It was an early summer day. I remember the bees buzzing vibrantly throughout the patches of flowers, and the birds sitting on the turned over tree stump, waiting to catch their next meal from the warm lake below the roots. I had heard about the tree stump that sat over the shore of the lake. About how it had been struck by lightning and shot down several years before I was born, as if Zues was angry at that one tree. After it had fallen into the lake, many neighbors came out from the shadows to chop up the broad branches until there was only the roots of the stump sitting above the water like frogs in a pond. I step near the small sandy shore and dip my toes in the warm water. The small silver fish swam up to my toes cautiously to take a nibble, their scales reflecting small flashes of sun back at me through the waters surface.
Almost like an animal grunting as it lays down for hibernation, I hear my brother fall to the ground behind me, splashing water up to my knees. I shriek and turned around to find my brother Andrew on his stomach, face in the sand and one black tennis shoe missing from his right foot. Sand littered his hair and clothes. I couldn’t help but laugh at the scene in front of me. “Are y-you okay?” I exclaim in between giggles as I outstretch my arm for him to grab hold of. He gave a quick laugh and took hold of my hand. I hoist him up and he landed on one foot, hopping around. “Yeah, I’m alright, where’s my shoe?” He groans but smiles, looking around for his other shoe. I shake my head at him and grab his arm, helping him hop around.
“There!” Andrew yelled, pointing his finger frantically at a black tennis shoe poking out of a dried out pot hole a few feet away from us. We make our way over to the runaway shoe and he quickly puts it on. “I don’t understand why you're wearing your shoes to go fishing with dad. We’ll be in the middle of the lake on a boat.” I say as we start to walk back to where dad was back the boat into the water.
My hair was down that day, I remember. The warm breeze blowing off the lake was calming to me that day. I felt as if nothing would go wrong in my life ever again. As we walked, I looked across the water to the island in the middle of the lake. I always wondered if someone lived there; always riding their boat back and forth to the mainland. The water gracefully calm disregarding the few bass that would occasionally jump out of the water like a flying bird diving for a meal. I look back to where my dad was setting the boat into the water to find him eating a sandwich in the now ready vessel. It was an old, metal boat about 15 feet long from the back to the front. There were 3 wooden planks across the middle that acted as seats.
“Are ju bogth rheady?” Dad asks, mouth full of his tuna sandwich. Drew and I laugh at him as he puts the plastic bag to his sandwich in the cooler and swallows the food in his mouth. “Yeah, we’re ready. But Brianna isn't wearing shoes.” Drew tattles. I glare at him silently and he smirks. I look back to my dad quickly to explain why but he has the look of no concern and says, “Why should she? We’re going to the middle of a lake to fish, not walk around on glass.” Drew huffs in disapproval but doesn’t argue back and I grin at him. Although I’d never admit it, I did bring my flip flops; they’re just sitting underneath my wooden plank-seat right now. I know that I would have to walk back on the rocky, dirt road when we were done for the day since I rode with dad on the way here and Drew had to walk alongside. Sadly, it would be his turn to ride the tractor.
I look up to the sky and suddenly become confused. On one side of the lake, the sky above it was clear. But the other side was gray, almost black. I thought that the weather was supposed to be clear and nice all day? The menacing clouds were still a little while away from actually hitting us on the lake, but it scared me. What if there’s a storm while we’re fishing? What if I get knocked into the water and can’t get out? But I look at my dad and he seems to be alright with the clouds; or he hasn’t seen them.
I shake myself from my thoughts and notice that we were already on our way to the center of the flat lake. My brother was at the front of the boat, standing up like he was from the Titanic; arms spread like a soaring eagle in the sky. His wild brown-blond hair was flying rapidly against the back of his head as my dad reached the top speed of the motor. I crawled my way carefully to the next seat where my brother was and looked at his face. His eyes were closed and his mouth smiling widely; as if giving himself to the fast, warm air whipping around his body. I smile slightly and copy him. As my arms spread out, it was as if the wind had grabbed my body and pulled me back hard enough to make me wobble in my seat, but I stood my ground against the force and felt it’s wonders of relaxation.
“Okay guys, we’re here. Grab your poles and catch at least one fish for nanny before that storm comes in. We need some bluegill tonight.” Dad said, turning off the motor and using a rope to attach the boat to a log. So he did notice the clouds, I think and glance at him. I look around and notice that we were floating slightly under a big tree with low-hanging, loose branches that swayed in the slight breezes that came. I grab my pole that I had chosen from the shed and grabbed the worm container. Opening the lid, I dig my fingers into the damp dirt to find a big worm. I feel the cold, slimy animal and grab it, shutting the lid and handing it to Drew. I place the worm on my hook and cast the line as far as I could but not to much away from the shore. The red and white bobber jumped on the water until it steadied in the surface. It was then that I realized we were sitting at the island; the backside of it though.
It was then that I felt a slight drop of wetness on my cheek. I brought one hand up to my face and wiped it off. Two more hit my forehead. I look up to the sky and gasp; the dark clouds were right over us. My eyes widen and shoot towards my dad. Drew had the same look as I did but as if he could read our minds, my dad said, “Don’t worry guys. We can stay out here as long as it’s raining. The first lightning bolt we see, I promise we’ll be back to shore faster than you can say chinny chin-chin!” I laugh and a sigh of relief washes over me.
That’s when the temperature dropped in what felt like seconds and the rain started. Heavy drops pounded on the side of the boat like marbles being thrown against a metal shed. “Yeah let’s head back guys. Reel in your lines and hold tight!” Dad exclaimed, his voice very low. I sat stunned for a second. Dad has never sounded that… scared. Drew and I looked at each other and quickly got our poles back into the boat. Before we knew what was going on, we were speeding through the once calm water, trying to get back to shore. The sky was now dark black, tinting the light around us to a dark yellow and the wind had picked up. The gentle breeze I had fell in love with earlier had turned into, what feels like, harsh gusts of microscopic glass hitting me like waves crashing against a beach.
Lakeshore houses passed by our gaze like a blur as my dad tried to make his way back to our tractor, but I could tell that he could barely see; the rain was making it too difficult. We were going top speed again, but unlike the feeling of freedom I had last time, I now felt horrified. If we didn’t make it back to shore, our boat will be turned over. “Dad hurry!” Drew yelled as he almost fell off the edge of the boat from once again, a big wave. My dad ignored him but I know he heard him. I could feel the boat go even faster than before; I thought we were going top speed. We finally reach the shore, but instead of a gentle slide into the sand, we slammed hard and almost missed the shore entirely from the knockback.
I hear the motor cut off and my dad shuffling items around behind me distantly. The wind whipped sharply around my ears making it hard to hear anything and the rain had covered my clothes, making me feel heavier than usual. “Grab everything and push the boat up to shore! When you are done, I want you both to run home!” My dad yelled and sprinted off to get the tractor. Before I comprehend what he said, both Drew and I was out of the metal boat and pushing it onto the shore. The waves hitting the sand hard helped with getting the rest of the boat onto land. “It’s up! Come on!” Drew yelled and began running up the hill to the road. I quickly grabbed my flip-flops from under where I sat and got ready to put them on when suddenly they were ripped out of my hand by the invisible force. The wind blew them back into the lake! Drew was now yelling and screaming for me to hurry up from the hill; I had no choice but to run back without my feet protected from the rocky road.
I ran up the hill to Drew and without speaking, began our sprint back to our grandmas house a mile down the road. The second my foot stepped onto the jagged rocks I cried out in pain, but I knew I had to keep going. Drew was a few feet ahead when he heard my cry. He turned his head slightly too check on me as we ran. “Are you okay?!” He yells over the wind to me, his breath hitching. As more running steps fell under me, I took a deep breath and yelled, “Yeah! Just keep going! We’re almost there!” Branches flew around our head as the wind took them into the air and down again. One landed to the right of the road that was as big as a 10-step ladder. We run and run and run. That’s when I see it. Nanny’s house was a near 50 feet from us. I can picture our grandma's worried face, looking out the window for us to return from the nasty beast of a storm.
We finally make it to the steps and into the house. Drew ran in first, then I. Slamming the door, Drew and I collapse to the floor in pain; our chests feeling like they were being ripped from our body’s. Drew then looks at me, his face white. His lip quivered fast and his breath hitched. “Bri… w-where’s d-dad?”