Crossing The River

We started on journey in midst of a solemn night. We had to cross the channel by the following evening, that way we could get home in time to tend to our livestock. We were bringing back fruits, spices,flowers and much more. It was a journey we had made countless times. It was just me and my partner, just like every time. We were on a small ferry. However, despite it just being two of us, even with the cargo we needed to transport, the boat felt heavy, and despite it being in the middle of summer, it felt cold. We were forced to wear our jackets we had packed as it does tend to get colder in the moonlight, however not this cold.

We paddle and paddle, until we decided to pause for a rest. Sharing our rations of water and crackers, my partner was famished, so she would eat an apple from the fruits we had collected on our journey. I started to hear a whistle, and so did my partner. And everytime we heard it, it became closer and closer. We thought nothing of it however, and shortly continued our journey. As we continued to paddle, the effort required to move the boat forward became lesser and lesser, almost as if someone was helping us or the water was getting "thinner". And the moonlight slowly became sunlight, or a sunset, but surely, we have not been paddling this long. Absolutely not. Impossible. Nor was our break remotely long enough to stall our journey to where the sun was setting.

The light become brighter and brighter, and the paddling became less and less strenuous and it became colder and colder. As we moved farther from our starting point, everything became less and less, almost as if we were losing life. We were coming up upon a narrow cave in which usually is the hardest part of the journey, and afterwards, it is a breeze. But everything on this night had felt a breeze, unlike usual. We would usually coast through the cave because of the rapid water and current, so we would let go our paddles per usual. However, we kept speeding up, faster and faster we coasted. As if someone was still paddling. And the whistling, we would hear it again. It became louder and louder, to the point our ears started to bleed, and it instantly became hotter and hotter. We were sweating, and our ears were bleeding. And the whistling turned to screams, however it was possible we were so far the whistling has always been screams. And the moonlight, sunset or whatever it was appeared to be a blistering reddish/orange. The same color the water turned...

We were officially distressed, but not in an anxious way. We accepted what was coming, almost like we knew mentally, but not physically. The boat finally started to reduce in speed, however the heat increased and so did the screams, but we had appeared to have reach of the cave, however, this is not the normal scenery pressed upon us when we exited. We turned around to check if our cargo was still intact, but as soon as we turned, we were met with a hideous sight. A man, as old as bones, with eyes of fire, with a wooden oar. And with his strength, he forced us to turn back the other way while muttering, these are yours sins, this is your new eternity as we parked the boat. Welcome he said, and welcomed we were. Adam, this mysterious ferryman stated, please lift your hand, Eve he then stated, please lift yours. We would look around to see people famished by hunger, naked but not by choice, but by lack of monetary means. People riddled with sorrow and sadness. How could this be? Why Eve and I are spoiled with gardens, and livestock and beautiful land. Where are we Eve and I shouted. The ferryman would respond, welcome to Earth.