A Strange Day in July

A Strange Day In July

Once a month, on a Sunday, the third Sunday, the Wilson family would go on a picnic. They loved going for picnics as a family, it was a time to be outdoors and run and play. It was a time for Mr. And Mrs. Wilson to rest on the blanket and listen out for the children as they chased each other on the grass or climbed a tree. They had there special place down by the lake. Even though lots of people used it as a picnic area the Wilson's thought of it as their own.

On the third Sunday in June the family went on their picnic. Maggie & Ben, both twelve years old and both twins went to go for a walk on the shore of a lake with their father, while mother set the picnic out on the blanket doing her best to keep the ants at bay. Down on the shore their father would teach Ben and Maggie how to skip rocks. He would look for the best rock. “It has to be smooth, son. It also has to be flat.” Once he found a good one he held it in his hand, “this is how you hold is Maggie” He said. But Maggie was off a little down the beach looking for shells. He went on to show Ben how to throw. He bent down and pulled his arm back and snapped it forward; released the rock and watched it skip across the lake.

Ben Counted, “one, two, three, four. . .” the rock did a series of quick skips that his dad said never really counted. “Four! That's awesome!” He bent down and found one and started practising. His father walked over to him and ruffled his hair.

“Keep practising son, and keep your eye out on Maggie.”

“Sure thing, dad.” Ben said as he skipped a small smooth stone over the water surface. “Maggie, get over here!” He shouted. His father gave a chuckle and walked up the small hill to help his wife finish defending the picnic from ants.

Maggie walked back up the shore and looked at rocks beside Ben, “is this one good?” She asked.

Ben kept practising and Maggie kept searching. She would walk into the water and let the cool clear water caress her toes. It was re3freshing and the round rocks gave way to smooth sand at the bottom of the lake only a few feet out from the shoreline.

Ben was getting the hang of it, he was making them skip three times and feeling rather proud of himself when his mother cried out, “Supper is ready!”

“Come on guys, time to eat!” Their dad shouted.

“YAY” cheered Maggie and splashed out of the water wetting her brother. Ben tried to skip another rock but had to cover himself from the splash of his sister.

After eating salads, sandwiches and watermelon Ben and his dad went down to throw stones into the water while Maggie and her mom cleaned up and watched the sun go down on another lovely day.

Once they were done they called to the boys to come up, “it's time to go now guys!” she shouted.

“Just one more dad, please,” Ben whined
“There’s always next time son”

“Oh come on, I was so close!” cried out Ben.

The ride home was quiet. All the fresh air wore the twins out and Mr. and Mrs. Wilson talked quietly about the weeks ahead and other things that really didn't matter in the whole scheme of things. Mr. Wilson held wis wife's hand and drove with the other.

Another month flew by. School finished and summer started. The twins spent their days with their grandparents house and the evenings tucked nicely into their beds. Each day Mr. And Mrs. Wilson would go to work and then come home have dinner with their children and then curl up together on the sofa watching the television.

Then, on the third Sunday in July the Wilson family went out for another picnic. When they arrived Ben and Maggie ran out of the vehicle and ran to the shore and picked up rocks.

“Watch out kids, don’t leave my sight, play where I can see you!” shouted Mom.

‘Ok Mom!” replied the twins.

“Hey Dad, come here and skip rocks.” said Ben.

“I will as soon you and Maggie come here and help your mother and me unpack things,” replied his Dad.

They ran back to their parents and unpacked the things quickly. All the picnic stuff was out on the grass just the other side of the wooden barricade between the parking lot and the grass.

“Okay Dad, all done!” said Ben as he had a big smile on his face.

“How about now we take it over to the picnic area under that tree,” their dad said as he picked up the hamper and some blankets.

After everything was in place Ben said, “now can we go?” His dad said okay as he was pulled by the hand down to the beach. They picked up smooth flat rocks, then started skipping them on the water. Once again the boys were so into the rock skipping that they did not notice Maggie wandering off around the lake. Maggie was off searching for seashells.

“Dad, where’s Maggie? She was here awhile go and now she’s gone. Should we go look for her?” Asked Ben.

“Hmm, you’re right Ben. I don’t see her nearby either; she probably went to go see your mother. Let’s go check on her.” answered dad.

Ben and his father both went back to check on Maggie, but there was no sign of her there.

“Dad, I’m worried. What if she lost her way?” said Ben in a shaky voice. He noticed dark clouds approaching.

“Come on, we’ll go look for her,” replied dad. They walked down to the beach where the waves started getting bigger, more fierce. “Maggie!” their dad shouted.

As Maggie wondered off in her own world, she noticed she was gone for awhile. She decided to turn around and head back to the picnic area. On her way back, she looked up and saw big dark clouds approaching. She looked down at the water and noticed a giant sparkly seashell. She gazed at it in amazement. She bent down, and reached for it. As soon as Maggie grabbed the seashell, she fell in the water. She struggled while trying to grab a branch; she then managed to grab the branch before she could get washed off by the strong waves.

“Dad! Help me!” cried out Maggie.

Ben and his dad heard screams and ran towards the sounds, they both saw Maggie. Dad ran towards her and tried reaching out for her.

“You’ll be okay, Maggie, grab my hand!” shouted their father.

But before she could grab his hand, Maggie lost her grip. Before she disappeared in the waves, dad jumped in the water and grabbed Maggie and started to swim back to the shore against the waves and the wind.

“Mom!” shouted Ben. “Come quick!” He did not want to leave the side of the lake in fear of loosing sight of his dad and sister.

Ben’s mother heard shouting and screaming. She ran as fast as she could and saw dad having a hard time trying to push Maggie back onto the rock because of the strong waves splashing against them. She and Ben both reached out to them, they grabbed Maggie. But, as soon as they tried to reach husband and father, a large wave came in and splashed against the rocks and then pulled him in with the strong undercurrent. The waves crashed and the wind howled as the three on the rocks held each other tight.

“Dad!” screamed Ben as he tried to go into the water, but his mom held him tight.

They ran back to the car and Mrs. Wilson called the police, who created a search and rescue mission. They went on searching for him for three days. Friends of the family volunteered, family came in from the south to help search for him. On the fourth day Mr. Wilson's body was found bloated and partially nibbled from fish in a small river the feeds into the lake on the south side. His skin was the colour of seaweed and had the texture of a swamp frog. Down at the morgue Mrs. Wilson had to identify the body and when she did she held onto the cold metal slab her husband laid on and dropped to the floor.

After the funeral, the Wilson family did not go for another picnic.

Several years went by and many third Sundays came went and the idea of picnicing at the lake did not enter their minds. It was too hard for them still.

One day in July Ben and Maggie were sitting at the kitchen table while their mom was making lunch. Ben was looking at Maggie, Maggie looked back. His eyes squinted at her and he looked at his mother.

“Mom?” said Ben

“Yes, Ben?” replied mom

“It’s been awhile since dad died,” he paused, there was a silence. He continued after swallowing some air. “I was thinking we could for go a picnic on his anniversary. Instead of going to the graveyard. What do you think?” asked Ben

“Sure, this Sunday will do” replied Mom.

“No mom, on the third Sunday, remember?”

Days flew by. A Sunday went by. Then another week. No one talked about the picnic or the lake. No one needed to.

On the third Sunday Ben and Maggie helped their mom make sandwiches and a potato salad. They packed up the hamper and Ben went up into the linen closet and pulled down the old picnic blanket. He was glad that his mom did not throw it away like she at first wanted to all those years ago after her husbands death. They piled into the car and drove to the lake. As they arrived, they had a hard time trying to hold their tears back. They stayed in the car in silence for a long time. Then ben said, “I'll help unload.”

“Me too,” Maggie responded. They opened the backdoor and walked to the trunk. Once they unpacked and brought the blanket and hamper over to the tree they Ben went off by himself and walked along the shore. He heard stomping behind him; he looked back and saw Maggie running towards him. They both started talking about memories they had with their father. While talking about their dad, it triggered Ben, and his anger took over him.

“Enough! Dad’s dead, suck it up” said Ben to Maggie.

Maggie knew Ben was angry and blamed her for their fathers’ death. Maggie picked up a rock and skipped it.

There was silence except for the sound of solid on liquid.

“Dad loved us Ben, you can’t be angry at me for dad’s death for the rest of your life,” said Maggie.

Ben looked at Maggie as she had tears in her eyes. He gave his sister a long hug, and then he picked up 3 rocks. He and his sister started skipping rocks.

“Supper Time!” yelled mom.

“Okay Mom, we’re coming” replied Maggie.

As Ben looked at his palm, he saw the last stone. He threw it with all his might. It skipped and Ben started counting, “one two three four five . . .” he counted to seven. He saw it do that thing that his dad said didn't count and then there was just ripples. Then he saw something strange The stone he just threw, the third stone; the third stone came skipping back.

Ben and Maggie both stared at the rock as it skipped back on the water and landed at Ben’s feet.

They both stared at each other in surprise, and looked up toward the lake and saw their Dad standing on the water; he waved and smiled at his children. Then he turned and started to walk toward the sun and disappeared. Ben and Maggie both were crying tears of joy. They ran towards Mom and told her what happened. She hugged Ben and Maggie, said a prayer, and then ate supper in silence. Ben looked at the lake. Maggie sat next to her mom and they enjoyed the picnic.

“next month I think we should come again,” said Ben.

“I think you're right,” his mom replied. She leaned over and ruffled his hair. “I think we will.”