Gabriel showed her the weathered book. “When my mom gave me these writings from my father and grandfather, it became one of my greatest treasures. The more I read, the more I get to know about where I came from, why I am here . . . you know . . . some of the big questions.”
Tabitha leaned her head on his shoulder, and a warmth spread through Gabriel as he continued.
“I’m trying to spend my mornings reading the journal and sitting by The River. It helps me win the battles in my mind.”
Tabitha turned to look into his eyes. “Ezra says some people have the deep waters in them. He says it’s hard to explain, you can just tell it. Sounds like you are one of those people, Gabriel.”
Tabitha looked down and read aloud.
Don’t stay on the shore! Get in the waters. You can watch the waters flow from the banks, but they change you when you get in . . . all the way in. The River life . . . that’s the only life for me. I eat, sleep, drink, play, laugh, live, and love, in The River! Its treasures are inexhaustible to me. This is home.
1-30-46, R. A. Clarke
“Wow, that is so beautiful,” Tabitha said softly.
“Hey, remember when you were trying to get me to ride the big water with you? Your words still echo in my mind. ‘You can’t experience The River from the banks, Gabriel. You have to get all the way in.’ . . . Remember that?”
“I said that?” Tabitha grinned.
“I guess you were pretty compelling . . . or maybe just pretty . . . Either way, it worked.”
“Sweet talker.”
A lisping voice broke into their romantic moment. “Is anybody cooking breakfast yet?”
“Classic Splash right there,” said Gabriel.
“Why don’t you cook, Freddie?” Tabitha craned her neck to look back at him with a little attitude.
Freddie shrugged. “I’ll cook!”
Samuel came out of his tent stretching and said, “Not your gift, Freddie. Remember last time? I nearly chipped a tooth on those biscuits, and I’m pretty sure you just crushed the shells in with the scrambled eggs.”
“Whatever.” Freddie stacked wood on the fire to get it going again. There were still a few coals left simmering from the night before.
Gabriel reclined next to the fire while Jacob cooked the bacon first, then the eggs in the bacon drippings. It smelled heavenly. The coffee percolated over the open flames, and the cinnamon rolls were warming in foil on the coals.
“If it’s one thing we don’t skimp on, it’s food,” Jacob commented as he flipped the last set of frying eggs.
“I prefer to get on the water myself,” Samuel said, gesturing toward the rafts.
“All happiness depends on a leisurely breakfast, Samuel,” Jacob replied.
Samuel just raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes.
“You always seem like you have somewhere to be,” Sadie said to Samuel.
“We are here to run the water, right?”
“Sure, but sometimes I think you can want what’s ahead so much that you miss the moments happening now. I like the moments happening now. It hurts my brain to think too much ahead.” Gabriel noticed that Sadie seemed to like pushing on Samuel’s driven nature.
Jacob stooped down and used a stick to stir the coals of the fire. A log fell and sparks danced into the air. He mused as he repositioned the coals and burning embers.
“Today is always my favorite day of this trip. The next section of The River is . . . well, it’s very meaningful. Gabriel, I think you will really enjoy what we get to do today.”
Tabitha looked over at Gabriel and smiled.
“What is it?” Gabriel asked expectantly.
“You’ll see,” she replied.
Gabriel threw his hands in the air. “Aw, come on. You can’t tease me like that!”
“Uh . . . yes, I can.” Tabitha flashed a coy grin.
Freddie piped up, shifting his weight to one hip and moving his hands with every word. “The female species is a mystery, Gabriel. I’m telling you. They reel you in all sweetsy, sweetsy with their pretty hair, long eyelashes, and strawberry lip gloss . . . and then bam!” He slammed his right fist into his left hand. “You don’t know what hit you.”
All the guys started to chuckle.
“Lip gloss?” Samuel asked, puzzled but smiling.
“I do like ’em feisty, though.” Freddie looked over at Sadie.
“Oh my gosh, Freddie,” Sadie said, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
Gabriel joined the others as they laughed.
“I’m just sayin’.” Freddie smiled.
Jacob refocused everyone. “Let’s hit the water in about thirty minutes, guys.”
Gabriel helped his comrades pack up the camp while the warm sun lit up the canyon sheers. He paused to admire the spring flowers. Pale evening primrose were dotted all around the beaches, bright purple arrow weed were scattered every few feet along the water’s edge, and small sprigs of emory rock daisies shot out from the canyon walls and boulders. The rest of the team had already strapped the coolers and tents into the rafts by the time he refocused. They all climbed aboard the two rigs and headed out into the gentle current.
After they had been on a relatively docile section of water for nearly three hours, Jacob turned his raft facing upstream and rowed up next to the others.
“Let’s go ahead and pull out here and scout the run. It’s going to be a fun one.”
Samuel nodded. “Not much meltdown means she is going to be extra-technical today.”
“We taking a break?” Gabriel asked as they paddled to the beach.
Jacob nodded as he pulled his raft to the shore. “Why don’t you come with me and Samuel, Gabriel? I want to show you how we read this run.”
Jacob led the way, with Gabriel and Samuel in the back. “Put your feet where I put mine. The gravel can get really loose. That’s why it’s important to always be with others in the canyon and on The River. We get each other’s back. Shared experiences, yes? Life is better when shared, I do believe.”
Gabriel watched Jacob’s climbing pattern closely as the three men scaled the rocky terrain. With every step, the sound of the water grew stronger and more thunderous.
Jacob spoke over his shoulder.
“This is probably going to be the most challenging water you’ve ever run, Gabe. It’s pretty intense . . . but incredibly fun.”
Gabriel’s pulse raced. Was he really ready for this?
They exited the treed slopes and climbed out onto a flat rock that overlooked a magnificent sight. Jacob walked all the way to the edge that hung over the water at least thirty feet up. It made Gabriel nervous watching him that close to the precipice.
“Now this is white water!” Jacob’s excitement was evident.
Samuel joined Jacob out on the edge. Gabriel watched from a few feet back as Samuel was pointing at different parts of The River and talking to Jacob. It was difficult to hear much of anything over the sonic wash of the water. Jacob motioned for Gabriel to come to the edge. Gabriel shuffled slowly out to meet them. Something about the water still terrified him.
At nearly a shout, Jacob began pointing things out to Gabriel. He explained the pour of the water into the falls and rapids, the shallow rocks, the logjam strainer near the end of the run, and the safest path they would take.
“You see that rock? We’ve gotta head into that fall from the far right or we’ll get turned around and that won’t be pretty.” Jacob motioned with his hands.
Fear was mounting in Gabriel’s chest. He hadn’t done anything like this yet, not even in his training.
“You ready for Jericho Falls? Let’s do this!”
The salt-and-pepper curly-headed fifty-something adventurer shouted his words, smiling from ear to ear as he pounded Gabriel on the chest.
Gabriel raised his eyebrows, nervous.
They made their way back from the twenty-minute scouting mission and loaded back into the rafts. They donned their helmets and life jackets.
<
br /> “Okay, everyone, Lock in! Forward Hard!” Samuel barked the command like a drill sergeant.
Gabriel paddled fiercely, trying to stay in sync with his team. They came around the bend in The River and shot down the first rapid perfectly. But before Gabriel could blink, the next big drop was upon them. He felt the raft drop beneath them, along with his stomach. He pulled his paddle in as the team pounded into the waves at the bottom as the raft stood straight on end.
“Dig, Gabriel!” Samuel shouted.
They careened over the next few rapids as water crashed over the top of the raft. Bucking through the canyon like wild stallions, the two rafts navigated the waters exquisitely, and within just a few seconds they were drifting backward in gently moving water, facing the white water they just traversed.
“Yeah!” The soaked rafters cheered and slapped their paddles in the air.
“That was as clean of a run of Jericho as I’ve ever seen!” Jacob commented to Samuel.
“No thanks to Gabriel. Gabriel, you’ve got to keep your paddle in the water. What were you thinking?” Samuel barked.
“It was just instinct, I guess, to hold on when we went over,” Gabriel said.
“Your instincts were wrong. You could’ve been thrown in. We’ve been over this. You have to pull your weight. We could’ve gone through sideways, and remember, your paddle in the water provides stabilization for you to actually stay in. There will be a time for us all to lean in the center, but we have to do it together. We’re a team.” Samuel’s tone eased as he finished his rant.
“You’re right, sorry,” Gabriel responded.
“Don’t worry, man. I’ve done it too.” Freddie tried to comfort him.
“Samuel, you act like you’ve never made a mistake . . . Oh please.” Tabitha came to Gabriel’s defense . . . and he liked it.
He felt a little embarrassed, but the courage still came with each rapid navigated, each waterfall overcome, and each dangerous obstacle avoided.
They spun their rafts back around and headed downstream. They came around a right-hand bend in The River. The water moved firmly and smooth. Gabriel unclasped Rio’s custom harness he’d made to keep the dog in the raft on sections of big water.
“There it is. I love this place,” Tabitha said.
Everyone got noticeably quiet as the picturesque scene came into view. An island appeared in the middle of the waterway dividing the majestic flow in two. One-thousand-foot cliffs on either side of the waters framed the site. As they approached the serene location, Gabriel was taken by a noise he heard under the raft.
“What’s that sound?” he asked Tabitha.
“What sound?”
“Listen. It sounds like . . . like marbles clacking together,” he said with wonder in his voice.
“Oh yeah.” Tabitha smiled. “It’s river stones. The River tumbles them over and over. Over time, those rocks chip off and fall from the canyon and The River transforms them into smooth and spectacular gems.”
Gabriel felt mesmerized by the gentle percussive rhythm. His mind went to his childhood and the sound the vintage marbles made when he dumped them out of the large mason jar.
Gabriel jumped out of their raft and pulled it up onto the pebbled island beach. Rio quickly followed, leaping off the front of the raft onto the shore. Gabriel helped Jacob secure his raft as well. The team members all climbed out onto the island, except Sadie.
“You doing okay?” Gabriel said, his eyebrows knitted together with concern.
Sadie nodded, but still didn’t move.
“She looks really pale,” Tabitha said.
Gabriel splashed back into the water. “Put your arm around my neck . . . there you go.” Gabriel hoisted Sadie out of the raft and onto her feet.
Sadie sat down when they reached the shore. “Actually, I don’t feel so good.”
Tabitha put her hand on Sadie’s forehead. “She’s burning up.”
Sadie swallowed hard. “I’ll be okay. I’m just thirsty, I think.” Gabriel grabbed his canteen from the ice chest, unscrewed the lid, and handed it to her.
“Okay, let me know if you need anything else.” The older sister stroked her hair.
While Jacob sat with Sadie, the rest of the group moved away. Tabitha took Gabriel’s hand and pointed ahead. “This is what I was talking about,” she said to him.
Gabriel barely heard what she said. His attention was across The River.
“What is it?” Tabitha squeezed his hand.
Gabriel shook his head. “Nothing. I thought I saw something . . . someone.”
“Really?”
He turned his back to her. “Probably nothing.”
He glanced back one last time and saw a red jacket and knit cap disappearing into the woods several hundred yards away. His heart jumped. “Look! There! I wonder who that is?”
“Huh?” She tried to follow his gaze.
“Over there. Somebody’s on the other side. I think I saw the same guy at the Cathedral.”
They both strained to catch another glimpse, but there was no sign of him.
“Probably just a hiker,” she said. “Come over here and check this out.” She led him back across the island.
Gabriel saw a column of river rocks as tall as he was under a large cottonwood tree, each rock neatly fitted into the other, as if a mason constructed it. Rio walked ahead, sniffing the place out as usual. Gabriel approached the stone formation and noticed an etching in the lowest right-hand cornerstone.
His breath caught in his chest. It was the squiggly etching from the tree at Splashfire Canyon.
“Welcome to The Twelve Stones of Remembrance, Gabriel,” Jacob said, with reverence in his voice.
4
The Symbol and Painted Words
The clouds cast giant shadows on the island as Gabriel and the others sat down in a semicircle facing the stones. The sun dipped behind the cliffs, and a soft breeze tussled Gabriel’s dirty-blond, curly hair.
Jacob sat looking into the sky with his arms around his knees. “It’s going to be a great night.”
Jacob got up and walked with purpose over to his raft, pulling his dry bag from the stern.
“It’s never exactly the same when we come here. It always changes, but it’s always beautiful,” Tabitha said as she gazed at the rock formation.
“Yeah, and Dad is always changing things up,” Sadie remarked.
Freddie looked concerned.
“He’s not going to make us sing, is he? Remember that one year?”
“A solo for you, Freddie.”
“No way, you know I can’t sing. I can dance. You know I can dance, but I can’t sing.”
Gabriel watched Tabitha as she smiled. He couldn’t get over how beautiful she was.
“I don’t think what you do would be considered dancing, Freddie. Convulsing, yes. Dancing, no,” Sadie said.
“Aw, come on.” Freddie started to move his head back and forth like an Egyptian while snapping his fingers and biting his bottom lip.
Sadie rolled her eyes.
Jacob walked up to the monument and set the backpack down. He pulled out what looked to be a small can of paint and a small paintbrush. “More on this stuff in a few minutes. Let’s go ahead and get the camp set up. The tents will go on this side of the island.” Jacob motioned behind him with his thumb over his shoulder. “Let’s put the coolers over here, and, Gabriel, why don’t you work on the fire? I’m making dinner for all of you tonight, by the way. Once we are all set up, I’ll tell you a little more about the rest of the evening.”
Chills ran down Gabriel’s spine as Jacob talked. He wasn’t sure what was ahead, but it felt important.
It didn’t take them long to unload the rafts. Gabriel noticed that Sadie moved slowly but helped Tabitha set up the tents. He made a mental note to check on her later. Gabriel was able to get a roaring fire going with some dead branches and logs that lay on the beach.
Gabriel noticed Samuel kneeling down over near the water so he wa
lked over.
“What’s going on?”
“Just getting things ready for tomorrow.”
“You are always thinking ahead, aren’t you?”
“Just how I’m wired.” Samuel used his teeth as he tied a fly lure on the line of a rod.
“You didn’t have to bark at me on the boat like that,” Gabriel said.
“Oh really?” Samuel looked back at him. “Pull your weight and I won’t.”
Samuel walked away. Gabriel got the feeling that this was about more than rafting.
Tabitha broke the tension as she called out from across the camp, “You ready for some fishing tomorrow?”
“Fishing?”
Samuel looked back, surprised at Gabriel’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, you ever fly-fished?”
“No, but I love to fish. Mr. Earl, he was like a grandpa to me, he took me fishing in Kansas. He bought me a Zebco spincast reel for my birthday. I still remember catching my first catfish. That thing was a monster.” Gabriel tried to move past their differences.
“Well, fly-fishing is a little different. Actually, it’s a lot different. I’m a bit of a purest. No disrespect to Mr. Earl, but fly-fishing, it’s like making art.” Samuel motioned in the air as if he were revealing a painting on the wall.
“How so?”
“All of it, man. The gear, the motion of the rod and the line, the dance with those trout . . . It’s just epic. Yep, my Fenwick”—Samuel held up the rod and looked it up and down—“and my raft . . . that’s all I need.”
Samuel was usually a man of few words, but Gabriel had obviously touched on his passions.
Gabriel changed the subject.
“Can you tell me anything about that symbol on the rock? You know, that etching on the bottom cornerstone up there?”
“You don’t know what that is?” Samuel acted puzzled as he looked up at Gabriel. “I’m surprised Tabitha hasn’t told you.”
“Speaking of Tabitha . . .” Gabriel looked over to make sure she couldn’t hear. “Is there something . . .” Gabriel stumbled over his words.
“Is there what?” Samuel asked.
“Help!” Jacob shouted, breaking their conversation short. Samuel jumped up and ran over to the fire where a pot of stew was slipping out of Jacob’s hands. He grabbed a towel and helped Jacob set the stew on the ground.
Into the Canyon Page 4
