Day 7

Lakisha Thornbulton had risen early. She had decided to have a picnic by herself. Nature was something she found comfort in and she needed comfort.

James was distracted and she felt replaced. So, at dawn she went to the kitchen and packed a basket with breakfast. She then left the castle to find solace.

She went to the forest and to the river. She walked along it for a while and then once she became hungry. She set up her picnic.

After eating she enjoyed the fresh air, sitting and enjoying the basic elements she loved. Like the breeze on her face and the spray of the river over the rocks, the smells of the forest.

She packed up quickly because she thought she could hear voices. But then there was nothing. Again, she heard a voice.

It seemed to be coming from up the river. So, she quickly finished packing up and she walked up the river, curious and a little nervous. The nervous started to outweigh the curious, as she remembered Rachael’s tale of misfortune.

She considered her options:

1st return to the castle,

2nd check it out,

3rd hide, wait and see.

She started with option three.

But that was taking too long and while waiting she became braver. So, she moved to option two. As she sneaked up stream, she saw a woman washing her clothes.

That’s not hygienic, she thought, this is drinking water.

She turned and unexpectedly a man was standing right there. She took a few steps back and fell into the river. Everyone laughed, now there were four people.

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“Very funny” she muttered.

She climbed out of the river soaked right though. Her gumboots were filled with water. The picnic basket was gone. Taken by the river.

She tipped the water out of her gumboot. Gave them all killer looks and walked away. She could still hear them laughing and talking about her as she left.

She wrung out her clothes as much as she could without taking them off. Now it started to be funny. She imagined she had looked hilarious, falling into the river, climbing out all shocked and annoyed.

She giggled a little. It wasn’t so bad, she was fine. It was just people washing their clothes. At least she made someone’s day. She cleared the forest and walked into the beginning of the resistance against the queen’s guards.

She had no idea which side was good or bad. She turned back into the forest and ran back towards the river, her gumboots squeaking as she ran.

Gumboots were not made for running in.

Someone was chasing her. She was too afraid she would fall if she looked back like the silly girls in the movies. So instead, she focused on what was in front of her. She reached the river and someone grabbed her arm. She looked into the brown eyes of a man. She pulled away from him falling into the river again. She tried to stand up so she could cross the river but it didn’t work. The current was too strong and she was too deep.

He kept shouting at her and even jumped into the river himself.

Wow people in this world are persistent, she began to panic thinking of Rachael’s story.

She tried to swim across to the other side. That didn’t work either. The man kept yelling at her.

She was determined not to let him catch her. She turned so her feet faced forward. She used her arms as rudders and paddles.

Gumboots were made for ruffing it so the abuse of the rocks against them wasn’t that bad.

She bobbed down the river until she couldn’t see or hear anyone. Then she tried to make her way to the shore. The current was even stronger now and she battled to make her way to shore. She could hear water crashing ahead. She worried it was the rapids or even a waterfall. The current pulled her deeper and onto the rocks. It was shallow enough to stand and if she was standing, she would have been able to walk across. But getting a grip while being dragged by the water, was challenging. She was battered against rocks and tossed between them like a ball the water was playing with.

There it was, worse than the rapids that were beating her without mercy, a waterfall.

She tried to get her feet to stop her or slow her down enough but it seemed hopeless.

The water had an iron grip on her. Pulling her whole body. She took a deep breath in preparation for the fall. Once she stopped fighting it seemed gentle, guiding her over.

The view was beautiful. She was grateful she wasn’t scared of heights. Then she slid into the water below, it swallowed her whole, like a mouthful of jelly.

Her lungs began to burn while her heart raced. She needed air, but she was still going down. She began to fight the pull but it was futile. She struggled but the water falling above created its own down current and she was in it.

Finally, she touched the bottom. But it was too late, she would never get back up in time. She pushed to the side and breathed. Water filled her burning lungs.