Fighting Chances - Chapter 11: Angel

 I wake up early in the morning, so early it can be described as the middle of the night. Light from the full moon shines brightly through the screen in my tent, making it impossible to go back to sleep. I pull the covers over my head and turn over, but I can’t settle down. I’m not the least bit tired.
 I sigh and give up, unzipping the sleeping bag. The cool morning air touches my half bare legs, which had been warm under the covers. I had forgotten how cold you get when you wear pajama shorts while tent camping.
 I sit in the tent with my legs crossed, bored to death. I rise up on my knees and peek through the screen at Dad’s tent. He’s still sleeping. I sigh and think about how much I want morning to come already so I can play in the river. Of course, Ghir will probably be awake right now.
 Smiling to myself, I open my clothes bag in the corner of my tent and pull out my blue swimsuit. Dad won’t be too upset if I go swimming now, especially in the calm water at the end of our trail. I slip off my sleep clothes and replace them with the swimsuit. Afterwards, I look around at the woods outside, wondering if Ghir had been watching… no, he wouldn’t. He’s a gentleman- well, at least when he’s not sticking his tongue in my face.
 I leave a note on the sleeping bag in my tent that says I’ve gone down to the river, in case Dad wakes up before I come back. I then pull the zipper down to open the tent door and tiptoe out across the gravel on the campsite, barefoot. I’m glad I have naturally tough feet.
 I walk down the trail and come out at the flat rock next to the river. Ghir’s sitting straight ahead, wearing his swim trunks and red t-shirt. His back is turned and he’s gazing out across the water. I pause for a minute to see if he turns around, but he doesn’t. Maybe he hasn’t even noticed I’m here… it’s time for payback.
 I sneak quietly over to where he sits. I’m close now, almost close enough to touch him. A grin spreads across my face as I reach out my arms, about to grab him.
 There’s a bright flash that seems to come out of nowhere. I’m stunned and have no clue what’s going on. All I can see is darkness because something’s covering my face. I try to scream, but it has my mouth, too. I struggle as I feel myself being lifted up off the ground. Suddenly, I’m pinned to the rock and the cover blocking my vision is lifted. My attacker is holding me down, my face just inches from his, so close I can only see his eyes.
 “I told you that you couldn’t scare me,” Ghir tells me with the reflection of a wicked smile in his glowing brown eyes. I gasp, my heart pounding, and pull away from him.
 “You scared me to death, I didn’t know who you were! I actually thought I was in real trouble-” I begin scolding him.
 “Then it worked,” he says, his face coming a little closer to mine. He’s right on top of me, too, making this even more awkward. I narrow my eyes as his face continues to close in on mine. I push myself up with all my force, turning us both over to the side. I try to get on top of him, but we continue to roll over a few more times until we come right to the water’s edge. Finally, I steady myself and end up on top.
 “I say that’s at least one point,” I tell him with a smirk.
 “Alright, you have me,” he says as he closes his eyes. I smile and lower my head to his, licking him on the cheek, because I know darn well he would do that to me right now if I was in his position. His eyes widen in surprise. I just giggle and kiss him softly on the lips. He smiles back at me as I pull away, and then thrust his body forward and stands, picking me up with him. He sets me down on my feet and takes a step back. It’s not until now that I notice that the cracks on his arms have spread.
 “Did something happen?” I ask as I look down, noticing the ones on his legs and stomach, too.
 “It was nothing…” he tells me as he looks down at himself. I hold my gaze sternly. “Alright, yes, I think I went in my unconscious state for a few moments last night. What time is it now?”
 “Probably close to five,” I say as I glance up at the large, brightly lit moon. From experience, I know that the moon is in the middle of the sky at midnight in this phase, and right now it’s close to setting.
 “Oh…” Ghir looks down. I can swear I see his face pale, if he can still show emotion that way.
 “What happened?”
 “I’m not sure, that’s what I’m worried about. I lost a full five hours.” He continues to avoid my gaze and closes his eyes. “I can hardly remember any of the events past midnight...”
 “I’m sure it was nothing,” I say with a comforting smile as I place my hand on his arm. The worried look in his eye eases, but he doesn’t smile back. I bite my lip, trying to think of a way to get off the subject. After a few more moments of silence, I tell him, “I see you’re wearing your swim suit.”
 “Oh, yes… I got it from your bag yesterday while you were fishing.”
 “Do you want to go swimming? The water shouldn’t be that cold.”
 “Sure,” Ghir says as he pulls off his shirt and throws it on the ground. I blush and look away quickly, making him laugh. “Come on, let’s see how cold the water is,” Ghir tells me as he picks me up and starts towards the river.
 “Um, no, let’s not…” I mumble as we stop at the edge. He leaps off the rock with me. “Ghir!” I cry, grabbing his shoulder and bracing for the impact of the icy water. Luckily, it’s much warmer than I expect. He lets me go and comes up beside me. My bangs hang wet on my face, covering both my eyes. I brush them back and glare at him when I see his grin. “You’re a jerk.”
 “Oh, come now, you love me,” he tells me as he wraps his arms around my waist. I can’t help but smile. I blush, too, since it’s pretty awkward to be so close to him with his shirt off. He smiles and lets go, falling back into the water.  
 We swim in the river for about an hour until the sky begins to lighten, signaling sunrise is near. I crawl out of the water onto the rock and ring out my hair. Ghir comes up beside me and does the same, except he shakes it out. When I look back at him, I expect his hair to be in a mess, but the silky white locks hang smoothly where they’re supposed to- perfect as always.
 I gaze out across the water and sigh.
 “Is something wrong?” he asks.
 “No,” I tell him as I look down. “Just seeing the river, it reminds me a lot of the spring… and the village.” There’s another silence. “It’s an odd feeling. I grew up here, in this world, but yet it’s not home. I don’t even feel like I’m me. Well, sometimes I do and other times I don’t.”
 “I understand,” he tells me with a nod. A slight smile appears along with a little sparkle in his eyes. “At least you can still dance.” My eyes widen a little as I look over at him. “I saw you in the woods.”
 “Oh gosh…” I mumble as I put my hand over my face in embarrassment.
 “What’s wrong? You used to always dance in front of me.”
 “Yes, but I was much better at it, I can hardly dance at all anymore…” He sighs and looks out across the rocks.
 “I’m sure you still can. Come on, I’ll help you.” he stands and holds out his hand. I hesitate for a moment, and then take it. Ghir pulls me up and leads me over to the edge of the rock. There are several other rocks within jumping distance in the river.
 “You want me to dance on the rocks? I’m not sure…”
 “It’s how you learned before. Do you remember your first position?” I nod slightly, still not sure about doing this. I take a step slowly and hold out my arms, then come up on one leg and pull the other leg straight out behind me. I tilt my head up as I raise my arms higher, then lean my torso lower to the ground so my leg goes higher into the air. My balance is unsteady, but Ghir holds me in place. “That’s good,” he tells me.
 Remembering the next position, I bring my leg down and turn on the ball of my foot as I push off the other one. I land with one leg pulled in, bending it at the knee, and the other one set at the same angle, but going straight out. My arms stretch out to my sides. Ghir holds one of my hands, making sure I have my balance. I dread the next part, knowing how I never really attempted to spin in this life, but gather my courage and try, anyway. I turn and leap off of my feet, landing with another graceful step, then stand on my left foot. I tuck the other foot in at my knee. I have to start now, I know, or I’ll lose my momentum. I begin to turn, my right leg pulling straight every now and then to keep my force. My arms are spread out to my sides, helping to keep my balance. I only stay spinning for a few moments before I stop, letting my right leg back down and pulling my left hand farther up into the air.
 “Beautiful as always!” Ghir tells me. I laugh and leap off onto a rock in the river, landing with one leg in the air. He doesn’t even need to follow me to help this time. I pull my leg down and begin twirling across the rock until I come to the edge, then leap off that rock onto the next. I began to twirl on this one as well, coming to a stop in the second position. Ghir leaps out onto the rock beside me and joins me. It’s the first time we’ve ever danced together.
 When we stop, he catches me around the waist, just as I finish my twirling. He pulls me a little closer, making me blush again. Ghir laughs softly, and then kisses me before letting go.
 “I never knew you were such a graceful dancer,” I tell him with a smile. He smiles back, shrugging a little.
 “I learned from the best.”
♢♢♢♢♢♢♢
 After eating breakfast, Dad and I decide to spend the day swimming.
 “There’s a trail that goes a few miles down the river,” Dad tells me as we carry our bulky floats down the tiny, steep trail. We really shouldn’t have blown them up until we got to the water. “So we can float  a long way before we have to get out.”
 Ghir keeps appearing in random places as we continue down the river. Sometimes he’s behind a rock or a tree on the bank; once he’s hanging from a tree upside-down. I stare up at him, trying not smile or laugh, but Dad sees me staring at him.
 “What is it?” he asks me.
 “Nothing, I just thought I saw a squirrel…” I answer. “Or a snake,” I mumble loud enough for Ghir to hear. I shoot one last look at Ghir, telling him we have to be more careful, but he doesn’t get the message, or he doesn’t care. He loves the amusement of making me look strange in front of my dad.
 Eventually, we reach a little swimming place near the end of the trail. It has a nice sandy beach lining one side of the calm waters, which turns to rapids not much farther down, then goes to a small drop off- a perfect slide for the rafts.
 I catch a glimpse of Ghir behind one of the trees next to the beach.
 “Hey, I’m going to get out here,” I tell Dad as I jump out of the raft and make my way to the beach. “I’ll meet you further down.”
 “Alright, the trail is just past the waterfall, I think. Just meet me there,” he calls as he nears the rapids.
 “You have to be more careful,” I scold Ghir as I pull the raft to the edge of the water and sit down. “He could have seen you.”
 “I was being careful,” he says with a shrug as he comes to my side. Dad’s pretty much out of view and earshot, so luckily he can’t see him. “You were the one that kept looking at me and drawing attention to yourself.”
 “Still, you made me look like an idiot.”
 “Maybe that was the plan.” I narrow my eyes as a playful smile spreads across his face.
 “Dang it, Ghir…” I mumble. He chuckles and puts his arm around me. I look over at the rapids one more time to make sure Dad can’t see us, but I can’t see Dad at all. He’s not around the rapids or on the bank anywhere. It’s impossible to see over the drop off from this angle. I look farther out from the waterfall and see his raft drifting down the river. I stand up to get a better view , but I still don’t see him.
 “What’s wrong?” Ghir asks me.
 “I don’t see Dad anywhere,” I answer, never taking my eyes off the river. Ghir stands up beside me and looks around.
 “Try using your dowsing.” Of course, I had completely forgotten about my dowsing! I hold up my hand and move it around the area. I feel it pull around the waterfall. We run down the bank until we get to a place where I can jump across the rocks, closer to where I feel the pull. Checking one more time to make sure he’s there, I hold up my hand and feel a strong pull just below us at the bottom of the waterfall.
 “I feel him, but I don’t see him,” I say worriedly. I start to jump off the edge, but Ghir puts his arm out to stop me.
 “I’ll go; I can hold my breath longer,” he tells me.
 “But what if he sees you?”
 “It doesn’t matter.” Ghir dives into the water before I can do anything.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
 I can hardly see anything through the rushing water coming off of the falls. There’s a current pulling me straight down. I swim down into it, thinking this could be the same current that caught him. The figure of a man comes into view. He’s caught up against a rock. No doubt it’s her father.
 The current somehow becomes stronger near the bottom, pulling me further down and almost slamming me into the rock with him. But, luckily, I’m a very strong swimmer. I grab the man’s hand and pull him away, then put him in a tight hold with one arm as I swim up against the force of the water with the other.
 Once I reach the surface, I immediately put his head above the water. He begins gasping and choking. Good, he’s still breathing. I make my way over to where Fire’s waiting at the edge of the bank.
 “Is he okay?” she calls.
 “He’s fine, just a little washed out,” I answer.
 I pull him up onto the rock and lay him out. Fire stands over him, watching him closely until his breathing steadies. She smiles with relief. I nod in return and teleport away, just as the man’s eyes open wide and stare directly at me.
♢♢♢♢♢♢♢
 “Dad, can you hear me?” I ask as he looks to the place where Ghir was standing. He turns his head back towards me and nods.
 “Yes,” he says through a hoarse voice. He coughs a little more and sits up.
 “Your raft flipped when you went over the waterfall,” I explain. “Luckily you got yourself out of it and got to the bank.” That’s the best explanation I could come up with right now. My saving him would make a pretty cheesy story, and the truth certainly wasn’t the best thing to tell him.
 “No…” Dad says, as he shakes his head, his voice clear now. “Someone else did.”
 “What do you mean?” I ask, trying to hide my nervousness and act confused. A few more years of Ghir sneaking around behind my parent’s backs and I’ll be the best actress ever.
 “Someone- something else pulled me out of the current and took me here. I felt it grab me, I saw it… it was here a few seconds ago. Did you see it?”
 “No, what did they look like?” I tilt my head to the side to hide my cringe, praying anything he says won’t be accurate, or that he just won’t remember at all.
 “I’m not sure how to describe it, but… it looked evil. Its face was… like some kind of ghost or…” I cut him off before he could find the word.
 “Maybe it was a guardian angel.” I offer.
 “That thing wasn’t an angel. It was more like a demon.” I turn my head away, trying to find anything to look at besides Dad right now. I look towards the woods and see Ghir peering around a tree, looking at us. I smile a little and say,
 “Not all angels are beautiful.” A little smile forms on Ghir’s white lips. Dad follows my gaze to him, but Ghir hides.
 “I guess you’re right,” Dad sighs as I meet his eyes again. “I just have an odd feeling about it all.”
 “Well, there’s nothing we can do now. You’re okay and that’s all that matters.” I look up at the sky. The sun’s nearing the edge of the trees. “I think we’ve had enough of the river today. We should probably head back to camp.”