It was Easter Monday and it rained again. It was as though the elements were conspiring to ruin our short week of freedom. Leslie and I sat cross-legged on the porch at the Burkes', watching the wheels of a passing truck shoot huge sprays of muddy water to its rear.
We then decided to visit Terabithia. We decided to go barefooted, in the least we lost our boots or cleats in the mud. The ground was cold and the icy mud sent little thrills of pain up our legs, so we sprinted, splashing through the puddles and slushing in the mud. P.T. (Prince Terrien) bounded ahead, leaping fishlike from one brown 'sea' to the next and turning back to herd us forward by nipping our heels and further splashing our already sopping jeans. When we went to the creek bank, we saw an awesome sight. It was like in 'The Ten Commandments' on T.V.--The water came rushing into the dry path Moses had made and swept all the Egyptians away, the long-dry bed of the creek was a roaring eight-foot-wide sea, sweeping and swirling the branches of the trees like the Egyptian chariots as the hungry waters licking and sometimes leaping the banks, daring them to try to confine it.

My stomach felt cold as I looked up at the rope which seemed to get slender and slender as the days passed. I told Leslie to forget about going to Terabithia but she insisted to. Leslie volunteered to carry P.T. I was so frightened she would lose her grip that I reminded her for time and again to 'hold P.T.'s rear with her left arm and swing with her right'. I heaved a sigh of relief when P.T. and she landed safely on the far side. The cold stream lapped my bare heels momentarily as I swung high into the air awkwardly and landed on my bottom. Thankfully, as P.T. 'sandpapered' my wet face, he also wiped away my fear bit by bit, though I found it utterly disgusting as P.T.'s muddy paws stained my beige raincoat.

We went to Terabithia again on Tuesday and Wednesday. The rain continued sporadically, so by Wednesday, the creek had swollen to the trunks of the crab apple and they were running through ankle-deep water to make their flight into Terabithia. To me, sitting in cold britches for an hour was no fun even in a magic kingdom. My fear of crossing the rushing waters increased rapidly. As Leslie never hesitated, I decided to force my body to follow, even though my mind hung back, wanting to cling to the crab apple tree the way Joyce Ann might cling to Momma's skirt.

Leslie believed that some evil beings had put a curse on our beloved kingdom. As we went up into the groves, dread lay on my stomach like a hunk of cold, undigested doughnut-- under the pines even the rain lost its driving power as darkness enveloped us. While Leslie was asking the spirits of the grove for wisdom to discern this evil spell and power to overcome it, I was shivering. However, I did not know if it was either from the cold or the place. I was extremely relieved when I saw Leslie turning to leave the grove. I felt that I was definitely not a worthy king, as I was scared of the tall trees and a bit of water.

I bravely stuck my tongue out at the roaring waters, saying to myself, "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? Tra-la-la-la..."

When I went to bed on Wednesday, it seemed like I could relax, but I woke up in the middle of the night with the horrible relisation that it was still pouring. I wanted to gather all my guts to tell Leslie that I would not go to Terabithia the next day, but I minded too much of being afraid. I did not sleep well that night as I was troubled by the fact that Leslie would still want to cross the creek no matter how high the water in it was...