Page 114 of The Time of My Afterlife

The river? Oh, God.

Before the man has a chance to say another word, I hit the accelerator, and we speed away.

Florence’s head flicks to me. ‘The river?’ Her voice is tinged with panic. ‘We must hurry, Clark.’

The wind is so strong that it keeps pushing the car towards the kerb.

I’m probably breaking the speed limit, but I don’t care. Jack is in danger.

I swing the car into the car park, and we jump out. Pulling down our hoods, we hurry into sheets of stinging rain. The wind howls around us, and I can feel myself being carried away from the path at one point.

‘Jack!’ we both shout into the storm as we trek along the winding path. The roar of the river water rings in our ears. Lightning flashes like a torch and lights up the swollen river beside the path and the trees swaying in the gale.

I am thinking the worst. The river has swept Jack away.

My heart is about to shatter into tiny pieces. No one could survive these conditions being so close to the water’s edge.

My body is gripped with panic. At the back of my throat, I can taste sickness. ‘Jack!’ I shout until my throat burns.

‘This is dangerous.’

‘Where is he?’ I start to sob. ‘Jack, Jack, Jack.’

‘Please be okay, Jack,’ I say. ‘You’re my little mate.’

‘Jack?’

To my horror, a gust of wind knocks Florence over. She loses balance and is dangerously close to falling in. I grab her just in time. She buries her head in my coat. ‘Where is he?’

‘I don’t know, Florence.’ My voice is croaky. Tears are blurring my eyes.

47

FLORENCE

‘This is dangerous, let’s head back,’ says Clark. ‘We’ll phone the police.’

A clap of thunder makes us both jump.

‘We can’t give up. One last shout. Jack!’

There’s nothing but the howling wind and the rain.

My legs are like jelly. A few moments ago, I nearly fell into the river. The water is a churning brown and angry. Branches whip past and thunder rolls overhead.

Clark turns me around, and we are about to head back to the car when I spot a small shape clinging to a half-submerged branch. A sharp involuntary sound comes from my lungs. ‘Jack.’ I point to him.

There’s a mumbling sound. He’s not making much sense.

Clark spots him too. ‘Wait here,’ he says, his voice low and steady, the kind of calm I needed to hear. I hold my breath as Clark wades into the roaring water. He reaches out to Jack. ‘Come on, mate,’ he says, grabbing the boy. Once in his arms he lifts him onto the muddy bank and into my arms.

I take off my coat and wrap it around a blue-tinged Jack, who is sobbing with relief.

Then I crouch down and help Clark out of the river.

We all make our way back up to safety.

Tears bubble in my eyes as I hug Jack.