Chapter 13 - Page 180 - Tunnel Vision

   Jim and Rhasha grabbed the young boy and all three hugged each other tight. At the water’s edge, people dashed into the pool and swam as fast as they could toward the rock where Jim, Rhasha, and the boy stood.

   Before they reached the rock, something strange happened. Everyone stopped swimming and began treading water, looking around as though trying to figure out what they were doing. Jim, Rhasha, and the boy stepped away from each other and watched the swimmers.

   “What are we doing, Rhasha?” Jim asked. “Why are we standing on this rock?”

   “I don’t know,” Rhasha replied.

   They both looked at the young boy. He shrugged, indicating that he didn’t know what was going on either. “The last thing I remember,” the boy said, “I was swinging on that vine.” He pointed to the vine that was now secured to the tree.

   Everyone swam to shore, still curious about why they were in the water, but unable to remember what had happened. No one recalled that the vine had snapped with the boy swinging on it. No one realized it had been mended. When Jim and Rhasha returned to their blankets, they were still trying to figure out how they’d ended up on the rock.

   “Rhasha,” Jim said, “Would it be OK if we go back to the village?”

   Rhasha nodded. “I’m ready to go, too.”

   They loaded the picnic supplies and blankets into the jeep. As Rhasha pulled the jeep onto the highway, Jim noticed something different about the air. It felt like the calm after a storm. Normally, at this speed, he could feel a breeze blowing through his hair.