Disclaimer: I only wish they were mine.
Chapter 1: Dragging Me Under
I lived in one of the most beautiful places in all of Canada. North western Ontario was nothing to sneeze at. Trees old as 100 years, rocks lush with blueberries at this time of year, lakes and rivers in the most unexpected places, and everything surrounded by blue skies which were unpredictable with thunderstorms in the spring and summer.
But I truly believed that one of the most beautiful things about this area resided in my very own community. Manido Bawitigong, the Spirit Rapids. I sat as near them as I could as the tears ran down my face. My mother always said that this place held great significance for our people, that water was healing and as Anishinaabe women we were responsible for the health of Mother Earth's blood. My mother...I let out a sob as I thought of her smile and wished that I could feel her arms around me again.
I had told her not to take the batteries out of the smoke alarms, but she said we would be fine. She never imagined that someone would hate us so much that they would set our home aflame in a drunken, jealous rage. I had lost everything. Everything. No one had survived and I had come home from a night out on the town to find a smouldering hole where my home had once stood. I had held my baby sister's hand as they took her off life support, the decision made by my Uncle, my mom's favourite brother. He had sobbed with me at the funeral. Burying seven family members at once was something no one should ever have to go through. I felt like I would never breath properly again.
So why bother breathing ever again? I stood at the edge of the rock contemplating the swirling waters in front of me. No one had ever survived the rapids as far as I knew, and no one had died in them since my mother was younger than I was now. I didn't want to live anymore. What was the point without them?
I jumped.
The current caught me almost immediately and I felt my body being sucked towards the bottom of the deep river. I was flung suddenly against one of the rocks and my world went black. The last thing I saw was a human-like shape swimming towards me and a sturgeon beside me.
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A/N: Oh my a new story! Well do I have your attention? Review if you want more.