Fishing Trip With Grandpa

It was only meant to be a fishing trip on the lake on the edge of town. Just him, his grandfather, and his younger brother. So far things had been pretty good. The three of them were sitting there watching their bobbers in the water. For a while nothing had happened. Alexander, his younger brother, was practically falling asleep as they watched. While his grandfather, Horace, was telling him about his week. How his neighbors had gotten a new German Shepard puppy. A seven- or eight-week-old one if Horace remembered what his neighbor had told him. He had stated,”It’s a cute dog, Wyatt. But they haven’t trained it properly.”

“Barks at everything and anything that moves. Which includes falling leaves.”,Horace informed him. Wyatt was pretty sure that was normal puppy behavior. And they had only gotten it two days prior to the fishing trip. So, what had he expected from the puppy? Especially if they were seven or eight weeks old. It was going to take a long while for the little fella to be perfectly trained. That was what he was going to tell his grandfather. Right until he spotted the dark clouds forming in the sky. His eyes went wide when a loud crack of thunder boomed in their ears. Before they could even begin to turn around it started raining. Lightly at first then harder to the point that they were completely soaked through their clothes. The waves of the lake going from calm to harsh faster than any of them could even blink. Their boat started rocking harder and harder until they were nearly tipping over. The small boat’s anchor rope snapped as they were tossed around by the waves. Wyatt abandoned his fishing rod to steady Alexander. Pulling him close to his body as Horace failed to keep his footing and started falling over backwards. The elderly man hadn’t worn a lifejacket like he insisted his grandsons had to wear before getting aboard the boat. One thought ran through his mind before he fell into the water,’Great, just freaking great. Priscilla will never let me live this one down.’

It didn’t take long for Wyatt to notice his grandfather wasn't onboard with them. Despite shouting his name repeatedly and looking around he couldn't spot him. Not one hint of where his grandfather was, and the storm was only growing worse. Without thinking it through he dove straight into the water. Eyes wide as he tried to find any trace of his grandfather. But he couldn’t. Not even a flash of the elderly man to be seen. And the water was growing stronger than it had a minute before. Wyatt swam upward the best he could and when he surfaced, he nearly hit the boat. His hands grasped the side as Alexander shouted,”HANG ON WYATT! I’LL SAVE YOU!”

With that Alexander grabbed his older brother's shoulders and started yanking him back up. Using all his strength to save his older brother from the choppy waters. Once onboard, Wyatt coughed up what little water he swallowed. While he knelt in the boat, Alexander asked,”Are you okay?”

“Ye-yeah. I’m fine. I couldn’t find grandpa down there.”,Wyatt admitted. Angry that he couldn’t find their grandfather. And afraid of what that meant. Where had the elderly man gone? He couldn’t have just vanished that quickly even in a storm like this, could he? If so, then where was he now? Was he even alive anymore? That question left Wyatt feeling colder than the lake water had. Alexander questioned,”What should we do now, Wyatt? Should we try to go back to shore and get help?”

“I don’t know, Alexander. I-I really don’t know what we should do right now.”,Wyatt admitted. Hating himself for sounding like such a crybaby. Either go and get help or pray their grandfather floats to the top. And that he isn’t dead. He couldn’t just sit there doing nothing. Looking over at the water, Wyatt answered,”We should get help.”

“Help me row us to shore.”,he ordered. Giving Alexander a paddle as he stared over at the water. It felt like a mistake leaving their grandfather out there. But they had to get back to shore. Otherwise, Horace wouldn’t be the only one possibly drowning.