The River, Again

Dragging someone out of a river is always a suspicious thing to do, nearly as suspicious as dragging someone into a river. The boy, realizing this, took as much care as is possible when dragging someone into or out of anywhere, and made his way back to his family’s home, suspicious but unnoticed. The girl, although she was not aware of this, had arrived at a fortuitous time, as if fainting on the banks of a river could ever be considered fortuitous. The boy’s father had been away on a fishing trip for quite some time, and would continue being away on a fishing trip for quite some time. The boy’s mother, well, he preferred not to talk about that. And so the two of them could pass unnoticed in the small village by the river, although the boy had no such intention. He wished she would awaken and say, “I’ve made a terrible mistake, I must leave at once.”

The girl, having just woken up, said, “I’ve made a terrible mistake. I must leave at once.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that,” said the boy, though he was neither sorry nor very. However, he knew that it is impolite to encourage a guest to leave, and added, “Although you are welcome to stay.”

“Then I will stay,” said the girl, and stay she did, to the boy’s dismay.