THE RIVER 

By Tessa Harvey


    Family and friends gathered together in early winter , a few months later. Elizabeth was now working part-time for Gladys Swan, the young owner of the jewellery shop.
    Elizabeth appreciated being able to work again and Gladys gained so much from the older lady's insight and sensitivity.
    Blue was now at high school and thriving. Her new friends called her by her given name, Amy. Some of them felt pressured by the current gender dysphoria, but Amy felt secure and safe, being a child growing into a young woman.
    Josiah was doing well and his apprenticeship would last just another two years. He had made the collapsible boathook his aunt had used to save him from the river. He was proud of the design with its two detachable heads.
    Dr Harper looked at them all, gathered after a hearty barbecue. Joe had cooked the meat. Amy, her aunt, Joshua (the doctor), and wife, Anne had helped with salads and fruit and pavlova. The day had been clear, still and cold.
    Anne sat near to Amy and Elizabeth. A tantalizing cooking smell lingered.
    "Now for the river story," the doctor began. "Blue, what do you think of our river here?" "Well," Amy chewed her lip slightly, "in summer it is gentle - sparkling in the sun. At dusk, fish jump for flies, with faint-sounding splashes beneath the deep willow pools. I like paddling where it is shallower."
    "What of you, Josiah?" "Cold, swift and dangerously swollen in winter." The youth shuddered, remembering. "Destructive," he added emphatically.

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