Between the big and first of three middle toes the water forms a point and splashes up, moves around her foot and continues on. She is laying with her back on the flat wood built up over the stream, legs dangling off the edge and swinging so slowly into and over the water, lazy sunbather. Paula P, with her dress flattened out beside her and shimmering pale.
She spilled her backpack out on the grass shoreline, barely within undisturbed reach, she is sucking on a sugar packet with her eyes closed and lizard style warming her body, getting a little raw skinned even. A little metal badge strung around her neck drifts across her chest as she stretches out her arms, the white negative shape remains. Although a child, she is a magician. She grips her hand and divines a sliver of ice, drops it through the cracks and catches it between her two big toes. Shivers, and it slips.
She counts her prayers, the sunlight bombardment and the phases of dazzling color behind her eyelids. A man passing over the bridge excuses himself and she sits up slowly, covering her body with her arms, staring down at the water as he walks quickly by her. She studies his image in the still edges of the stream, blue button up shirt. She shudders and he's already far away.
The world shudders too, for a second.
She glances at the sky, "Hum?"
The clouds are clamoring by, she is squinting through the saturation of white.
"Was that moment wrong?"
She rolls over onto her side, the man is out of sight.
"Why do I get the feeling that I should be rescued?"
