Afloat
The River Queen
“Oh,” she said, looking out the window. It was an “oh” that people say when everything goes wrong in one single moment. If it had been anyone but Jess it might have been followed by a torrent of swearing, or at least a bit of swearing, but “oh” was the best way Jess was able to sum up all the thoughts in her head.
The rain lashed down at the boat’s small windows. Jess looked at her mood ring and tried to remember what green-yellow was meant to be. Uneasy, she remembered. The first time in years the ring had been totally right. She looked out the window again and assumed the rain had washed away some of the riverbank. The wooden post that the rope was tied to on the riverbank must have been washed down with all the soil. In all the years she had lived on the boat it hadn’t moved from where it floated in the river, but now Jess felt it moving along with the flooding water.
It wasn’t just the boat (whose name was River Queen, painted in gold on the side) that hadn’t moved for years. Jess had managed to get people living in the nearby town to buy food and bring it to the boat for her, and being retired meant that there was never any reason for her to set foot outside. She wondered what she was going to do when the boat finally stopped moving.
Suddenly she heard a loud noise. Outside the boat? On the boat, she thought from the sound of it. Like something had fallen. The boat was in an odd part of the river where it was far lower than the edge of the river, so it was possible some animal had fallen down. She peered out the window again, and shrieked when she saw a figure at the door. She managed to stop herself from falling over with surprise, and stood by the door debating whether she should open it to whoever was tapping at it. Eventually she sighed and opened it just far enough to look at the rain-soaked man standing out in the storm, who smiled awkwardly. She stared for a few moments more, then stood aside so he was able to get in.
“Long story. Running from the law,” he said, a bit out of breath. Jess felt like fainting again, as a wave of her mood ring’s uneasiness passed over her again. “Not really, no. I was running away from a dog and should have looked where I was going. I would have ran straight into the river if I hadn’t astonishingly ended up landing on a houseboat.” She looked at him with some disbelief, wondering if he really had been joking about running from the law. It seemed more likely than him running away from a dog fast enough to trip and fall onto her boat, anyway. “I’m terrified of dogs.” Jess thought for a moment that it was a silly thing to be frightened of, but remembered that she had been too nervous to leave the boat for the last three years. She didn’t really have the right to judge the stranger. “My name’s Brian, by the way,” he said, and waited for her to speak. From the moment he arrived in, she hadn’t said a word.
“Jess,” she said, fiddling with her mood ring and looking out at the rain. There were still drops falling, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of wind and the flood water of the river felt like it was slowing down. The boat was almost returning to being still. She tried to think of something to say to Brian, and realised that being virtually trapped in a boat hadn’t been great for her people skills.
Suddenly there was another noise, this one more worrying than the sound of Brian landing on the boat had been. This one sounded like wood smashing against something. Brian stepped outside the door having realised that there was no way Jess was going to go out, and returned in almost instantly. “Em, Jess… we hit some sort of boulder or something, and there’s kind of a hole in your boat. Kind of.” He was still smiling, annoying Jess slightly, but she saw that it was an anxious smile.
He sat down as if nothing in the world was wrong, as Jess felt the boat move beneath her. She wondered if she was imagining the feeling of it sinking. She knew the river wasn’t deep, but this was her house that was going to end up as a mini sunken ship on the riverbed.
“You know, we should probably get out. We’d be able to easily get onto the bank from here.” She nodded, figuring that getting off the boat had to be better than drowning. She opened the door and followed Brian getting off the side of the boat. The rain had now turned to just drizzle. She sat down on the wet grass and Brain sat beside her, as they silently saw the River Queen sink. Jess would find a new home eventually. Her mood ring was still yellow-green, and she was never happier to see that it was wrong.
The rain lashed down at the boat’s small windows. Jess looked at her mood ring and tried to remember what green-yellow was meant to be. Uneasy, she remembered. The first time in years the ring had been totally right. She looked out the window again and assumed the rain had washed away some of the riverbank. The wooden post that the rope was tied to on the riverbank must have been washed down with all the soil. In all the years she had lived on the boat it hadn’t moved from where it floated in the river, but now Jess felt it moving along with the flooding water.
It wasn’t just the boat (whose name was River Queen, painted in gold on the side) that hadn’t moved for years. Jess had managed to get people living in the nearby town to buy food and bring it to the boat for her, and being retired meant that there was never any reason for her to set foot outside. She wondered what she was going to do when the boat finally stopped moving.
Suddenly she heard a loud noise. Outside the boat? On the boat, she thought from the sound of it. Like something had fallen. The boat was in an odd part of the river where it was far lower than the edge of the river, so it was possible some animal had fallen down. She peered out the window again, and shrieked when she saw a figure at the door. She managed to stop herself from falling over with surprise, and stood by the door debating whether she should open it to whoever was tapping at it. Eventually she sighed and opened it just far enough to look at the rain-soaked man standing out in the storm, who smiled awkwardly. She stared for a few moments more, then stood aside so he was able to get in.
“Long story. Running from the law,” he said, a bit out of breath. Jess felt like fainting again, as a wave of her mood ring’s uneasiness passed over her again. “Not really, no. I was running away from a dog and should have looked where I was going. I would have ran straight into the river if I hadn’t astonishingly ended up landing on a houseboat.” She looked at him with some disbelief, wondering if he really had been joking about running from the law. It seemed more likely than him running away from a dog fast enough to trip and fall onto her boat, anyway. “I’m terrified of dogs.” Jess thought for a moment that it was a silly thing to be frightened of, but remembered that she had been too nervous to leave the boat for the last three years. She didn’t really have the right to judge the stranger. “My name’s Brian, by the way,” he said, and waited for her to speak. From the moment he arrived in, she hadn’t said a word.
“Jess,” she said, fiddling with her mood ring and looking out at the rain. There were still drops falling, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of wind and the flood water of the river felt like it was slowing down. The boat was almost returning to being still. She tried to think of something to say to Brian, and realised that being virtually trapped in a boat hadn’t been great for her people skills.
Suddenly there was another noise, this one more worrying than the sound of Brian landing on the boat had been. This one sounded like wood smashing against something. Brian stepped outside the door having realised that there was no way Jess was going to go out, and returned in almost instantly. “Em, Jess… we hit some sort of boulder or something, and there’s kind of a hole in your boat. Kind of.” He was still smiling, annoying Jess slightly, but she saw that it was an anxious smile.
He sat down as if nothing in the world was wrong, as Jess felt the boat move beneath her. She wondered if she was imagining the feeling of it sinking. She knew the river wasn’t deep, but this was her house that was going to end up as a mini sunken ship on the riverbed.
“You know, we should probably get out. We’d be able to easily get onto the bank from here.” She nodded, figuring that getting off the boat had to be better than drowning. She opened the door and followed Brian getting off the side of the boat. The rain had now turned to just drizzle. She sat down on the wet grass and Brain sat beside her, as they silently saw the River Queen sink. Jess would find a new home eventually. Her mood ring was still yellow-green, and she was never happier to see that it was wrong.