No Rain

A Stories From The Jukebox Story

MJ Polk and Jennifer Haddock both have provided prompts for this weeks Stories from the Jukebox. In his post MJ suggested they were dueling posts. They could be. Yesterday I posted You Got It Bad. Here is today’s. Enjoy!

Prompt from: Stories from the Jukebox

Prompt by: Jennifer Haddock

Prompt #33: No Rain, by Blind Melon

March into April. Literally. Metaphorically. From winter all options are open. Cold waters flow rough and raging in their attempts to wash away the last vestiges of the desolate months before something new rises to the occasion. Dark and dreary days are replaced by soothing warmth, at least in theory.

Ervin stood on the bank of the river watching the beatitudes of a lonely winter flowing by in the gray waves when something caught his eye upstream, something colourful that had no business being in the rough dance the waves brought to the situation. Quickly he removed his coat and shoes before diving into the maelstrom. With strong strokes and perfect timing he quickly reached the object flailing about. Ervin grabbed the yellow coat and then the hand attached to it.

“No,” came the feeble sound from a hypothermic voice. “Let me be,” but the person offered little struggle as he pulled her to the shoreline. Others who had witnessed his heroic act rushed over to help pull them out of the water. Blankets were wrapped around them and warm electric gloves put on their hands.

She looked up at him from her place of growing warmth. “You!” she tried to shout but that sounded like a whimper. “You should have let me die,” she said with a quiet voice. He placed another blanket around her.

“Kristin, you know I couldn’t do that. Letting you die is not in the cards,” he said equally as quietly as a cup of hot chocolate was placed in her hand.

“I died a little bit when we broke up.”

Ervin closed his eyes and opened them again. “Is that why you ended up in the river?”

“An ambulance will be here soon,” a voice called out. Ervin looked up and nodded.

The others on the bank of the river sensed something else here and began to give them some space.

Kristin began to cry. “My life is pretty plain. I wake up and watch the weather network. I fall asleep at the drop of the hat. I miss having tea with you. I don’t go anywhere or do anything. I miss you,” she said with a yearning voice. Kristin looked away from his face as agonizing sobs wracked her body.

Ervin sat huddled in his blanket as the cool April winds blew dead leaves around them.

“The truth will hurt right now.” he thought as he waited for her cries to subside. “Lies won’t help.” He was tempted to hug her and let her know that all was well in the world but was concerned that she might see it the wrong way.

“We explored that life.”

“It was so good,” Kristin replied.

Ervin contemplated. “There were some good times but in the end we didn’t match as much as I had hoped. We have had these conversations though.” Ervin looked up as the ambulance attendants made their way down the bank.

“I don’t want to go to the hospital,” Kristin said abruptly, stifling the flow of tears.

Ervin turned back to her. “Your teeth are rattling. Your body is shaking. You need to be checked out for hypothermia.”

“You do too,” she replied. “I’ll go if you will go.”

Ervin regarded her carefully before nodding.

He quietly explained to the EMS what had happened and what he had deduced from knowing Kristin. He then watched as the EMS carefully wrapped Kristin and placed her on the stretcher. She reached out a hand. “He needs to go too,” she said with some concern.

“I’ll catch the next one,” Ervin replied as the workers moved up the hill with the stretcher.

“Ervin,” came a shrill cry as they closed the doors and started off towards the hospital.

Ervin sat back down on the bank. “I did my best. There is nothing else I can do.” He looked up at the sky. “The cold waters will slow down and warm up,” he observed. Ervin smiled as he could feel the new season growing on him.