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.”
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