"The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away"
Job 1:21
It's day 3 of the perfect kayak week*. Trea is the best partner to have while trying to accomplish something like this. He's right down the road, he has a kayak, and he loves it as much as I do. This week was tough though. Our friend, Tricia, was in the hospital after being in a terrible car accident. She was one of three passengers in the vehicle. The other two, her brother and her boyfriend, had died earlier in the week. She was in a coma and the doctors were doing their best to relieve the pressure from her brain. That's another reason why Trea is the best to have around. While others would say it's incredibly selfish to think only of myself while my friend of four years could possibly be dying, Trea wouldn't. Kayaking was the escape. It took our mind off the terrible and focused it on to something beautiful. While Tricia was still on our brains, we couldn't help but think that everything was going to be okay as we watched the sky flood with pinks, oranges, and purples, as the sun set over the water.
We paddled out into the bay. This was actually my first time going into the bay. Before, I hung back as I watched Trea's bravery take him farther than mine would. But this time was different. Carpe Diem really seemed to have much more meaning this week. So when he told me to follow him out into the bigger water, I didn't protest. I stayed by his side.
The air was warm but it had a cozy feeling about it. I took a swig of my water and watched the sky. Yellow's blending into pinks while the sun peered in from behind. This was always my favorite part of the kayak trip. Wide open waters with a view consisting of only waves outlined with the distant trees. Boats scattered about, some zipping circles around themselves, others sitting peacefully enjoying the same sky I am. Every now and then the clouds would move in such a way creating a hazy overcast pink glow. The setting sun peering through at odd angles so one could actually see the rays beaming down over the water. Completely romantic, it seemed as if two total strangers found themselves with each other out on this water, that was it. Instant love. A scheme that only Cupid himself could be to blame. Each ray of sun one of his arrows in disguise. It was a scene that belonged only in a painting, but I got to see it for free. It's in these moments, with the boats, the sun, the water, that made everything seem worth it. As if it were an omen telling me that things really are okay. How could they be bad when there is something as perfect as this moment?
"See how fun it is to try new things, Jillianne?" Trea smiled.
I'm snuggled up in my bed, fan blasting, cat sleeping on my feet, music playing, when my phone lets out its alerting whistle.
I have a message from Trea.
'Jillianne' it reads.
I respond with the obvious 'Trea'
He quickly answers 'She's gone.'
'What are you talking about?'
A moment goes by before my phone whistles again.
'Tricia, she's dead.'
*The perfect kayak week is when one tries to kayak at least a certain distance every consecutive day for one week. It seems easy before one actually starts. After the third day, you really start to feel it. And your poor legs have given up on the concept of "sunburn".
This event happened in late May, and it's taken me a while to be able to write about it. This was before I had the RunKeeper app so I don't have the stats from this trip.
RIP Tricia, I love you and thank you for being my friend at school when no one else was and for always being able to crack me up. Also, thank you for coming to my rescue in Econ when I didn't have a colored pen to grade Trea's paper with. It sits on my shelf still.
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