By the River

Prologue

For Kara, on her birthday,

And for all those friends I can't live without.

August 1930

I knew that something was wrong from the moment I woke. It was too light, too alive. I knew then that I had overslept and that I had to get down to the river quickly or I would be late.

I'd promised to meet Sofia as we did every day in the summer. That day we were going to meet by the river and swim, as the water was finally warm enough. I shrugged myself into my swimsuit, pulled my clothes on, and grabbed a towel. I then tiptoed out the kitchen door, and sprinted around the back of the house and down onto the fields. I felt so free then, running across the fields on a summer's morning, in those few moments before everything changed.

I leapt over the wooden fence that bordered our estate and raced down the hill towards the riverbank. I saw Sofia's bag sprawled over a willow log near the water's edge. I had felt that something was off, why wouldn't she have waited for me? But I ignored the feeling in my excitement. I struggled to pull my ridiculous dress over my head and hoped that it wouldn't stain when I dropped it in the mud. I rushed forward and dove into the murky water and almost shrieked in shock as the icy cold hit me. It had not been that cold the previous day, hopefully it would warm up later.

I came up for air expecting to see Sofia swimming around me. But instead I came up to nothing. There was an eerie calm over the river and my stomach knotted in anxiety. "Sofia?" I called out warily. "Are you there?" I waited a few moments to hear no reply. I called again, "This isn't funny, don't try and play tricks on me." Again I received no reply. The knot in my stomach was now doing flips and I swam quickly to the bank.

As I crawled up over the mud I looked around to see if she was in the woods or by the reeds. But no, she wasn't, there was no one. I sat myself down on the willow log and tried to dry off, I'd decided to wait a few minutes for her and then head home, she was probably just playing tricks.

I dried off in the sun for about ten minutes and decided to head home. As I stood up from the ancient log I saw a glint in the mud behind it. I picked the shiny object up. The fear that struck me then was like nothing I had ever felt before. It was Sofia's locket. The one her mother had given her before she died. She never took that damned thing off. Ever. It was like another appendage, it stayed firmly attached at all times. She had never even taken it off to swim and she would definitely not leave it lying in the mud. I looked around more carefully then, and in my horror, I saw a shoe lying in the long grass at the edge of the woods. I knew then in my heart that she was gone, but I still rushed to her house in search. When I got there the fact was confirmed, she was missing. I didn't know then how I'd continue without her, I didn't understand how I would live my life. I do know now however. With difficulty.

What I had anticipated to be a fun summer's day had turned into the worst day of my life. I could never forgive myself for not being there to save her, not getting there on time. From that day I never forgot Sofia and I never stopped looking for her.