The Relaxing Complication

• Ruby Stewart, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2013

Ah! Peace, serenity, just floaty even. There I was floating on a bamboo raft in the middle of a deep, calm lake. I look to my right. Pine trees covered in snow inhabited happy birds chirping merry little tunes. I look to my left. Canoes neatly lined up next to the shore waiting patiently for children.
I close my eyes as I pass a branch covered in frost. Icicles hung from it like ornaments on a Christmas tree. I feel the bitter cold wind nip upon my cheeks.
I was on camp and most people would complain about the cold but I don’t. Yes it was freezing but it’s too beautiful of a scenery to complain. Who would want to criticize floating gently on a raft? I could feel the detailed ripples of movement. But then my muscles tense and my throat goes stale dry.
My eyes flash open and I suddenly find myself sitting up. I was facing a drop not ten feet away from me. I jump to work paddling hopelessly back to shore. Thrashing the water and panicking till the last minute when I was sent overboard. From there I just fell down, not even trying to stop.
I plunged into the deep water. Black as night, cold as snow, deeper than the ocean. Almost haunted, the lake sucked me towards the bottom. I tried to swim against it to reach the surface.
I gasped for air but received a gallon of freezing water. I thrashed at the water like I was throwing a tantrum. I was shivering violently from the icy temperature I was coping with. My life flashed before my eyes as I drowned until someone grabbed me and pulled me upward.
I blinked and sat up. My heart was beating like a drum and I was breathing heavily. It was all gone. It was all a dream. Thank goodness. I faced the clock. It was five o’clock in the morning and the sun was shining brightly through a tiny sliver in the curtains. I hopped up, stretched and smelt the forest air and got dressed. I was going to float on the lake.