The wind blew at my back, reviving dead leaves, as stray drops of water occasionally hit my face. My bare feet trudged through the moist soil – not yet mud, but not quite dirt anymore. The sticks and rocks I stepped on were only momentarily uncomfortable when they would usually prompt me to run back to the farm and put my work boots on.   

         Soon, the wind picked u,p and my tangled hair whipped around my face, obstructing my vision. The stray drops turned into pelting bullets, harshly dotting my face. They mimicked my tears, the only difference being their lack of warmth and salt.   

         I finally came to the river, famed for taking the lives of young children and livestock. My stained white dress clung to me, drenched with the rain and my sweat. I stared at the rushing water before me. Its murky depths hid the perilous chunks of earth that lay in its bed. Every child in the region had been warned of the rocky daggers that lay under the current. They’ll capture your feet and hold you hostage. They’ll impale your arms, legs, and abdomen until you bleed out. They’ll bash your temples, rendering you un-awake until the rapids drown you.   

         I stepped one foot in. The cold spike of the racing waves was a stark contrast to the humid air around me. Goosebumps rippled up my leg, and soon, I could barely feel my foot. This did little to discourage me as I pushed on, bringing my other foot to join the first one. Soon, I was submerged up to my knees. Then, my hips. Then, my elbows. Then my chest. Then my neck. And finally, my head. I let the water cascade over me, soaking my knotted hair. And just before I lost all control of my standing, the river stilled. The wind stopped. The rain ceased. The clouds opened, and the sun shined down upon me, drying my tears. The riverbed held only soft sand, none of the precarious rocks that the elders would warn us about.   

         I continued walking, eventually emerging on the other side. My dress looked as though it had been freshly washed and pressed. My hair was silky and smooth, as though it had just been brushed. My feet held no remnants of the journey they took me through the fields and the woods to get here. I had been made new, just like they said I would.