The Key to Everything

Part Four: Chapters 28 to Epilogue

Chapter 28

The water isn't cold but it's too deep for me to touch. Fear paralyzes me for a few seconds and I start to sink toward the bottom. By the time I claw my way back to the surface, the bamboo raft is already downstream from me. I can hear Morgan screaming and that snaps me back to life. I flail my arms in the direction of the disappearing raft. I don't see Tyson anywhere. Did he fall in too?

I struggle to keep my head afloat. I don't even want to think about what might be hiding in this murky water. I remember seeing a flyer about a crocodile farm back in Chiang Mai. Could there be crocodiles in this river? My heart seizes up at the thought and I start to sink again.

And then I remember the treading water movements that Tyson taught me. It's different in a river that's pushing my body downstream, but I do my best to make circles with my arms and legs. A tangle of some sort of vegetation coils around my ankle and I let out a shrill scream, but then I keep moving and the strand of whatever it was is gone. Focus, Oakland. I concentrate on the movement of my arms and legs. It works. I'm not sinking anymore.

I look toward the edge of the river. It's probably only fifty feet away. I start treading water in the direction of the bank, using my arms to guide me in the right direction. There's another raft from our tour group heading in my direction. If I can't make it to the shore, maybe they can pull me aboard as they go past.

And then there's a splashing sound from behind me and I panic again and start to sink. But it's not a crocodile—it's Tyson. He wraps his arms tight around me. "I got you," he says. He hooks an arm across my chest and over my shoulder in a rescue hold. "Don't worry."

"Wait," I say. "I think I can do it."

"Swim to shore?"

"Yeah. Let me try."

"Okay." Tyson releases his hold on me. He treads water next to me, watching as I focus on the riverbank again.

Using the techniques Tyson taught me at Karon Beach, I slowly make my way to the water's edge. I barely notice the people gathering along the bank. Even Tyson fades a little. I know he's there to the side of me, but I'm focused straight ahead on my goal. My feet touch the bottom as we near the shore. The thick mud sucks at my shoes.

Tyson clambers up on the soggy bank and reaches down to give me a hand. Our fingers lock and then I'm back on solid ground. A group of other rafters who pulled over to see if they could assist me give a brief round of applause. Next to me, Tyson claps too.

"Nice job," he says. "I think we'll be able to skip a couple of lessons."

"Thanks for your help."

He chuckles. "I should've stayed dry. You didn't need me at all."

"I don't know about that." I glance up at him. "Either way, it was nice to have you there."

About a hundred yards down river, our guide has pulled the raft over to the shore. He's using his pole in the sticky mud to brace the raft.

"You want to call it a day?" Tyson asks. "We can probably walk the rest of the way back to the bus."

I notice that several of the group's rafts have all pulled over to make sure I'm okay. I shake my head. "Nah. I'll get back on. This time I'll just pay more attention."

Tyson and I walk down the side of the Mae Taeng. I feel a little silly because everyone is making such a big deal out of things. I give the rest of the rafts a beauty queen wave even though I'm covered with mud. "Show's over," I say. "I'm fine."