The Waterhole
Gwendolyn Hall stood at the waterhole for the first time in 30 years. The old rock spring still looked the same: 20-feet wide, surrounded by thickets of trees and bushes. But like all childhood memories when greeted with adult eyes, it felt smaller.
She could still hear Wendy, her twin sister, saying, “It’s magical”.
“Not magical,” Gwen said aloud to the empty forest. She contemplated how the innocent magic of Wendy’s youth had been replaced by the tired and jaded voodoo of her way-too-early adulthood.
Gwen and Wendy were twins only by birth. Gwen was the brown-haired lonely schoolteacher. Wendy was the blonde beauty— a gregarious fun-loving actress. They were often at odds with each other. Part of Gwen believed this waterhole, not Hollywood, was where she truly lost her sister.
Standing here now, Gwen did not feel magic. What she felt was her intense fear of drowning. She dropped her purse behind a rock, thought about Wendy, and still fully dressed, jumped in.
As children, Gwen and Wendy visited the waterhole every summer. They found it while exploring the vast forest around their uncle’s cabin on Treble Lake in Northern Minnesota. On their last summer trip to the cabin— despite Gwen’s dramatic protests— Wendy, fully clothed, jumped into the waterhole.
Twelve-year-old Gwen watched in horror as her twin sister disappeared under the water. When after 30 seconds she did not reappear, Gwen’s concern teetered just shy of hysterical. She nearly dove in herself to save Wendy, but her phobia of drowning kept her dry.
Just as Gwen began surveying the forest for something to help, Wendy’s head popped up, smiling a triumphant grin. “It’s cold, but wonderful. I swam about 15 feet down. The current just barely pulled me.”
“Isn’t it scary?” Gwen asked, not sure whether to be mad at her sister or happy she was alive.
“It’s magical. I touched a giant rock and an energy surged through me. I made a wish.”
“A wish? For what?” Gwen said skeptically.
“To be rich and famous.” Wendy said, unaware of how soon that wish would be granted. “What else is there, Twin?”
At the time, Gwen never thought to answer, “Happiness”.
By the next summer, their uncle had sold the Treble Lake property and the waterhole with it.
Like her sister 30 years before, adult-Gwen hit the frigid water and dove under. She kept her eyes open and was surprised at how well she saw. As she descended, her eardrums popped with pressure. Her lungs begged for air. Then she saw it. There, sticking out from the precipitous wall was a huge car-sized boulder. She swam down further and touched it, but felt no magical energy, just the burning of her lungs. Using the boulder, she jettisoned herself up and broke the surface with a choking gasp.
Despite her skepticism of the waterhole’s powers, Gwen still hoped for a miracle. “I wish for Wendy to kick her drug addiction once and for all,” she said, then heard a growl behind her. She whirled around. A giant brown bear and two cubs stood at the water’s edge just 5 feet away.
The mother bear roared. The cubs ran toward the forest. The bear swiped its immense paw at Gwen’s head. She ducked under the water and swam to the middle of the hole. When she came back up, the bear was standing 10-feet tall on its rear legs and still roaring. It came back down pounding the ground and splashing the water, as if deciding whether or not to dive in and attack Gwen. Suddenly, a loud beeping ring startled the mother bear. It was the cell phone in Gwen’s purse that she’d dropped behind the rock. The bear turned toward its cubs and ran back into the forest.
Twenty minutes later, sitting in her car on the roadside, still soaked through and shaking from the whole experience, Gwen listened to the message left on her cell phone.
“Hi, Gwen. It’s Wendy. I’m calling from a rehab center… near Hollywood. I can make one call a week… so… um… I’m calling you. Love you, Twin. Could really use your support right now. Um… bye…”
Staring at the phone, Gwen shuttered to think what might have happened if Wendy had not called when she did. The magic, she decided, was not in the waterhole. It was in their sisterhood. Gwen noted the number that Wendy had just called from and began dialing.
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Can not be reproduced or used without written permission Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved.
Gwendolyn Hall stood at the waterhole for the first time in 30 years. The old rock spring still looked the same: 20-feet wide, surrounded by thickets of trees and bushes. But like all childhood memories when greeted with adult eyes, it felt smaller.
She could still hear Wendy, her twin sister, saying, “It’s magical”.
“Not magical,” Gwen said aloud to the empty forest. She contemplated how the innocent magic of Wendy’s youth had been replaced by the tired and jaded voodoo of her way-too-early adulthood.
Gwen and Wendy were twins only by birth. Gwen was the brown-haired lonely schoolteacher. Wendy was the blonde beauty— a gregarious fun-loving actress. They were often at odds with each other. Part of Gwen believed this waterhole, not Hollywood, was where she truly lost her sister.
Standing here now, Gwen did not feel magic. What she felt was her intense fear of drowning. She dropped her purse behind a rock, thought about Wendy, and still fully dressed, jumped in.
As children, Gwen and Wendy visited the waterhole every summer. They found it while exploring the vast forest around their uncle’s cabin on Treble Lake in Northern Minnesota. On their last summer trip to the cabin— despite Gwen’s dramatic protests— Wendy, fully clothed, jumped into the waterhole.
Twelve-year-old Gwen watched in horror as her twin sister disappeared under the water. When after 30 seconds she did not reappear, Gwen’s concern teetered just shy of hysterical. She nearly dove in herself to save Wendy, but her phobia of drowning kept her dry.
Just as Gwen began surveying the forest for something to help, Wendy’s head popped up, smiling a triumphant grin. “It’s cold, but wonderful. I swam about 15 feet down. The current just barely pulled me.”
“Isn’t it scary?” Gwen asked, not sure whether to be mad at her sister or happy she was alive.
“It’s magical. I touched a giant rock and an energy surged through me. I made a wish.”
“A wish? For what?” Gwen said skeptically.
“To be rich and famous.” Wendy said, unaware of how soon that wish would be granted. “What else is there, Twin?”
At the time, Gwen never thought to answer, “Happiness”.
By the next summer, their uncle had sold the Treble Lake property and the waterhole with it.
Like her sister 30 years before, adult-Gwen hit the frigid water and dove under. She kept her eyes open and was surprised at how well she saw. As she descended, her eardrums popped with pressure. Her lungs begged for air. Then she saw it. There, sticking out from the precipitous wall was a huge car-sized boulder. She swam down further and touched it, but felt no magical energy, just the burning of her lungs. Using the boulder, she jettisoned herself up and broke the surface with a choking gasp.
Despite her skepticism of the waterhole’s powers, Gwen still hoped for a miracle. “I wish for Wendy to kick her drug addiction once and for all,” she said, then heard a growl behind her. She whirled around. A giant brown bear and two cubs stood at the water’s edge just 5 feet away.
The mother bear roared. The cubs ran toward the forest. The bear swiped its immense paw at Gwen’s head. She ducked under the water and swam to the middle of the hole. When she came back up, the bear was standing 10-feet tall on its rear legs and still roaring. It came back down pounding the ground and splashing the water, as if deciding whether or not to dive in and attack Gwen. Suddenly, a loud beeping ring startled the mother bear. It was the cell phone in Gwen’s purse that she’d dropped behind the rock. The bear turned toward its cubs and ran back into the forest.
Twenty minutes later, sitting in her car on the roadside, still soaked through and shaking from the whole experience, Gwen listened to the message left on her cell phone.
“Hi, Gwen. It’s Wendy. I’m calling from a rehab center… near Hollywood. I can make one call a week… so… um… I’m calling you. Love you, Twin. Could really use your support right now. Um… bye…”
Staring at the phone, Gwen shuttered to think what might have happened if Wendy had not called when she did. The magic, she decided, was not in the waterhole. It was in their sisterhood. Gwen noted the number that Wendy had just called from and began dialing.
Back to Andrew's Page
Can not be reproduced or used without written permission Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved.