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Ruby and Billy Ray |
REFLECTIONS
by
Ruby (Garrett) Day
Copyright 2001
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Ruby and Billy Ray |
First Scene
"Don't go any further out," I shouted to Billy Ray. He was only eight and more adventuresome than I was at eleven.
He waded into deeper water. "I'm not afraid like you."
"If you go any further, it may be over your head," I cried.
He ignored me. "No it won't. I'm not scared. You're a Sissy!" he yelled.
Those were his last words as he suddenly stepped into a deep hole and disappeared.
I was terrified, but without hesitation, plunged into the deep water after him. Just before I went under, I hollered, "Help!" I hoped some of the boys swimming up river would hear me.
I remember being suspended, as though in space, as weightless as a feather, moving in slow motion, neither touching the bottom or the surface, an eternity of ever moving, slowly onward, searching for my little brother, not scared for myself. I can remember my cheeks puffing out and bubbles escaping from my mouth, escaping to the surface. I could see and feel and even hear them. Everything was so vivid. All my senses were very much alive. My eyes were wide open. I had always kept them closed in the past when kicking for pleasure under the water as it seemed to hurt my eyes, but the thought never crossed my mind at this time. I had to find Billy Ray. Then I saw and touched him almost simultaneously. He was moving in slow motion, the same as I, but the instant I grasped his clothing with one hand, he became very still. He knew he was safe. His sister had found him. I kept one hand and arm free to move us, hopefully to safety. I hadn't yet learned to swim. He didn't fight me, luckily, as I've been told drowning people do. Ever in slow motion, bubbles still escaping from my mouth, and popping to the surface, my toes finally touched the bank that sloped slightly under the water. I grasped the soil with my toes and pulled myself forward enough to use my free arm and hand to clutch rock and soil then struggled along with Billy Ray who was so very still and calm. I reached up into the air and grasped the dry, grassy bank and we surfaced.
I set my little brother on the bank and at that very instant, my cousin, Jess, came running up. He had heard my call for help above all the splashing and laughter of his teenage friends. Since I was a girl, even though Billy Ray and I had been entrusted to Jess' care, he had left us to play in a nice, shallow place, out of sight of the skinnydipping boys.
Jess Lewis had come to see us at the Parrish Place, a pecan orchard east of Roff, Oklahoma. He had wanted to go swimming with my older brother, Cecil. They were both about seventeen. Cecil wasn't home so he took Billy Ray and me, instead. The place was a mile or so from home and was our old swimming hole, called Horsefly Bend. It was a lovely place on the Blue River which was mostly shallow, but had a few deep holes. We used it for fishing and swimming. Horsefly was our favorite part of the river, because it was over our heads with a steep bank on one side 20 or 30 feet high. It was fun to dive from or just dangle our feet while fishing. There was a tiny bit of sand along the other side, big enough for several to sit and make sand castles next to the water. And now this had happened at our favorite beach...
Ruby (Garrett) Day married a descendant of Willis Barton of Winston County, Alabama. Ruby is a descendant of the James, Carroll and Williams families of Winston County.
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