Misfits

Part 5

The river stretched in both directions forever. It was about five yards width, but it was shallow. It was clear and clean, being shaded made it easy to see everything in it. There were rocks spread out all through it, from big ones that stuck out and caused the water to ripple and create waves around it, all the way to little tiny pebbles. You could see small fish jetting through the water, and every now and then a very mini baby lobster would scurry out from under a rock, backwards, and go under another one.
      "Wow, look at the minnows," Becca observed. "The what?" Reba asked, so I didn't have to. "Those little fish that are swimming super fast, those are minnows. And the little lobster looking things running backwards, those are crawfish."
      "Let's get across it and then read our next clue." Becca took her shoes and socks off. She held them in her hand as she navigated her way across. We all followed her example, and I found it rather easy to walk through it. I though everyone had it as easy as me, but when I looked back everyone was way behind me and walking slowly. The were taking big steps and lifting their feet out of the water, splashing and loosing their balance from time to time, but never falling over. I even pasted Becca.
      "Oh my gosh, Becky, you're like an aquatic ninja over there, geez!" Andrew stubbed his toe on a rock and almost swore, but he quickly changed it to 'Son of a bi–sqic pancakes!' "You look like you were doing this since you were young. Did you sneak off to a river when you lived in Town?" Milly squealed as a crawfish swam over her foot.
      "No, I did what I was supposed to, and then... didn't, I guess." "What about when you were younger, younger. Did you live with your aunt your whole life? Was there a time before when you lived with your parents?"
      I don't remember a time before living with my aunt. Just one day I was, and I was told a whole bunch of stuff about why I was there. I was never told why I was different.
      "It seems like I was nothing and then one day I was at my aunt. Honestly, the earliest memory I have is walking through my aunt's front door, and her saying 'You will call me Aunty, now let discuss the other rules in the kitchen'." "That's strange." I walked on across some more, and I thought about how good the water running over my feet felt, how relaxing the stones under my toes felt. For some reason, it all seemed too familiar, like I've been here before, but it wasn't a significantly fun memory so I forgot about it.
      I though about how nice it might be to live out here. Away from the Town and its rules, separated from the world. How peaceful it would be to build a small house right by this river a raise a family, play in this very river with my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren, and eventually one day die peacefully from old age and let my kids take it over.
      Again, something nagged at the back of my mind, like it all was to familiar. Finally, I reach the other side an decide to wait for the others by sitting on the ground. I plop down and watch them cross, but that quickly becomes boring. So I look for something else to study or do or look at. I scan over all the plants that border the river, and my eyes come across something. A blueberry and raspberry bush! I reach toward it and a tingle went down my spine. Some one screamed "Becky! No!" But I couldn't tell who it was. Because I was somewhere else again. I was with that girl again. "Come on!" She encouraged me. I ran faster, but she was still ahead of me. I looked at the ground and my legs moved super fast, the grass is as tall as my knees. With my spare hand, I stick it out at my side and feel the grass run through and brush up against my fingers. I look back up again, and the girl looks behind her. I see her clearly. She has long, dark, curly hair. It is loose and the wind is blowing it behind her. She has a splash of brown dots on her nose and cheeks. Her eyes are hazel, she has long lashes, and is smiling. Her face is lit up and it's beautiful. It's so gorgeous and kind that it makes me smile too.
      "A little farther Becky, we're all most there!" We ran a little farther, and we came to a river. It was huge, and you could see all the activity going on in it. "Look at the crawfish!" The girl pointed at one as it ran under a rock backwards. I though they looked so funny doing that. "Here," she reached in the river waited a second, and pushed the rock out of the way and scooped the crawfish up in one motion. Her hands were cupped as she showed me him. "What should we name him?" I though a moment, racking my brain for possible boy names. "How about Andrew," I justified. Andrew was the name of my cousin. We saw him a few times a year, and he was very funny.
      She smiled. "That's a good name, I like it too. Let's realise him now." She bent down on her knees and held the crawfish just above the surface of the water. I cupped my hands around hers to help her realise him. "On the count of three we'll let him go. Okay?" She looked over at me and I nodded. "You count this time." I felt honored to share my knowledge with her, to show her I am intelligent. "One, two, three!" We both let go, and Andrew dropped out of our hands into the water. He reached the bottom, ran in one backwards circle, and scurried off backwards somewhere else to hide under a different rock. We stood up and watched him go. "Bye Andrew!" I called. She glanced down at me and said goodbye too. "Fair well, Mr. Andrew, Sir. I hope you enjoyed meeting us. Tell your family we said hi!" We stood there and waved at him for a little while longer.
      Eventually, the girl said "Becky, you want some berries?" I nodded and followed her a few steps over to the blueberry and raspberry bushes. She picked four off of each, two for me and two for her. "Here you go," she ate hers all at once, so I ate mine like that too. We each got more, this time me picking my own. After a few more berries I heard a calling. The voice sounded familiar and soothing. "Supper time!" The girl looked down at me and stood up. "Let's go inside now, it's time to eat dinner." She extended her hand for me to take, and I grabbed it. "Becky, Lily, time to eat!" "We know!" She responded, and we took off towards the house. It was a light, sky blue house with white shutters, doors, window panes, and railing. The curtains were yellow with little flower designs on them. A few hanging plants hung from the porch roof. I climbed up the stairs with few difficulties. The woman at the door looked like the girl, Lily. She had long dark hair, and looked fairly young. But she had two wrinkles around hr eyes, which she called smile wrinkles. She said you get them from smiling all your life, your face muscles wear your skin out and make it droopy. "Let's go girls, Todd's already in the kitchen." We passed over the threshold into a small, grey and red and yellow kitchen. There was a table in the middle of it, and an older boy sat at it. He was older than Lily, but younger than the women. He looked like them too, only no smile wrinkles.
      Lily pulled a seat out for me, in between her and Todd. I scrambled up and sat down. The woman handed each of us a plate. "You always were my little explorers," the woman mumbled to herself as she sat down. We passed around food, and each of us gas ourselves heaping piles of something with cabbage and carrots and sauce in it, what did Todd call it, coleslaw. We got chicken legs and bread with butter. "Thank you mom!" Todd shoveled a huge spoonful of coleslaw into his mouth. "Ah, thanks mom!" Lily began eating too. "Thank you moma!" I stutter and pick a piece of coleslaw up in my fingers, inspect it, and eat it. "Your all very welcome!" Mom began to eat too.
      "Becky, look!" Lily picked up my spoon and held it in front of me. "You can see yourself in it!" And there, staring back at me, was a very young kid. My hair was long and curly and pulled into two ponytails at the sides of my head, I had dots on my nose too, and I had buck teeth.