There was once a man and a woman who lived in a small cottage by the river. Life was simple and time seemed to last far longer than it did for anyone else. They were in love, deep deep unexplainable love. The kind that you can’t explain but you can see it in their faces, in their eyes, in the way their hands brush past one another. One month the two decided to go for a hike on the other side of the river, it hadn’t rained for some time so it was shallow enough to walk across. Both with a back pack, they set off to enjoy the views, the mountains, the animals, to experience each other in a new way. It was a hard hike, much harder than either of them anticipated, but they carried on in hope of reaching that amazing view they had been told of so many times. Crack! 

It was lighting and rain began to fall. The storm seemed to creep up on them. They didn’t think it would hit this early in the day. They laughed though, filled their canteens with rain water, kissed with a longing look and continued walking. They were determined to get to the top. They got half way up, the ground was getting sludgy by now, water starting to form a slight stream down hill. They sat under a tree for some shelter and ate their lunch. Starting to get a little cold now, but still determined to make it there. ‘We’ve got this’ they told each other. A big hug, a sloppy kiss and they continued on. 

This was the one day they wished time would go faster or that Mother Nature would stop such rainfall. To their luck, no such thing. Tired, dirty, soaking wet with a dampened attitude they finally made it to the top. Hooray? Alas, there was no view. The storm smothered the valley with grey and black clouds. Rain dripping in their eyes making it difficult to see. A big sigh from both. Ahhh. ‘But at least we made it’. 

They held each other for a long time knowing the difficult journey they had ahead of them. It’s almost like a race to the finish line, to get home again. But still, they know they can’t rush. The path is slippery, the path is fading and they have to be careful to stay on track. 

She looks at the man, holding his hands and says ‘I love you, honey, we can make it’. He looks at her and smiles, kisses her on the cheek and they continue down the mountain in great caution, hand in hand as not to lose each other. 

The two were great explorers, full of life, but neither had weathered such conditions before. Neither knew what to do in such torrential rain, in such a poor environment. They simply kept their eye on the prize and thought of the warm fire they could light when they got home and how one day they would look back and laugh at one another for choosing to hike such a mountain in this crazy weather. 

They made it down the mountain after some time, only a few slips here and there but they didn’t let go of each other’s hand the whole time. They think it saved a few nasty injuries too. They were on the home run, thinking of pie to fill their bellies, that hot shower and a bottle of wine to share by the fire. Everything was almost perfect!

But they completely forgot. The river by the house. There was no bridge and the water was now flowing. Stress and panic set in as the storm didn’t look as though it would pass anytime soon. 

They reassured each other it wasn’t far, some 25-30 metres across. Their last hurdle! The water was flowing but both were hopeful it wasn’t too deep. The man got in the water first and said the current wasn’t too bad. The water was rather high and sitting just beneath hip height. The woman got in too. Both with their hearts beating through their chests they looked at each other, eyes almost teary. The man said ‘None of that, I need you to trust me. Don’t let go of my hand for anything. Okay.’

‘Okay’, said the woman. They set off across the river moving as fast and cautiously as they could, their hands held above the water. The man in front and the woman following behind. They were half way and the current seemed to be picking up, after all, they were already so tired from the journey that had been taken. Almost there, less than 10 metres. ‘We’re gonna make it!’ Too excited the woman lost her footing and was swallowed into the river. Her grip, losing his, as she swept under the water and out of sight. The man turned around only to see her splash. He couldn’t see her, she was gone. He panicked. Screaming her name, starting to move down stream to try and look for her. But the current was too strong and if he stayed any longer the current would surely take him too. 

He found the edge of the bank and pulled himself out. Completely out of breath he turns around, praying that the woman would be behind him, that she made it across safely too. That he just imagined it. She wasn’t behind him and he couldn’t see her. He started to yell her name across the river. Hoping, praying that she would call back to him. He started to follow the river downstream, running, chasing, looking, screaming. But nothing. She wasn’t there, she wasn’t anywhere. She was gone. 

As everyday felt, this day was no different.  He paced up and down that riverbed for what felt like days, weeks. Maybe even months. The rain cleared, he hoped she would return. He hoped the woman would appear. That she would show her face. This was not to be. He lost his love that day. It was not his fault, it was an accident. They simply slipped right through the others fingers. 

Perhaps they’ll meet in another world, in another life when the odds are kinder.