The Little Things - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The raft fell out from underneath them briefly before colliding with the water again.

In retrospect the wave of water that rose up, passing through them indifferently, should have been easy to predict. If any of them had been prepared, they didn’t show it, though, universally gasping for air as if they had been submerged for minutes rather than just a brief second.

Everything was happening so fast. John tried to parse the information reaching his eyes and ears efficiently. His task was simple, just lean in or lean out depending on how the raft was responding to the foaming, rocky obstacle course. The guide provided frequent verbal queues, but even with the help the simple tasks seemed to require all of his mental capacities.

The front of the raft disappeared over a ledge and the group fell just a few feet in to the water below. The raft responded beautifully, dipping slightly below the water before bouncing back. It was hard to tell whether the splash of water was smaller this time or if he was just more prepared for it. Either way John felt his confidence growing with each challenge the water presented that didn’t knock him off the boat, regardless of how big or small it might be.

The raft scraped across a boulder and down in to a rapid chute that seemed to send it skimming across to the other side of the river before anyone could adjust to the sudden change in direction. John felt his confidence fall away slightly as he tried to reposition himself back into a proper stance. He should have seen that coming. Or rather he should have been able to respond to it more effectively even though he hadn’t seen it coming. He tensed and focused his attention on the water in front of him, only to find a break in the rapids.

The raft settled in to the calmer water. The group gave off a collective sigh as tension drained from everyone’s shoulders. The guide smirked a little bit, mildly amused by how consistently people reacted to each part of the trip.

John glanced around, surveying those near him. He realized a moment too late that his eager motions exposed just how excited and jittery he felt after the small rapids. A glance back at the guide who had already moved on to adjust the raft a bit in preparation for the next section of rapids further leveled his mood.

He took a deep breath and looked downstream, more determined this time to handle the rapids with grace. He quickly realized, though, that the guide was directing them over to the side of the river to a small section of sand.

“Sorry guys, thought I heard something off on that last rapid. I’m gonna take a quick look at the raft. Everyone stay put”

Everyone seemed to take the news in stride and John felt all remaining tension in the air disappear as the guide deftly maneuvered them over to the side of the river bank. The sound of the raft scraping against the coarse sand emanated from beneath them as the guide leapt down from his perch at the back of the boat and immediately began a thorough inspection of the raft.

John lost track of the guide and let his attention drift back inside the raft. He shifted slightly to address Ann, who was seated directly behind him on the raft.

“How are you doing?”

“Good”, she answered lightly, turning toward John and focusing her eyes on his before searching for some water on the raft floor around her.

“That was fun” she said, a bit too earnestly, twisting the top off of her water bottle and taking a long sip.

“Yea, definitely” John smiled briefly and squeezed her knee.

His eyes toured around the raft in search of the guide who he spotted kneeling toward the back of the raft, intently rubbing his hand across a few inches of the raft’s neoprene shell. It seemed to be roughly where the raft had rubbed against the last rock.

A few moments later the guide stood up. He seemed mildly irritated and contemplative as he positioned himself at the front of the boat and began to push the raft back into the water. His mood evolved quickly, though, as he looked up to address everyone aboard.

“Sorry about the delay guys. On our way in just a moment.”

“Everything ok?” came a question from the other side of the raft behind John.

“Yea, seems ok. Thought I heard something, but seems to be holding up ok.”

John looked back quizzically at Ann, but Ann’s eyes seemed to shrug off any concern, so John didn’t say anything.

John directed his attention back toward the river as the raft scratched it’s way back into deeper waters. The warmth of the sun, the light breeze off the water, and the way the sun danced across the river held his attention as they drifted back into the rapids.