This is a short story I've been working on for several months that was completed a few weeks ago. For some reason I backburnered it instead of just posting it. But now @oblivioncubed has provided the perfect #worldbuilding prompt to give me an excuse to release it! @worldbuilder/worldbuilding-prompt-589-averting-disasters
Kevin found a spot underneath the lone oak tree where the grass wasn’t up to his knees and spread out the blanket he brought with him. Looking back over his shoulder, he stared at the woman slowly following him up the trail. She had stopped to look at some flowers. They always distracted her, he thought with a small smirk to himself. He knelt down on the blanket and started to spread it out, pressing the low grass flat below the blanket. After a moment of fighting with a corner of the blanket that kept flipping back over he decided that was the perfect spot to place the picnic basket and plopped it down on the curling edge of the blanket. He stood back up as the woman reached his side and turned to her.
“It’s beautiful here, Kevin,” she said, tucking some of the small white flowers she had plucked from beside the path into her blonde hair. “I think this is my favourite spot in the entire world.”
“But Abby, we haven’t ever left Oakenhust before,” Kevin said with a chuckle. “Who knows where this river leads. There may be more villages down there. Or maybe a city!”
“Or maybe it’s the ocean,” Abby said with a smile. She knelt down to brush some dried grass that had stuck to her dress and noticed how dirty her hands were. “Oh, Kevin, let’s go for a swim. I’m covered in dirt from scrubbing floors for the past week and I need to wash it off.”
“You don’t want to eat first?” Kevin eagerly asked Abby. He motioned for her to sit on the blanket and pulled the picnic basket towards himself.
“If you aren’t lying and you were able to get white bread from the miller then I am not soiling that wonderful fluff with my grit and grime.” She said defiantly, but playfully. “I want to taste the food, Kevin. I don’t want to taste my work.”
Kevin hesitated, unsure. He had a plan and she was interrupting it. Reluctantly his hands let go of the picnic basket and he smiled at Abigail. “Of course my love. Let’s go get you clean so you can eat like a princess for once.”
The couple stood, arm in arm, and walked towards a calm portion of the river that was just beyond a bend in the river. They stripped to their nightclothes and plunged into the calm pool. It was early spring in the Oakenhurst valley and the water was chilly from the mountain runoff. The melt had come fast and furious with the level of the river receding only a week prior. This year hadn’t had as much flood damage as usual to the surrounding farms, but Kevin did have to help a neighbour replace some fencing. The ground had gotten too soft for the weight of the stone wall and it had fallen over allowing Gordon Perry’s cows to get into Marvin Nurth’s pasture. The feud between those two families was famous, so it wasn’t just Kevin that helped repair the fence, but the whole village. Mostly to keep the peace, but partially to be in a prime position to watch in case a fight broke out between the two old coots.
Kevin and Abby swam out into the middle of the calm pool quite a ways from shore in this wide section of the river. It was a wonderful spot with a natural bedrock dam that slowed down the river in the spring to form a wonderful swimming hole. With less water in the summer, the pool would get a bit stagnant, but it also made for excellent fishing.
“You seemed a little worried that I wasn’t hungry,” Abigail said as she draped her hands over Kevin's shoulders. “I hope it wasn’t because you got brown bread.”
She gave Kevin a sly wink as she leaned in for a kiss.
“No, my love. That’s not why I’m nervous.” Kevin said with a laugh. He broke away from Abby and swam upstream a bit and then lazily drifted back down towards her, ducking under the water as he approached and popping up directly in front of her, planting another kiss on her lips and brushing away the blonde hair plastered to her face. “I have different things to be concerned about. Like why the water is so murky. That’s a bit unusual.”
“Yeah, now that you mention it the water was pretty close to clear when we got in.” Abigail started to swim upstream back towards where they entered the river but was making slow progress. “Kevin, I can’t seem to swim upstream.”
“Just swim towards the edge, Abby. It’s okay.” Kevin started to swim towards the shore, getting pulled farther downstream. He paused to look back and could see that Abigail was getting pulled further toward the center of the river as the strength of the current increased.
“Kevin!” She screamed. A moment later and her head was underwater. Kevin tried to swim to where she went under, but the current was so strong. He felt something grab his leg and he dove under the water in an attempt to catch it but missed. Now the mud was making it hard for Kevin to orient himself and the current caused him to tumble without control.
Finally, the world stopped spinning as Kevin was pushed into a tree that was pinned against two rocks. The branches bent around him from the current and more debris came flowing down the river, battering him and driving the last of his air out of his lungs. It wasn’t long before the world drifted to a small point just out of Kevin’s grasp. And then it was gone.
—
Gregory had lived near the Stonewater River all his life. His farm belonged to his father before him and both men had experienced many surges in floodwater down the usually placid river in late springs. Debris dams upstream can cause huge quantities of water to pool behind the trees, bushes, logs, and sediment that pile up. When one of these dams lets go it releases a giant flood of water that can raise the level of the river several feet in under a minute. He knew to stay clear of the river when he saw the normally dark gray water turn brown with silt. A dam upstream had given way and was now sending an unknown quantity of water his way.
Greg spent several hours riding out the flood in his childhood home that sat upon a wide plateau in the river valley, some fifteen feet above the rivers normal water level. It was perfectly safe from all but the worst floods. He reasoned that if a flood could take his home he was fine with that and would let it take himself alongside the structure. Once the water began to recede, Gregory finished up the meal he was eating and stepped outside to inspect his fence lines to make sure the sheep wouldn’t escape. He had set them loose in the pasture on the plains above the river and was not worried about any of them being swept away, but Greg was behind on shearing and needed to bring them back home to his shearing pen down near the river by tomorrow night to finish that job.
It was along the fence that he noticed a large pile of tree branches and wooden boards from destroyed structures deposited along his fence by the now-receded river. The flash flood came and went as fast as its descriptor and Greg was sure it was one of the worst ones he’d seen in thirty years. He would need to gather some of the other farmers to help him clean the debris away. He was sure some of those farmers would also need his own assistance clearing debris from their fields and yards too. That’s what communities are for, though.
As Greg was passing by the debris he noticed some muddy brown fabric mixed in with the debris. He climbed over the low fence and knelt down to investigate. When he lifted the fabric he revealed a human leg. Greg’s heart started to race. “Mary!” he shouted. His wife had gone to visit the neighbours upstream to return a pot left over from last weekend’s potluck dinner. His heart broke at the thought that his beloved wife had been swept away in the flood and drowned. “No, no. Gods, don’t take my Mary.” He cried as tears streamed down his face. He pulled branches off the body and scraped mud away, searching for a face. When he finally uncovered the body's face he sighed greedily with relief that it wasn’t his wife. Gregory didn’t immediately know who it was and felt ashamed at how he treated the stranger's corpse. He removed the rest of the debris with more care.
A little while later Greg’s wife Mary came walking down the path from the house to him. Greg didn’t see her at first, but when he noticed her he ran to her and embraced her. “Dear, I thought you got swept away. I found a body after the flood.” He started to cry, “I thought it was you!”
“It wasn’t me, love. It’s okay.” Mary comforted him with a tender touch to his cheek. “But who was it?”
Greg pointed to the pile of debris. “I don’t know. I didn’t recognize the person. I feel terrible for how I treated the body.”
After taking a few minutes for Greg to collect himself, Mary and her husband started sorting through the mud and trees, pulling branches out of the muck and piling them beside the stone wall. It was tough work since a lot of the trees were still green and their thin branches had tangled together into knots. Greg reached for a branch that was covered in muck, but the soft squishy texture of the object made him recoil. Wiping away some of the mud Greg was heartbroken to realize that he found another body. This one he treated with more respect, pulling all the branches off the person so he wasn’t tugging at the body, and once pulled free he laid the body next to the other person. It was only then that Greg took note of the two people laying at his feet. He still didn’t recognize them, but saw that it was a male and female around the same age. Calling over to Mary, Greg mentioned that he thought that they might be two people that were out on a date near the river.
Mary looked at the bodies of the young couple. "I think I recognize the boy from Oakenhust. I'll fetch a blanket to cover them with and then we should take them to town to see if anyone recognizes them."
Greg nodded in agreement as Mary went back to the house. He looked back at the bodies and couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to them. Had they been swimming in the river when the flash flood hit? It pained him to think how young they were, with their whole lives ahead of them. He could only imagine the heartbreak their families would feel.
As Mary returned with a blanket, they carefully wrapped the bodies and loaded them onto a cart. They made their way toward town, hoping that someone would recognize them and give them closure. The ride was somber and quiet, with both of them lost in thought and grief for the unknown couple.
When they entered the town, the sight of people mingling and gathering in the square caught their attention. The word had spread quickly about the flood, and people were gathered to make sure their loved ones were safe. A young woman with curly blonde hair looked up at Gregory. As the blood drained from his face he immediately stopped the cart and stared at her as if he'd seen a ghost.
—
Kevin and Abbey were laughing as they walked through the town square, telling old stories from their past as children when they noticed that everyone was gathered and somber. They couldn't quite put their finger on it, but something felt off. It was as if a strange sensation was in the air. The sound of a cart approaching caught their attention, and they turned to see Gregory and Mary coming toward them. Their faces were somber, and their cart carried something wrapped in blankets.
As the cart drew closer, Gregory’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He stared at Kevin and Abby, the young couple were like twins to the bodies lying in his cart. A chill ran down his spine as he realized that he was looking at the spirits of the people he found in the river after the flood.
The crowd around them began to whisper, pointing first at the cart and then at Kevin and Abbey. Gregory's face was a mask of shock and disbelief, and Mary looked at the couple with a mixture of sadness and fear. It was as if the spirits of the drowned couple had come back to the world of the living, to seek answers about their untimely demise.
Kevin and Abbey didn't know what to do or say. They had never seen Gregory or Mary before, but the look on their faces told them that something was terribly wrong. "Do you know who they are?" Kevin asked, pointing to the cart.
Gregory shook his head slowly. "I...I found them in the river after the flood. I don't know who they are. But they look like you. Like twins, almost." The words hung heavily in the air as everyone around them fell silent. It was as if time had stopped, and the world was holding its breath.
As the weight of the moment settled in, Kevin and Abbey looked at each other with a sense of understanding. With a determined look, they walked towards the cart and the wrapped bodies. As they approached, the spirits of the drowned couple began to fade away, their essence slowly dissipating into the air. Kevin and Abbey stood beside the cart, their eyes closed and their hands clasped together in prayer. A soft glow emanated from their clasped hands, and slowly, the spirits of the drowned couple faded away completely.
The townspeople watched in awe as the couple seemed to work their magic, and when they opened their eyes, the feeling of dread that had been hanging over the town had lifted. Gregory and Mary looked at Kevin and Abbey with a mixture of gratitude and confusion, unsure of what had just happened. But Kevin and Abbey just smiled at them, content in the knowledge that they had helped as the realization sets in that they are the drowned couple and their last image faded out of existence.
From that day on, the town returned to its normal pace of life, but the memory of the drowned couple lingered on. Whenever Gregory and Mary would walk down by the river, they could hear the sound of two people splashing and laughing in the distance. It was as if the spirits of the drowned couple were still there, enjoying each other's company in the afterlife. And so it went for many years, the haunting call of eternal love echoing through the town, a reminder that even in death, love can still endure.
https://www.pexels.com/@ayyub-jauro-2494201/
