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Amberlin was in the process of asking Ellie where she could find the next item on the grocery list when she heard a muffled yell from the rear of the store.
“What was that?” Ellie asked turning her attention to the commotion.
“It sounded like Canyon,” Amberlin replied, “but I couldn’t make out what he said.” But it didn’t sound good, she thought as they both started running towards the sound. As they ran, Ellie called out to several of the men she passed.
“Allan, follow me. Jake, you and Pete, help me out for a minute, will ya?” By the time they reached the back door, a small crowd of close to a dozen men and women trailed behind them. Ellie threw the door open with Amberlin close behind her. The two women saw Canyon down at the frozen lake but no sign of Matty. Amberlin noticed the break in the ice and her body froze in fear as she realized what must have happened to him.
“Matty fell through the ice,” Canyon yelled, confirming Amberlin’s fears. “I’m going in.” As he made that last statement, he kicked his shoes off and ran onto the ice. As he neared the opening, he lunged out and slid the last few yards, disappearing into the chilling waters which promptly devoured him like a hungry beast.
“Jake, fetch the rope next to the door,” Ellie ordered. “The rest of you follow me but stay away from the ice.” Everyone jumped into action. Within moments of reaching the edge of the pond, Jake returned with a long length of rope neatly coiled. He handed it to Ellie.
“I’m light enough to be able to get closer to the break. Take this other end and be prepared to pull on my command.” Without hesitating, Ellie made her way out onto the ice, getting within a few yards of the opening before she heard the crisp sound of new cracks. She promptly stopped and threw the end of the rope into the black hole where Canyon had disappeared moments before. Several feet of the rope disappeared into the water as Ellie played out more of it. Then nothing. Several seconds passed as everyone held their breath hoping and praying.
This was a stupid idea, Evelyn thought as she reached over to try to find a new station on the truck’s radio. Why had she promised Canyon she would stay in the truck? It had been years since the incident at the asylum when she'd been falsely accused of shooting her father. Surely no one was looking for her by now. Still, the idea of being apprehended and returned to the institution, or worse, hauled off to jail, had kept her overly cautious. Cautious and free, she thought. She was between radio stations when she heard the distant yelling of a man's voice. While she couldn't make out the words, she could tell someone was in urgent need of help.
She hesitated for just a moment as she considered what to do. I better check it out, she thought, as she turned off the truck's engine and opened the door. As she started around the rear of the truck in the direction she thought the sound had come from, she noticed a foot long length of pipe left over from a recent plumbing job lying in the back. If someone were being mugged, she'd need a little help to balance out the situation, she thought. She grabbed the pipe from the truck bed and stuck it into her waistband. She heard a second shout and recognized Canyon's voice and ran in its direction.
Amberlin stared at the length of rope lying motionless in the black water of the hole. Please, God, let them be okay. She felt powerless as she stood there frozen by fear and uncertainty. What could she do? Two of the people she dearly loved were lost under the ice, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Stay calm. Your time will come.
It had been ages since she’d heard that inner voice but recognized it instantly as the voice of Papa Herb. He’d been right. He hadn’t abandoned her. But what did he mean, her time would come?
She was still pondering the question when she noticed the rope quiver slightly followed a second later by a length of it disappearing under the water.
“We’ve got ourselves a nibble,” Ellie shouted to the crowd behind her. “Okay, men. Pull slow and steady. Let’s see what we’ve caught.”
The line of men did as they were told and within seconds Canyon's head broke the surface of the water as he took a loud gasp of air. He held the rope wrapped around one arm, and a limp Matty held securely in the other. "Get me out of here," he pleaded between chattering teeth.
“Keep pulling men. We’ve almost got them,” Ellie instructed. She knelt down and reached out her arms. “Just a little further. I’ve got you. Just a little more.” Without turning her attention away from the two people in front of her, she yelled. “Someone get some blankets.”
“They’re on their way,” someone in the crowded yelled back. “They’ll be here in just a second.”
Amberlin looked around to see a couple of women running down the hill from the store with blankets in their arms. She was moved to see how everyone joined forces in a crisis like this. As she started to turn back to the rescue scene at the pond, she noticed another familiar figure—her mother running towards her from around the building. She started to yell to her mom to go back to the truck but then stopped. It felt good to see her mother coming down the hill even as she worried that someone might recognize her.
Evelyn ran to her and gave her a big hug as she took in what was happening. Amberlin felt something in her mother’s coat poke her but didn’t think much of it. It felt so good to be hugged. The two of them clung to each other as the men finished pulling Canyon and Matty to safety. Everything would be okay now, Amberlin thought with a sigh of relief... that caught in her throat as she heard, “He’s not breathing. The boy’s not breathing.”
It couldn’t be, Amberlin thought as she looked on to confirm that, indeed, Matty showed no signs of life. Someone threw a blanket around Canyon’s shivering shoulders as he lay Matty’s still form down on a second blanket.
“You’ve got to help him,” Evelyn whispered in her ear. “It’s up to you.”
“What can I do?" Amberlin asked. She'd recently read about a technique developed by the American Heart Association called CPR that was advocated to help people in such emergency situations, but she had no idea how to perform it.
“Does anyone know CPR,” she called out to the crowd, but everyone only looked at her with blank stares.
“You have to help him,” Evelyn repeated. “Remember how you saved me in the asylum,” Evelyn continued, referring to when Papa Herb and Amberlin had found Evelyn in the midst of hanging herself. Amberlin had somehow managed to bring her mother back from the brink of death, but that had been years ago. Truth be known, she’d questioned whether she’d really done anything or if her mother had simply woken on her own.
It’s time, Papa Herb added. Trust yourself and remember, as you pray, move your feet.
It had been one of Papa Herb’s favorite sayings and most important lessons, the need to be in action as one asked for help from God.
Amberlin felt Evelyn relax her grip and gently push her towards Matty. What am I to do? What am I to do? Amberlin kept asking herself, but even as she did so, she kept moving toward the little boy who she’d grown to think of as her younger brother.
She heard several people in the crowd speak out. “What’s she doing? Shouldn’t we get help? Where’s the sheriff? He’s on his way.”
Then a large man in bib overalls wearing a bulky coat that made it him even larger, stepped between her and Matty. “Stop, little girl. Let the adults handle this.”
Before she could say anything, she felt Evelyn pushing her way between Amberlin and the man. Her mom held a length of pipe in one hand, waving it at the intruder. “Step out of the way,” she ordered, “or you’ll be lying there next to Matty. Let her do her thing.”
A hush grew over the crowd as the man stared at the little woman who threatened to take him out. Tense seconds passed, then the man shrugged and stepped aside. “It’s on you if the boy doesn’t make it.”
Her pathway cleared again, Amberlin rushed to Matty where she promptly lay down beside him. She grasped his frozen body in her own and hugged him. As she did so, she closed her eyes and envisioned entering his body with her spirit. Come back to me, Matty, she pleaded. There are people here who love you and would miss you if you left us so soon. Please, come back.
She wasn't sure how long she lay there with Matty in her arms. Someone had placed a couple of additional blankets over them creating a warm nest as the crowd of people huddled around them keeping a safe distance as Evelyn stood guard. Amberlin continued to call to Matty. Remember how much fun we had last summer picking blueberries near our home? And how about those trips down to the creek fishing for crawdads? Just think how much you'll miss if you leave us now. Please, come back to us. We all love you so much, and you have such a great life awaiting you.
She continued like this for an indeterminate amount of time. Finally, Amberlin felt Matty move. She glanced down at his angelic face as his eyelids fluttered. “Welcome back, little man.”
“It’s a miracle,” a young woman still holding a bag of groceries in one arm shouted. She held the hand of her daughter with her free hand. “How did she do it?”
Evelyn turned to her and replied proudly, “My daughter is a healer.”
“Really?” the woman asked.
Canyon, still shivering despite the blankets wrapped around him, stepped between the two women. “Evelyn, what are you doing here? You need to return to the truck, immediately.” He turned to the other woman. “Hello, Maybelle. Good to see you again. Please, don’t pay Evelyn any mind. She has a vivid imagination especially when it comes to her daughter. You have a good day now, you hear?”
Before Maybelle could reply, he turned back to Evelyn. “It’s time for us to go. Help Amberlin. I’ll carry Matty...” Leaning closer to her, he whispered, “...before Sheriff Bailey arrives.”
As Evelyn helped her daughter to the truck, Canyon bent over to pick up Matty, keeping the boy wrapped in a blanket.
“Come on up to the store,” Ellie said. “We need to get you out of those wet clothes.”
“I’ll be okay,” Canyon replied as he started walking towards the parking lot. “It’s more important to get Matty home where he belongs.” He stopped and turned to Ellie. “Thank you for pulling us out. I owe you.”