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Rated: E · Short Story · Drama · #2022344
Two old friends part.
A chill wind blew threw the pines as the two women hauled their kayaks to the river’s edge.  After months of preparation, they had finally gotten the design just right.  Moving swiftly across the soft, damp dirt, each felt a knot in their gut in anticipation of what was to come.  Glancing about, Christina couldn’t believe that forty years from now, these towering trees would stand exactly as they did now.

As much as she enjoyed this rural town, Christina couldn’t wait to return to the year 2005.  Having to take the slow path back to her friends and parents was far too much for her to bear, especially after Maggie’s stories about thirty long years of isolation.  But Maggie wouldn’t have to be alone anymore!  Christina had taught her everything she knew about kayaking; surely, she would be able to make it this time!

Twisting her head around, Christina looked at Maggie and saw a worried, slightly-wrinkled countenance.  ”What’s wrong?” she asked, still moving along the dirt path at a steady pace.

Maggie blinked and shook her head, as if she had been jolted out of deep thought.  ”What? Oh, it’s… it’s nothing Christina.  Just thinking about going home.”

Facing forward again, Christina found that slightly difficult to believe, but decided to put it aside for now.  Best to just focus on getting the kayaks to the river so they could get back to their own time.  Christina looked around, admiring the forest around them.  If Maggie’s stories were to be believed, these trees would be here for the next five-hundred years at least.  The same families of birds and squirrels flying through the branches and running through the underbrush.  The same pine smell gently wafting between the trunks.  Same dull roar of rushing water just up ahead…

Snapping herself out of a trance, Christina looked up and saw the river right in front of them.  She hadn’t anticipated them getting here so soon, but here they were anyways!  ”Maggie!” she cried, picking up the pace and rushing towards the shoreline.  ”This is it!  We’re finally going back home!”  She set the kayak down on the shore’s edge, and waited for Maggie so they could recap their plan one last time.

Maggie also picked up the pace, but seemed much less enthusiastic about things than Christina did.  When asked about her slow pace, Maggie just shrugged and replied, “Well, you know.  After a few years, the ol’ everything starts to give out a bit.”  Christina stared at Maggie for a few seconds, trying to detect something wrong with her friend, but couldn’t find anything.  Shrugging her shoulders as well, she went back to work.

“So, like we said,” she began, stretching her arms in the air, “we both get in the water, me first and then you a minute later, and start heading for the waterfall.  Dodge all those rocks but hit the… fourth one, I think it is?”

“Yeah,” Maggie replied, standing by her unpacked kayak, “fourth one, around halfway across the starboard side.  That’ll give you the right shape.”

“And there’s a little wiggle room, which means we don’t have to hit it just right,” Christina said, brushing her straggly blond hair out of her eyes.  ”Now, once we do that, we aim for the waterfall.  It’ll be tough hitting the exact point, but I think we’ve designed these in such a way that the water in our eyes will be minimal.”

“Right,” Maggie replied, likewise brushing her straight, graying hair out of her eyes.  ”You’ll want to hit exactly forty feet and…” she did some mental calculations in her head, “seven inches away from the west shore.  It’s vital that you remember that.”

“Yeah, Christina said, laughing a little.  ”Didn’t you say that doing it from the east shore put you in the year 4051?”

“Real hell getting the wood for the kayak that time…” Maggie muttered, rubbing her finger along the side of her kayak.”

“Well, we won’t be making that mistake this time!” Christina beamed, moving her kayak closer to the river.  ”And then, once we hit the edge of the waterfall, lean back slightly to get just the right tipping angle.  If we can pull it all off - which, given my skills with kayaking and all the time you’ve spent trying, we should - then we’ll time travel right back to 2005!”

“Yep, that you will,” Maggie said, smiling slightly.  ”Ready to give it a shot?”

Christina nodded, and began pushing her kayak into the water, eager to get back to her own time.  However, just as she was about to jump in, she noticed Maggie still sitting on her kayak, simply watching Christina.  She paused for a moment, and then, with some effort, pulled her boat out of the rapids.  Turning to Maggie, she asked, “Why do you keep saying ‘you’ instead of ‘we?’”

Maggie sighed and stood up, placing her hands in her shorts pockets.  ”I’m not going back,” she said glumly.

“What?”  Christina stood there on the shore, droplets of water from the river lapping at her ankles, a look of confusion on her face.  ”But… we’ve spent so much time planning.  So much time getting to know each other!  You can’t back out now!”

Walking slowly past Christina and staring at the cliff in the distance, Christina said, “I know all that.  But I just… can’t do it.”

“Sure you can!” Christina said, walking behind her friend and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.  ”Hey, if anyone can’t do it, it’s me.  I only did this once, by accident.  You’ve done it how many times?”

“I’ve lost count.  But that’s why I don’t think I can, Christie.”  She brushed her younger friend’s hand away.  ”Thirty years of trying over countless attempts, and I keep winding up either too far behind or too far ahead.  1965 is the best I’ve ever gotten, and it’s probably the best I’m ever gonna get.”

“But…” Christina puzzled things over in her head, trying to figure out how her friend could be defeated so easily after so much work.  ”But didn’t you say it was your greatest dream to finally get back to your family?  Your normal life?”

“It may have been that way three weeks ago,” Maggie sighed, “but I’ve been thinking since then.  You may have gotten lucky, but my kayak shatters to pieces every time I go over that waterfall, and I have to take the brunt of the injuries each and every time.  Last time, I may have been healthy enough, but now… I’m not sure how many more screw-ups I have left in me before my body just gives out and strands me somewhere.

“I’ve built a good life here.  I’ve made good friends, settled down, come to really like these people and surroundings.  If I abandon them for a wild chance of getting back home, and if I fail, then…”  She trailed off, seeming to choke on her last words.

Christina took a few steps back, trying to process everything.  Maggie had always seemed like such a strong, confident woman.  How long had she been contemplating this?

“If you’re not going, then I’m not going either,” she declared, stamping her foot.

Turning around, Maggie faced Christina, tears standing in her eyes.  ”Christie, I may not believe in myself, but I certainly believe in you.  I’ve seen you on our practice runs; you’re a natural at kayaking, probably the best I’ve ever seen.  And believe me, after forty-nine years and who knows how many time periods, you see some pretty impressive kayakers. I know you can make it.  You’ve got so much waiting for you back there.”

“And you don’t?” Christina asked, tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Look at me,” Maggie laughed, holding her hands down across her body.  ”A nineteen year old showing up looking like an old woman?  They’d never believe it was me anyways.  I want what’s best for both of us.  And after having thought about it, it’s best for me to stay, and for you to go.”

Christina stood there, trying to hold back her tears, shaking slightly.  She didn’t want to accept it, but Maggie had always proven herself to be a whole lot wiser than Christina could ever hope to be.  She knew this river by heart, and if she didn’t think she could, then…

At length, she raised her arm to her face, wiped away the few tears that had fallen, and said, “You’d better try to stay alive until I get there.

Maggie smiled, the wrinkles in her face deepening slightly.  ”I’ll try.  Now get out there and ride that river.”

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