Washed Away

Authors Note: In this piece I tried to score high on voice. It is about a boy and his friend who live next to each other

It was a normal summers day, people would hide inside or swim in the river to beat the heat. Me and my friend Matt liked to swim in the river because of how cold it always was. Matt would constantly complain about him being so hot and he always wanted to go swimming. We would always go swimming because the only body of water within 20 miles was a big river that ran behind our houses. I liked to just stay in my room but I would go swimming with him to hang out. Where we lived, there was usually no clouds in the sky, let alone rain. That's why everyone was so happy when the weatherman predicted that the next week would be filled with heavy rain.

It started off as a drizzle, but quickly turned into an all out pouring. I was doing fine with the weather, but Matt was going insane. Every time he would ask his parents if he could go to the river and swim, they would tell him that the rain was making the river too deep and dangerous. The downpour continued for days. The weatherman warned that the days of rain had swelled the river, floods threatened to break loose. Matt called me just as the weatherman finished his warning, asking if I could go swimming. "Don't your parents not want you to go in the river? It's getting even worse." I said back. He told me that his parent weren't home, and he's going with or without me. I asked my parents and they immediately said no, so I told Matt and he was really disappointed. That was the last I heard from him.

The next day Matt's parents called and asked if we had seen him, saying that he had disappeared. I immediately thought about the river but didn't want to say anything, because he could have just stayed at a friend's house without telling his parents. He did that all the time, but I just had a horrible feeling that I knew what had happened to him.

It took three days before they found the body. Apparently he had been hit by a falling branch from a tree that couldn't handle the high winds anymore. He was knocked unconscious and just floated on down the river, unable to be saved. The funeral was short, everyone grieved, but I was too busy imagining what would have happened if I had gone down with him. Would have I died with him? Or would I have been able to save him. All I know is that he will finally be cold now, not having to complain about the heat.