moon you really can’t see exactly how The River is moving. . . so you have to listen. When you listen intensely in the dark, you hear and experience things you would never notice in broad daylight.”

  “I’ve been noticing that.”

  “Good. Now, are you ready?”

  “Ready as I’ll ever be!” Gabriel took a few deep breaths and tried to pump himself up as he prepared to run the whitewater by the light of full moon.

  “Just listen close to my commands. We aren’t going to run anything over a Class II or III tonight, so don’t worry. I wouldn’t put you in danger. Okay?”

  Gabriel turned around and responded to Jacob’s reassurance. “Okay.”

  The pace of the water livened, and the sound of rapids caused Gabriel’s pulse to quicken. Vision was limited, which made the pace seem even faster. Gabriel could feel the water slapping his feet under the raft.

  “Forward hard, Gabriel! Stay in the middle!”

  Gabriel dug his paddle in deep and pulled. The first large rapid arrived. The nose of the raft dove down and collided with a small wave, spraying water into Gabriel’s face. The fact that they had such dim light made the waves seem like they had twice the size and strength.

  “Yeah! There we go! Beautiful!” Jacob’s celebratory exclamations brought even more courage to Gabriel. “Isn’t that great?”

  “Woo-hoo! Yeah!” Gabriel joined in, exhilarated to be on nature’s roller coaster.

  The raft bobbed up and down on the swift and strong water. Like a skier navigating moguls, they plunged over and around the waves, splashing and careening through the canyon. For several minutes the action was nonstop: fast, strong, and rough. Jacob told Gabriel that they were coming to the end of this series of rapids but there would be a big one at the finish.

  “Get ready, Gabriel! When I say ‘now,’ lean in and hold on!”

  The noise got louder as the thunderous water splashed over the rocks. Gabriel’s heart raced with joy. The thrill was like nothing else.

  “Now!” Jacob shouted.

  Gabriel lunged into the center of the raft and braced himself, grabbing onto a canvas handle. The River dropped out from under the raft and swooped down, crashing into a thick wave at the bottom. That prompted a wall of water to cascade over Gabriel’s head as the raft lunged forward and past the torrent.

  “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” Gabriel roared a victory cry as he wiped water out of his eyes. “Amazing!”

  “I told you, buddy! I knew you’d love it.” Jacob was smiling from ear to ear at the ignition of Gabriel’s passion.

  They spent the next hour and a half running light rapids, enjoying the midnight solitude, bantering back and forth, and getting to know each other.

  “Let’s head over to that clearing over there. This is one of my favorite places to stop and enjoy The River.” Jacob used his paddle as a rudder to guide their raft through the easy flow and up onto the beach.

  “Recognize anything?”

  Jacob handed the young man a large flashlight out of his dry bag. Gabriel stepped out and pulled the raft up on the clay-colored dirt. He switched on the light, aiming the beam around the cove. He noticed an abandoned fire pit, then looked over his shoulder quickly and saw a fallen log near the water. Then he shot the flashlight beam onto the water, which illuminated a large rock in the middle of The River.

  “Hey! I know this place. That rock was where I found one of my marbles.”

  “A marble?”

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.”

  “Do that. Hey, isn’t this a great spot? I love coming to ‘the beach,’ as we call it. It’s a great place to slow down and take it in, being on The River. I don’t do that as often as I should.” Jacob took a deep breath and sighed.

  A solitary fluffy cloud slowly drifted east, revealing more moonlight and brightening the cove. Jacob pulled a couple of towels out of his dry bag and handed one to Gabriel.

  “It gets a little chilly at night when you’re wet.”

  “To be honest, I hadn’t really noticed. This is all just surreal.” Gabriel sat down on the log, wiping his f
ace and neck with the towel. Jacob sat down a few feet away.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s so much different from my life in Kansas. It’s like I’m part of some dream or something. A few days ago, my boss griped about the way I stacked boxes at the Five & Dime, and now I’m out here on The River. The difference is hard to put into words. It’s like a whole other world.”

  “I’m glad you like it here.”

  “What’s not to like? Everything about The River is breathtaking.”

  They both stared out at the softly lit water. “No question about that. It is beautiful here.” Jacob paused. Then his tone became more serious. “I know why you like it so much here, Gabriel.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I believe it’s more than just the beauty of The River. You were meant to be here from the beginning. Kansas was never your true home. You were born here. Your family roots are here. You were made for The River, Gabriel.”

  The silence was deafening. Gabriel was moved deeply by Jacob’s words. He spoke deliberately with such kindness and authority.

  Jacob continued, “I think you like The River so much because this is your home. I knew of your family when you were just a little boy. Your grandfather was a legend around here. . . your father too. They knew The River better than anyone. Their camp at Corley Falls was one of the first of its kind. I’ll never forget hearing about their exploits. They were known not only for their knowledge of The River but their love for it. John Clarke was a great man, Gabriel. I see his greatness. . . I see him in you.”

  Gabriel could hardly breathe. Between the kindness and love he felt from Jacob and the grief he still carried, the torrent of emotion welled up in him like a geyser. His eyes pooled with tears as he bowed his head and looked at the ground.

  Through his quivering lips, he managed to reply, “I don’t have very many memories of him. . . but they are so vivid. He was really strong, and he played with me whenever he could. I loved it when he threw me up in the air. I never worried about hitting the ground. He always caught me. I didn’t have much time with him, but I miss him so much.”