The two of them arrived at the river at dawn. Tor was not tired after the long ride through the night where he dozed off occasionally but yet magically stayed on Tsen's back through it all. Rather, he was exhilarated by the thought of escaping with such a mighty helper and on his way homeward again to his mother, Nila, and her arms after so long. He thought she wouldn't recognize him he had grown so much.

The unnamed river was swollen out of its banks from the thaw that always came in springtime. And, there were chunks of ice floating by as it poured into the Po, discharging its addition to that mighty river. Tor dismounted and Tsen ambled to the water to drink. They both needed to rest, but they couldn't on that side of the river, because the entire Po clan would be out looking for them. Unless Leia told them of his plan. Hopefully she did and they wouldn't waste time following him.

But he couldn't take a chance, so Tor looked around for what he could do to get across what seemed like an impossible task, the rapidly flowing, very cold river in front of him. He was sure that he could swim across, and so could Tsen. But what if they were washed into the Po where they would be drifting downstream only to have to return to this spot? He had to think of a better way.

Tor let Tsen graze on dry grass as he pondered his options. Chewed on a bit of dried meat for nourishment, thinking of warm porridge. All around him were rafts in various states of disrepair and rot that had been used like the one the girls and he had crossed the fall before when the river was low and placid, making it relatively easy to cross. He tested the water. It was nearly as cold as the ice that was melting in it. Colder than he had experienced all winter while bathing in the Po. He took a drink, a long one, in sips because it was so cold as to numb his tongue. But he would have to chance it, he had no other choice.

Among the scattered remains, Tor found a small raft that he could put his belongings on to keep them from getting wet. Even his fur coat that he would need dry on the other side. He had already braided a long rope of hide that he knew he would need along the way from time to time. It was strong and supple--just what he needed.

Removing the two pouches and fur covered deer hide from Tsen's back, Tor dragged the small raft down to the water's edge and placed everything on it, including his backpack that he tied down with rawhide to make sure that it would not fall off. It looked to him like the raft would keep everything above the water, but he wasn't sure. He tied the long hide rope securely to the end of the raft that he felt would ride up on the water the easiest, and then, sat there for a moment thinking of his next move. But there was only one choice left.

Tor slid the raft gently into the water and found that it did, indeed, keep his belongings out of the river and dry. Grateful for that, he started pulling the raft along the riverbank with the rope upriver. It was hard, especially where the bank was cut away and higher, but the high water helped him with that and after a long struggle, he reached the spot where he could barely see the Po in the distance and would cross there where it was wider and slower.

Tsen had followed along, grazing as he went. The riverbank provided a lot of grass that had survived the winter like his species always did, snow or no snow. This was his environment and he thrived in it. Sensing that they were going to cross, the stallion went down to the water and placed his hoof in it, pawing, snorting. Seemingly eager to cross. Something that his kind always did when they came to rivers in their travels.

That was all the signal that Tor needed to act. He went again down to the raft and took off his greatcoat, shirt and footwraps. He secured them on the raft, as well as his prized bow and arrows, knives and fire making implements that he so needed to survive. Hoping against hope that he would not lose the raft in crossing, and thereby, lose them as well, his primary source of survival.

Only in his loincloth, Tor entered the shocking water and hoped that the cold would invigorate him enough to make it all the way across. With the end of the hide rope gripped in his teeth, he set out to swim across the river against the mighty current pulling the loaded raft behind him.

At first, Tor made good headway towards the middle of the flow. But the cold quickly began to lock up his arms and legs, numbing them and even had him beginning to think against all his survival instinct that he would not be able to make it to the other side. But he struggled on, all the time being swept towards the Po, something that could not happen or he wouldn't be able to try again. He began to panic. He didn't have enough in him to make it.

All that time, Tsen had followed, downstream of him and was keeping up the pace. Somehow sensing that his new master was in trouble, he came up alongside where Tor could grab his mane and rest against his warm side while still kicking to move forward. Before long, but what seemed too long for Tor, they reached the other side and he got his cramped legs and numbed to the knee feet on the muddy bottom and numbed to the elbow hands on the bank to crawl up on it, so cold and exhausted, seemingly near-death, until the warm sun on his back brought him to his senses.Tor crawled to his knees, unlocked his fear and cold clinched teeth from the hide rope and with snake like slithering of unfeeling hands and feet dragged the raft up on the bank, gathered up his greatcoat and curled up in it.

Tor awoke late in the day, warm but thirsty and hungry. Tsen grazed peacefully nearby. He looked across the river and saw no one there. He hoped that Leia had stopped them from coming. He didn't want anyone from the clan trying to cross that river. He felt relieved that he had faced death and survived. What would he face ahead? He didn't know, but traveling alone was always dangerous. He knew he would find out how dangerous as he went. Time to think about a fire and eating something away from this river so that he wouldn't be seen if others did come.

In a short time, both refreshed from their rest, Tsen and Tor found a suitable place to camp for the night some distance along the trail northwest well beyond that river of no return that he had promised to return to some time in the future, but not to think about anymore now.

With a hot fire to keep predators away and hot food to eat, the two of them settled in for the night, their first night on a long road ahead to the end of their journey on the Rine. Tor missed the warmth of a woman, but slept through sweet dreams of some of them that he had known.

Copyright © Ronald W. Hull

10/22/19