Twenty-five years ago, I self-published The River of Rain, a philosophical exploration of freedom, human nature, and the modern world. To mark its anniversary, I’m releasing a fully revised edition, one chapter every Wednesday. This is the novel as it was meant to be. Continued from Chapter 17.
Victor was feeling well enough by the afternoon to stand for more than a few minutes at a time. He still winced whenever he twisted the wrong way, but the color had returned to his face, and the fever that had nearly killed him seemed to have finally broken.
Together he and Ariana dragged the bear into a better position. Victor showed her where to make the first cut and how to work the hide loose without damaging it.
“The knife does most of the work,” he said. “Don’t force it.”
She nodded and copied his movements as carefully as she could.
Jenny stayed well away from them. She had wrapped herself in her coat again and sat staring into the fire, trying very hard not to look at what they were doing. Every so often curiosity won and her eyes wandered back. The smell alone was enough to make her regret it.
“I never thought I’d be doing this,” Ariana admitted.
Victor smiled faintly. “A few weeks ago you couldn’t even look at a rabbit.”
“I know.” She laughed quietly and shook her head. “I’ve changed.”
Victor didn’t answer. He simply kept working.
After a while Ariana lowered her voice. “You know I have to leave.”
His hands stopped. “I know.”
“I can’t stay here forever.”
“I know.” He resumed cutting, but his movements had become slower. “I wish things were different.”
“So do I,” Ariana said. The words escaped before she could stop them.
Neither of them spoke for a long time.
Trying to lighten the mood, Ariana nudged his shoulder. “Tomorrow you’re teaching me how to shoot that bow … So next time I get stranded, I won’t starve.”
He looked over and laughed. “I doubt there’ll be a next time.”
By evening the meat had been hung near the fire and the hide stretched across wooden stakes driven into the cave floor.
“You should sleep,” Victor said, glancing at Ariana.
“I’m fine.” She yawned before finishing the sentence. “I’ve been carrying firewood for three days,” she muttered.
“And carrying me.” He raised an eyebrow.
After washing the blood from her hands, Ariana crawled beneath the bearskin. The dried grass beneath it was surprisingly comfortable. Victor tucked the edge of the hide around her shoulders.
“Wake me if you need anything.” She reached out and squeezed his hand once before closing her eyes. Within minutes she was asleep.
Victor settled himself beside the fire. He intended to stay awake a little longer and make sure it didn’t die out.
Across the cave, Jenny stared at the flames. Sleep refused to come. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before she finally stood.
The cave was quiet except for the crackling fire and Ariana’s slow breathing.
Victor appeared to be asleep too.
Jenny wandered aimlessly around the chamber, partly to warm herself and partly because sitting still only made her thoughts race faster. The place seemed less frightening now that she had spent a few hours inside it.
Near the back wall she noticed a narrow crevice she hadn’t seen before. It was partly hidden by shadows. She glanced toward Victor. He hadn’t moved. Curiosity got the better of her.
The crevice was short and ended in a small chamber no larger than a garden shed.
She stopped cold. Modern camping equipment was scattered around the small space. Sleeping bags. Backpacks. Cooking pots. Flashlights. Boxes of matches. Camp stoves. Fishing line. Even unopened cans of food.
Jenny slowly reached in and picked up an old backpack. The zipper stuck halfway open. Inside she found extra socks, a rain jacket, several granola bars that had long since expired … and an old digital camera.
She pressed the power button. Nothing. The battery was dead. Placing it aside, she reached her hand into the bag again and felt around. Folded neatly inside were several printed photographs. Jenny unfolded them carefully.
A smiling family stood beside a lake somewhere in summer. A man with his arm around his wife. Two little girls grinning at the camera with marshmallow sticks in their hands. The next picture showed the youngest daughter sitting on her father’s shoulders.
Jenny felt a chill.
“What are you looking for?”
The voice nearly made her drop everything.
Victor stood quietly behind her. He wasn’t angry, but the look on his face was hard to decipher.
Jenny clutched the photographs and stuttered, “I… I was just looking around.”
He stepped closer.
“Whose was this?” she asked, waving the photos accusatorily.
“I don’t know.”
“You stole it.”
“I found it.”
Jenny looked around again, panicked. Who was this young man? Was he dangerous?
“I’ve never hurt anyone,” Victor said quietly, as if he could read her thoughts.
Finally, she spoke. “Have you ever showed Ariana this?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Victor rested one hand against the rough stone wall and looked away toward the main chamber where Ariana slept. “I’ve spent a long time alone,” he said.
His answer troubled Jenny, but she said nothing and they returned to the main chamber together.
Victor crouched beside the fire and dug at the coals with a stick. Jenny sat nearby, rubbing her hands toward the warmth. Neither spoke for several minutes.
Finally, Jenny broke the silence. “She’s not the same person anymore,” she said, glancing at Ariana.
“No.” Victor looked at her. “Neither are you. You risked a lot coming here looking for your friend. It’s changed you.”
Something about the strange man and her friend’s secret life frightened and fascinated her at the same time. He was different from anyone else she’d ever known. Intense. Full of life. She reached over and brushed a loose strand of hair away from his face before realizing what she had done.
Victor didn’t move.
“You’ve had a hard life,” she said softly, leaning forward. Victor hesitated only a moment before meeting her halfway. Their kiss was brief, uncertain. When it ended neither of them spoke.
Ariana woke but didn’t move. The cave was strangely quiet, and their fire had burned down until only glowing coals remained. Then, as her vision cleared, she saw Victor and Jenny sitting beside the fire pit.
Jenny’s hand was resting gently against Victor’s cheek; his fingers closed around hers. Then he leaned forward and kissed her.
Ariana stopped breathing. In a single instant, everything she thought she knew about him came apart. She lay frozen in the darkness while neither of them realized she was there.
Continued in Chapter 19…
M.A. Kleen 
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