"The Raft" - A short story
Would you sleep on a raft in the jungle?
Short Story: I felt my feet hit the soft, cushioning sand. It was a nice day; no clouds, sunshine illuminating the jungle. My mood was a reflection of the weather, a joyous day. I began to walk to the end of the sand and the beginning of the water. My contraption was done, my raft would be ready to step foot in and sail. I took my backpack off the sandy ground and carefully stepped onto the raft, into the river.
I sat down in my raft, my small portable chair set up. I began to row and I felt the raft begin to increase in speed. It wasn’t frightening or violent, just the perfect speed to relax. I opened my bag and got out a snack. I began to eat, watching the sunset. It was satisfying, watching the ripples in the water, listening to the birds chirping in the trees, the foliage rustling with small creatures.
I put down my bag on the side of my chair and began to row again. I was surprised to see a sliver of green ahead of me and I ducked before the vine hit me. I stood up, looking backwards. It was such a nice day. I felt appreciative of nature.
I opened up my bagged dinner and began to eat with my wood spoon, fork and knife. While I was eating, I spotted a few birds and took photos. I packed my dinner back into my bag and unrolled a small mat on which I could sleep. I lay down on it, and closed my eyes, relaxing to the sound of the river.
It was almost completely dark out when I heard the sound of trouble. I had woken up to the sound of a waterfall. I stood up, panicking. What should I do? I looked over the edge of my raft and saw fast moving water. The noise was getting louder.
I felt the ice cold water hit me like a cold shower on a hot summer day. I had my backpack safely attached to my back, my chair clinging on from a carabiner. I grabbed my raft and tried to swim against the current, but was largely unsuccessful. I felt the noise grow louder and louder, like the footsteps in a hallway in the middle of the night in a old house. Bubbles flew everywhere.
All of a sudden, out of the blue, I was in the air. The noise was as loud as a freight train, or at least it felt like that. I felt scared out of my life. I looked down, and saw around 60 feet of air before the water. I was descending rapidly, my heart rate elevating by the second. I was struggling to keep calm as the adrenaline boomed through me and the ground became bigger and bigger, obstructing the rest of my view.
I felt a booming crash as I hit the water, then another as my raft hit the water. I couldn’t see a single thing besides the dark blue that engulfed me. I couldn’t feel anything but the shock as I felt myself recover from the fall. I began to calm down. Everything was calm now. I climbed onto my raft and the noise began to go away. Everything was as it was before. I unrolled my mat, set down my backpack and chair on the mat, and lay down, staring at the stars. I felt myself begin to drift off to the sound of birds. I was asleep again.
Thank you for reading Fiction Redesigned! If you would like to receive email notifications when I publish a new story, you can subscribe to this publication!