Corpus Civilization

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cynthia wandered to the edge of the river, following the noises she had heard from afar. She stopped at the water's edge, staring at the liquid blues and whites toppling over each other, reflecting spasmodically off rays of the sun. They were entrancing, lulling...Cynthia felt as if she could watch this moving, living body of water all day.

Unlike other bodies of water, this river was different. This one had layers to it. Not only did it possess a curling, writhing surface that carried chunky debris away, but it had eyes. The river's surface tossed inner contents, and the bottom floor mainly consisted of muddy sediment--none of it compared to the blink of the eyes she saw within the river itself.

The river was watching her.

Dutifully, Cynthia removed the tight shoes from her feet. She lightly threw them to the side of her trekking pack, where they bounced once and settled against the river rock. Next, she pulled off her socks and tied them together. This knotted clump she tossed by her shoes. The socks landed within range of her footwear, luckily, so that she could find them when she returned to this spot later.

"My God! This water is freezing." Cynthia gasped as her toes felt the first lap of the water against her bare feet. "Why are you so cold?"

After a few minutes, however, the chugging water numbed her feet into a dull haze. She could no longer perceive sensation in her big toes, yet she knew they were not going to freeze off. It was a cool, relinquishing of control, allowing the water to breeze over her ability to feel. It was welcoming, comforting in a way. Soon, her ankles were covered with the river's sentient contents, and she couldn't feel a thing.

At some point, she stopped shivering. As she descended from her feet to her ankles to her knees, she felt only a growing excitement within her as the water pressed against her legs. The chill that seeped into her bones was healing, enlivening. It did not bother her, nor taunt her; it just was.

"Now, you see I've entered you! What have you got to say about it?" She asked, bending down to survey the water's surface. "Aren't you going to judge me?"

Nothing about the flickering, undulating surface managed to catch her eye. The waves were hypnotic, sure, but they seemed to follow the same pattern of coalescing and separating, always chugging away to the unsteady rhythm of nature. If the river had an answer to her question, it was not willing to provide her with it directly. She had to go further, deeper into the river to come eye to eye with the truth.

"So, you won't say anything, huh? Why won't you say anything to me?" Cynthia lowered herself until her waist was covered, her trousers soaked through. "I've come this far, and you don't have anything to tell me? Nothing at all?"

The river continued to pulse past her, ignoring her pleas. Her toes dug into mushy sediment, curling around small pebbles and thick, planty strands as she pushed on into the water. When her torso was numbed with the same chill as the rest of her body, she lowered her arms into the water. The current was stronger against her body this far out into the river, and she could begin to smell the gentle rotting of algae on the surface. A few chunks rolled past her, and she reached out to retrieve them.

"See! Look what I have! I have this from you, river. I know you can see me. Tell me you can see me. Tell me if what I'm doing is making you angry."

The seaweed trickled down her hand, dripping against the flexing and bending of her fingers. Gurgling impartially, the river maintained its silence to her prying questions. The path cut through the woods was its route to follow, not the route that Cynthia wanted it to go down. After minutes of waiting for the river to speak, Cynthia angrily ejected the seaweed from her grasp. Almost mockingly, the seaweed floated through the air, landed sweetly on the uneven surface of its birthplace, and floated calmly down the river. By now, Cynthia's body was calm, frozen with the repetitive current on her body, but her mind was anything but.

"I'll have to go under then, if you won't tell me up here. I know you have something to explain. I know you have the truth."

Cynthia adjusted her long black hair in a tight bun on her head. She stared down at the ripping surface another time, wondering what she would find upon diving. Wondering if she would find the answer to her qualms. Briefly, her hands formed into fists, and she punched the water.

"Tell me I have a right to be here," Cynthia whispered, twisting to stare at the shoes on the river bank. Her shoes were right where she left them, with the knotted sock chain close by. "Tell me that I'm making the right choice. Tell me I won't go to Hell."

The river did not reply.

Sucking in a large breath, Cynthia took her anger and dove under the surface of the icy water. Her eyes burned with the initial exposure to the water, but the same numbing fate followed shortly after. Bubbles poured from her mouth as she gazed around her, sweeping her arms about to navigate in the new environment. All she had to do was search around a little more, dig a little deeper, and then maybe she might discover the long sought after answer to her doubts. The river would tell her.

Cynthia made a warbled sound when something caught her eye. It was shiny, reflecting off the strands of sunlight piercing the river's surface. It drew her closer like a magnet, beckoning her forward with the mysteriousness of its essence. There it was, her answer...the river's mode of providing to her all she needed to see.

Closer, closer she swam, reaching out for the object. It was within her fingertips before a strong force collided with her side, shoving her shoulder away from its target. Cynthia shouted underwater, thrown sideways with the current. She closed her eyes as the river began to grow lighter...lighter...

"Cynthia?"

Cynthia blinked down at her knuckles, turned white from gripping so hard at the rim of a fountain's edge. Her sister Melisa manifested in sight, lifting her eyebrow when she noticed the wetness on Cynthia's hands.

"You okay? You've been staring into the fountain for a long time. Mom asked me to check on our bride, and here I find you! Making last-minute wishes in the fountain before you tie the knot?"

Cynthia shook her head, sending visions of the river away. The fountain water bubbled and writhed, covering the glimmering coins that sat calmly on the bottom. With fascination, Cynthia noticed a coin sat in her own palm. It felt cold against her skin and was dripping with water.

Melisa placed a hand on her back when no answer left her sister's lips. "Hey, why are you shivering? Are you that cold out here? I guess there is a light breeze...maybe you should come inside. The ceremony will start in under an hour, anyway."

"Right." Cynthia allowed the coin to drop from her hand. It made a small splash, sinking slowly to the bottom. "Right, I'll...be right...there."

"Oh! And one last thing." Melisa turned Cynthia by her shoulder, leading her back into the building where the ceremony was meant to take place. "Don't worry about what the family thinks about this. Don't worry about those old beliefs, okay? Love is love, you're doing this because you love her, right? No judgment. No regrets. Get out of your head and enjoy the day, alright?"

Limply, Cynthia nodded. The water was falling quieter as they distanced themselves from the fountain.

Melisa smiled. "Then let's get on with it, I can't wait to celebrate Mrs. and Mrs. Rakic!"

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By Izzy