Chapter 3

The Vanishing River

We arrived in Kraighten on a Tuesday. The next Sunday, we decided to explore a new area. We took some food and walked slowly, stopping to eat lunch on a big rock near the river. After lunch, we sat and smoked, then walked again. My friend, who likes to draw, made some sketches of the area. Suddenly, the river ended. It just disappeared into the ground. I was surprised and said, “Who would have thought this?” Tonnison, my friend, looked confused at where the river went. “Let’s keep going; it might start again,” he said.

We walked without knowing where to go. After a while, Tonnison saw something like mist near a big rock. “Let’s check it out,” he said. We walked through bushes and came to a high place with rocks. We saw a lot of trees and bushes below. “It looks like a green spot in the middle of these rocks,” Tonnison said. Then we saw a big spray of water going up into the air, making rainbows in the sunlight. “How beautiful!” I said. “Yes,” Tonnison replied. “There might be a waterfall. Maybe it’s our river. Let’s go see.” 

We walked down a hill and into a forest with many trees and bushes. The trees were close together, and it was a bit dark and scary. I noticed that some of the trees had fruit, and it looked like this used to be a big garden a long time ago. I told Tonnison, and he thought I might be right. The garden felt very old and lonely. It was quiet, and it seemed like strange things could be hiding in the bushes. I felt a little scared. Tonnison seemed to feel this too, but he didn’t say anything. 

Then we stopped walking. We heard a noise in the distance. Tonnison listened carefully. The sound was loud and constant, like a roar. I felt nervous. What was this place? I looked at Tonnison to see what he thought. He looked confused at first, but then he understood. “That’s a waterfall,” he said. He was sure now. We started walking towards the sound. The noise got louder as we got closer. It sounded like it was right under us, but we were still in the forest. “Be careful,” Tonnison said. “Watch where you’re going.” 

Then we came out of the trees and saw a huge open area. Right in front of us was a big hole in the ground. The loud noise was coming from there, and there was a lot of mist. We stood there for a minute, just looking. Then Tonnison walked carefully to the edge, and I followed. We looked down and saw a huge waterfall. The water was falling from the side of the hole, very far below. “Good Lord!” Tonnison said.