Power Lounging in the Garden of Eden, part three

Simply scroll down for parts one and two, then come back here!
copyright by LBDunn

To Iris in those moments inevitability meant doom, yet not so much a doom to be feared, nor a doom to be embraced, rather it was relaxation. It was literally the same kind of submission that all animate and inanimate nature exhibits toward water. Water will overcome all. It will flow. 

Can you remember someone saying, “Well, that was inevitable,” in reference to something nice happening? Don’t we think of ‘inevitable’ as arising from the well of malevolence instead of a cloud? I mean a rain cloud, a cloud that blocks the hot sun. I suppose the inevitable clouds are the super cells that breed tornados?

Oh, hell, let’s move the story along.  The simple truth was that death was not inevitability for Iris that day because a man was sitting on a remote ledge above the river sipping a nice Sumatran coffee and smoking a fat Californian joint. He saw Iris and, to his vast credit, did not think twice before jumping up and yelling, “Hey, get over here.” Seth jumped up and down and waved his arms and Iris saw him before she heard him. And she didn’t think twice before backstroking her way over. She didn’t slip into the river to die after all, rather she slipped in because she felt dead and now she waited in the loose mud at the river’s edge.

Seth was at what seemed to be an impossible place, but not impossible to get to. She just couldn’t tell where they could possibly go from there. “Work your way down to me,” Seth called. “Just float from bush to bush, don’t go back out; don’t let go.”

“Ok,” Iris said, shivering for the first time. Seth helped her up on the rock. “Can you stand? Are you cold?”

“Yes, I guess I am. Yes, I can walk.” He led her through to the ledge and helped her up towards the sun. He gave her his coffee. He relit the joint, she declined, so he worked on it, looking at her intently.

“I saw a raft with two guys on it go by ten minutes ago. They didn’t seem like they were looking for anyone.”

“What were they doing?”

“The same thing I was except I had coffee and they had beer.”

“Yeah, that was them.”

“What the hell?”

“They must not have noticed yet that I was gone.”

“Why were you in the water without a life jacket? Didn’t they know you fell in?”

“I didn’t fall in and they don’t wear life jackets except in rapids.”

“Yeah, but you should wear one anyway.”

“I’ve never been on a river. I did what I was told. I thought they knew what they were doing.”

“Yeah. A lot of people think they know until all of a sudden they’re in a situation. That’s when you read about experienced rafters drowning.”

“I don’t intend to raft again.”

“Now I don’t know what to do.”

“I don’t either,” Iris responded. “I don’t think I want to do anything ever again.”

“That’s not good. I guess we need to come up with a plan to get you out of here.”

“I’m sorry. Where’s your boat?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Ok. This is weird.”

“Yeah. Let me explain.”

So Seth told her what he was up to. He showed her his ancient stash place with the food. His garden was well on its way, the pot plants twice as high as anything else. Iris was entranced. “So you’re going to live here?”

“Until winter. I don’t have a plan for that. I can’t burn big fires everyday and expect not to be found out, so winter could get pretty miserable.”

“It’s a long time ‘till winter.”

“Yeah, five months or more. The only thing that occurs to me is we’ll have to put you near the water when boats go by. You’ll have to call out. You’ll have to make up a story. If you can hitch a ride today you’re story will make some sense, but the longer you’re here…”

“Hum. I couldn’t explain being alive and well unless I hitch a ride today.”

“Yeah, that’s the thing and it’s not everyday I see a boat. It seems like most people camp close to this spot and go by in the morning. Probably some go by before I even get up. You can’t hear them from back here.” Seth realized that his power lounging in the Garden of Eden was over. He had to help Iris and he couldn’t expect not to be found out. Hell, someone could just put a marker in their GPS – the spot where we found the girl. She might talk. She might let it slip. He was not feeling good about this when Iris spoke up.”

“Let me stay.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. I can help. And I have money.”

“Money doesn’t work here.”

“But your friends are coming, what, in November?”

“Yeah.”

“And I could buy stuff. Winter camping gear, food. We could buy stuff that would get us through the winter.”

“Have you thought about the search party?”

“Crap.”

“Right. Your two ‘guides’ are going to report you missing. They’re going to be able to narrow the search zone down to this stretch of river.”

“I’m so sorry. I’ve fucked everything up for you.”

“I couldn’t just let you float by. I saw you had no life jacket. I thought you were dead at first.”

“I’m so sorry.”

Just then a small party was passing by in two rafts. Seth and Iris had been talking back in the sun on the ledge. Seth just made a split second decision. He yelled. He waved his arms and jumped up and down. “Over here!”

My four albums are available on spotify, some on Pandora, and all are available for download at your favorite site. The album "Contrary" is an escapist fantasy you might enjoy.