Never Too Far by Thomas Christopher

of the way. All the while he built up so much momentum that he couldn’t stop himself. He ended up tumbling down to the bottom and landing on a bed of smooth stones at the far end of the pool. He was a bit shaken up by the fall, but other than a sore butt and a few scrapes and bruises, he was all right.
    Besides, in front of him, only a short distance away, was the waterfall crashing into the pool.
    “Joe!”
    He spun around. Halfway up the crevice, Mary sat slumped against a tree root.
    “Joe!” she cried.
    So much panic was in her voice that Joe panicked too. He thought maybe the wagon had been attacked again. He tore after her, stumbling and clambering over the rocks and twisted roots, until he reached her.
    She held to a root with one hand and clutched her waist with the other. Her knees were skinned and her dress torn. She sniffled beneath her floppy hat.
    “What’s wrong?” Joe asked.
    “You ran off,” she said. “I thought you fell and you might be hurt.”
    Joe pushed her hat up and saw her whole face for the very first time. It was like a tiny bird’s head stripped of skin and feathers down to the white bone. Her mouth was stained with dark blotches of dried blood from eating the deer leg. Her purplish lips quivered. Her eyelids drooped heav ily over her eyes. Then she lifted her lashes and her wet eyes cleaved him like a wound. She threw her arms around his neck and curled her body tight against him.
    “I’m okay,” he said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to run off like that and scare you.”
    “I was afraid something happened to you.”
    “I’m sorry. That was a stupid thing to do.”
    His insides clenched as tight as a fist, clenched so tight he thought he was going to be sick.
    After they climbed up the crevice, they made their way through the forest and over the bridge to the wagon. Joe had one thing on his mind. They had to get water soon. That was undeniable. Somehow he had to find a way to the waterfall. He drove the wagon onto the bridge, but Lester and Sam’s hooves slipped on the slick logs. They stopped, unsteady and nervous. Joe got out in front and coaxed them forward. Their hooves clopped against the wood. The tire rim scraped along the length of a log, peeling off a black strip that revealed a line of yellow wood beneath.

 
     
    Chapter 20
     
     
     
    Once they made it safely across the bridge, Joe got back in the cab and they continued on slowly. He knew there had to be some way to the waterfall, and sure enough, just over a rise there was a track leading into the forest. The path was narrow and bumpy. It swerved abruptly one way before switching back. The wagon knocked against tree trunks jammed next to the path. A few trees craned low over the trail so that the horses had to duck and squeeze under them.
    Then the wagon got stuck on something. The horses tugged and pulled, tearing off bark and branches, until the wagon broke away. Joe was afraid he’d made a bad decision. Perhaps this path didn’t lead to the waterfall. But he had no choice other than to follow it to the end now. There was no way to turn around in the narrow confines. It was like creeping through a tunnel that you hoped held daylight at the end. The words of his brother Frank echoed in his head: “Don’t go too far off the road. The last thing you need to do is get lost.”
    Presently, they came to a fork. One way led up a steep incline while the other way dropped down a sharp slope. They took the slope down. The horses stepped slowly to keep from skittering over the rocks. The wagon rocked and clunked. Drops of water shook loose from the leaves and hit the cab’s roof. Finally they reached a landing and stopped. For the first time since they entered the trail, Joe heard the sound of the waterfall again. It seemed to be blasting in his ears. Ahead of them through the trees he saw the white water and the milky clouds of mist.
    “We made it,” he said. “We made it. We’re here.”
    Mary didn’t