Taming the Beast

     There were three distinct drops of the Beast, and I studied each one carefully. First was the Bait. It was eight feet tall and by itself looked rather benign compared to other rapids found in the Narrows. If anything it was inviting. After all, it was a clean drop, but running that first drop committed any would-be paddler to run the rest of the falls. Just downstream was the Trap. Even though the Trap was only five feet tall, the entirety of the river was forced through a narrow choke that was barely wider than the width of a kayak. As I studied the Trap my mind flooded with imaginary images of a kayak getting jammed into the Trap sideways, or worse shoved into the underwater cave beneath the boulders that formed the slot. I shook my head to clear it of such thoughts. Finally, immediately downstream of the Trap, the river toppled over the lip of an eighteen-foot ledge and crashed into a shallow pool.This drop was where the rapid had been given its name. This drop was truly the Beast.

     Frothy water swirled around in the shallow pool below the Beast. I was mesmerized by it. It was almost as if the river desperately wanted to keep all of its water in that tiny pool, but every couple of seconds the level would surge and continue on. For a moment I thought I saw the familiar face of an Electric Kougra in that pool, staring back at me. But I knew that it must have been another instance of my imagination getting the better of me, for there was no way to see your reflection in such turbulent water.

      “See, I told you he’d be here,” said a familiar voice from behind me. “How long have you been out here, Nate?” Hearing my name freed me from my trance. I turned to see a Yellow Wocky, with a red kayak on his shoulder walking toward me. A goofy grin flashed as he dropped his boat down.

     Before I could answer, as if on queue, a second, much angrier voice chimed in, “Who cares how long he’s been here, Rusty? What I want to know- no what I demand to know, is why he’s out here paddling solo?” A White Usul stepped out of the woods dragging a blue kayak behind her. “Nate, you should know better than to paddle by yourself. What if something happened? What would you have done?”

     “W-well, I guess I- I…,” I was unable to muster up a full sentence. Fortunately, Rusty came to my defence.

     “Eva, calm down. Look at him, he’s fine. Let’s all just take a deep breath. He promises it won’t happen again. Isn’t that right?”

     “I will not calm down. Just because we’ve paddled here for years, doesn’t mean we can take this river lightly. Who knows when the next storm is going to bring down a tree over the river or shift the rocks in the river? The river we paddle today might not be the same river we paddle tomorrow. That’s why I say we should always have at least three boaters when we paddle the Narrows.”

     “Where’s the third in your party?” I asked after I regained some of my confidence.

     “We waited for you for over an hour. An hour!” Eva turned her head to try to hide her face. “What else were we supposed to do?”

      We sat in relative silence for a while after that. Only the Beast made noise. I watched as Eva fiddled with the gear inside her kayak. She had been right. She always was. I really hated that about her. I knew I should apologize for being reckless. I hated that more. Just before I could, she turned to me and said, "So, what was so important that you couldn’t wait for us?”

      “It’s hard to explain,” I admitted. “Or at least, I’m not sure how to.”

      “You could try using words to form sentences,” she said flatly.

     “Isn’t it obvious? He came out here to check out the Beast.” Rusty walked over to the edge of the river and peered into the water at the base of the falls. “Only way we’d be able to catch him here after the massive head start he had. Were you scouting for a line down the falls?”

      “There isn’t a line, Rusty,” Eva said flatly.

      The Yellow Wocky just shrugged his shoulders in response.

      “Actually,” I said. “There might be.”

      “Yeah, and Rusty didn’t get worked below Bearog Falls earlier!”

      “Shut up Eva.” Rusty said defensively. “I didn’t get worked. It’s called surfing.”

      “Funny, I’m pretty sure you're supposed to do that with your face out of the water.”

     “Oh I am definitely sorry I missed that,” I laughed while Rusty stuck his tongue out. “But seriously, I’ve never been able to shake the feeling that a clean line through the chaos of the Beast existed. So a month ago I decided to take another look, and the more I scouted, the more I thought I could see that line.”

     Rusty took another look at the Beast. He cupped his paws around his eyes as if he were looking through binoculars. “Yeah, I don’t see it, but I think it’s cool that you might!”

      “You know what I think?” Eva asked. “I think you’re both idiots, and we should leave before one of you decides to hike your boat back up and try something dumb.”

     “You’re probably right, Eva. You always are,” I admitted. A satisfied look washed over her face. It was the same face that she made every time she won an argument. Every time I admitted that she was right, but for the first time, I secretly hoped she was wrong.

      “Well, now that that’s settled, let’s get out of here and go grab lunch at the Giant Omelette,” Rusty shouted as he climbed back into his boat.

     Eva and I nodded our approvals.

      We then got back into the River at the base of the waterfall, one after the other, so we could run the slides that were only a short way downstream. First a Yellow Wocky in a red kayak, then a White Usul in a blue kayak, and finally a Striped Kougra in a yellow kayak. We took turns leading each other through the last of rapids found in the Jade River Narrows.

      I slowly made my way through the streets of my neighbourhood, certain my stomach was about to burst from an overly ambitious lunch. Small houses, all with thatch roofs, had been crammed together along these thin streets and formed the tight-knit community of Camp Tyr. A place where a collective of outdoor enthusiasts lived simple lives. Rock climbers, hikers, mountain bikers, whitewater kayakers, and more gravitated to this corner of Tyrannia for its promise of endless adventure. For the past several years I had called this place home.

      I grabbed my mail, a single letter, and entered my house. It was a modest home, even by Camp Tyr standards. More of a small hut really. Just a single room divided into smaller sections by privacy screens made of straw. Still bogged down with a heavy stomach, I plopped down at my table and tore into the envelope.

      Dear Nathan,

     It’s been three months since I last heard from you. So I am going to need you to sit down and actually write me a letter telling me that you’re safe and well. I’m owed at least that much as your mother. It seriously can't be too much to ask that just you let me know how you’re doing every once in a while.

      By the way, your little sister recently got a job as an Intern at the Neopian Hospital. She’s mainly shadowing the other doctors around for now, but apparently, she’s been receiving the highest marks. She hopes to receive a Residency offer soon.

      I’ll try to get her and your father to write to you soon too, but I hope you know that we all love and miss you. In the meantime, I transferred some Neopoints to your account. While I was at the bank, Mr. Stinson asked about you. He said he could still help you get a job there if you’ve changed your mind.

      Love,

      Mom

     PS: I left an extra stamp inside the envelope, so you really have no excuses this time. Write me back!

      I turned over the open envelope and a Wishing Well Stamp fell out. I held it next to my mother’s letter for about a minute, then glanced at my yellow kayak in the corner of the room and sighed. I thought back to the frothy water circling the pool below the Beast, held in place until it continued onward, downriver. A knock at my door startled me out of my daydream and I stuffed both the letter and stamp back into the envelope before making my way to answer the door.

      On the other side of my door, I found a Yellow Chia with her brown hair pinned in a messy bun. She extended a hand as she fiddled with her glasses that were almost too large for her face. “Hello, my name is Leah Wright, with the Neopian Times. Do you have a few moments to talk?”

      “Sorry, but I am not interested in a subscription.”

      Before I could close the door, her hand reached out to catch it. “Oh, I think you may have misunderstood. I actually write for the Tyrannian Sports section and was hoping to interview you for an upcoming issue.”

     “Interview me?” I asked confused, unable to muster up any other words.

To be continued…