Flight Risk

25 - Steep Rock Cliffs Part 2

Caleb and I got the kayaks in the lake, and I held his boat as he waded toward it, his facial muscles tightening as the water climbed his ankles and calves with each step.

"How do you get used to this temperature?" he asked.

It still made me tense, especially after a few years of the warm waters of the South Pacific Ocean and Andaman Sea but it didn't bother me to the point that it ruined the experience. I loved the water far too much for that. 

"It's like a Bandaid. The quicker the better."

"I can't believe you ran into this earlier." A shiver rocked his body, and I fought the urge to hug him.

Jumping in had been far easier than showing him my devastation. I pushed the memories of that crushing sensation and my tremble crying deeper than I was certified to dive. I held the kayak and myself steady as he stepped inside then handed him the paddles. He kept a hand on my watercraft as I waded into the cool water and tucked into my boat.

Then we paddled along the lakeshore. The turquoise waters were quite unusual for Manitoba, given that most of ours were a muddy brown at the shores and a dark almost black blue further out. 

In this corner of the lake, there were a few little bays to pass and the main town beach further south before we'd reach the main cliffs. The wind was against us for the journey there, which meant it'd be an easy return unless there was a sudden change. A few seagulls hung in the breeze as we paddled, the thumping of waves against plastic replacing our conversations. Caleb must have paddled enough before this since he was outpacing me, but he'd look back and slow down if he noticed the distance between us growing. 

Yet another thing I'd miss about him. Considerate people were such a gift.

"Do you reckon we're lost?" Caleb teased as I reached his boat near an exposed patch of limestone that seemed like a shorter version of the cliffs. "I could use your local expert skills."

"Nah, you're alright. Not bad for a man living in the interior of Queensland, both your navigation and paddling skills." 

My smile made his grow. We kept paddling at a slower pace to avoid being carried back by the wind.

"Believe it or not, we also have lakes down under. When I'm stationed near Mount Isa, there's one nearby."

"Fascinating, do tell Mr. Attenborough."

He chuckled, but my teasing encouraged him. "It's nothing like this glacial lake remnant, which I find very cool in multiple ways." Cue his adorably cheesy smile. "It was artificially created by damming up the Leichhardt River for a permanent water source to serve the growing community in the mid-twentieth century. But there are a number of animals that use it as a habitat since then, kangaroos, the vulnerable purple-necked rock wallaby, plovers, kingfishers, herons, crocodiles, snakes, and the endangered Mertens' water monitor."

"Sounds like you're quite the tour-guide yourself." And he was successfully enticing me to visit.

"Only for the people who share my interests."  

"Are you going to miss the area when you move or are you still close enough?"

Given that his pause was longer than usual, I must have broached a touchy subject. He had been reserved about it when he brought it up in the city, but he was good about throwing up boundaries if I overstepped.

"It's over an eleven hour drive, so it's goodbye for a long while. There will be some parts I miss. That will be one of them.  But there are a lot of great things about my town too. It's on the coast, tropical climate, lots of beautiful parks nearby."