Page 65 - WCM 2019 Winter

InsIde
A Short Story By Lisa Moore
“Stay away from the river,” Andy’s mother says. “The radio says the ice isn’t solid yet.” Andy laces his boots and grabs his new gloves.
Andy’s family moved to Maine in July. So far, he isn’t too happy. He misses the city playgrounds. He misses the kids in the two-family house they’d lived in. The only things he likes here so far are the whoopie pies ... and the river.
So far, he’s been with the river in the summer, the fall, and now, the win- ter. He likes summer best. He floated in the river on hot days and fished from its banks. In the fall, they canoed and hiked along its tangled shores. Now, it was time for winter-ing with the river. He’s seen snowmobile tracks down by the store. If the river can hold a snowmobile, it can surely hold him.
“Maybe you shouldn’t go alone,” he hears his mother say, but Andy isn’t listening. He’s hoping to see the bald eagle he’d spotted yesterday. It had something gray dangling from its beak.
“Mom, I’ll be fine,” he assures her, zipping his parka. “I’m twelve years old and you still treat me like a little kid.”
She hugs him. “Sometimes I forget that you’re growing up.”
“I’ll remind you,” Andy says, pulling on his gloves. “I’ll be back soon.” “Take Max!” his mother calls from the kitchen. She’s baking pumpkin pies.
“Will the pie be done when I get back?” he calls to her.
“Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice.”
~ Robert Frost
Drew Sanborn
www.westcoastmaine.com
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