River

A slouched figure was walking on the road from the school to the chief's house, not looking at where he was going. It was a short walk, being most of the public structures in the village were located at the hilltop, as well as the chief's house.

As you expected, the pig got out of the pen again and saw the boy. However, noticing that he was not exuding the usual aura, the pig stopped beside the boy and nudged it's nose at his leg.

"I'm sorry. I'm not in the mood to play." After leading the pig back to the pen and locking the gate, he continued walking to the house.

When he was at the door, he heard voices inside so his mother was talking to someone and won't be able to comfort him.

"Nnn... Ahh..."

"Just... -ast... I got... early... Mmnn.."

"Ok... *giggle* ...-icklish..."

He wasn't able to hear most of the conversation but there were rustling sounds inside, followed by his mother, kind of, arguing with someone.

When the door slowly opened, the light from outside illuminated the two figures intertwined near the doorway. Noticing that there was an additional person in the room, they jumped apart looking a little disheveled. Well, Mahina's clothes were slightly skewed with her hair tie undone but Bobo was still presentable.

"Ling!"

Looking at the his father first, then his mother, Ling frowned then stretched his arms and ran with his short legs to hug his mother. He was only able to hug one of her legs, reaching as far as the middle of her thigh. He then looked up, face scrunched up with slightly wet eyes, "Mother, the others played a prank on me again."

Mahina patted her son's back to comfort him as they listened to his complaints while turning to smile apologetically at her sighing husband. It was a good thing Ling did not enter at a later time, though it was not considered good by the chief.

Resigning to his fate today, Bobo crouched down to talk to his son, "Then why don't we go to the river now to play. There was a pool the other hunters found that was not affected by the strong current. Your sisters haven't gone there yet."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Ling became excited that he extended his arms to his father, wanting to be carried as it will take longer even if he ran using his short legs.

"Let's go!"

Mahina laughed at this change, "Ok, wait here first and I'll get a few things you need and some snacks."

"Faster, mother!" The boy was now fidgeting while sitting on top of his father's shoulder.

"But the pool was still near the strong current so you have to always watch where you step." Bobo reminded his son while they were waiting for his wife.

The kid nodded with a serious face so his dad wouldn't take back this outing. He kept thinking that once he told his adventure to his sisters, they will be so jealous. It didn't come to their minds, that will Ling's luck, it will really be an unforgettable adventure.

___

The part of the river where most of the people go to passes through the side of the village from the forest until it reaches the outer boundary of the village. The pool Bobo mentioned was in the forest near where the kids often played. They were never allowed to go near the river as the current in the deeper parts was too strong even for adults. Some of the stronger men still go to the river to fish but mostly at the area near the end of the village since the current there slows down.a little.

For the village's water supply, a pump was usually used to get the water, like for irrigation. Meanwhile, a well was installed in the village center for the daily use of the villagers, though some use buckets to fetch water if it was only for washing clothes in the river.

The path in the forest near the play area of the children was easy to walk through. However, to get to the said pool, Bobo has to carry Ling on his back so his hands were free to hold onto the rocks and trees as they climbed up a little.

When the father and son reached the pool, a few children were already playing while some were running to the pool, supervised by their parents. On the side of the river, the pool was enclosed by big rocks which prevented the strong current from affecting it.

"Down, now!" Ling didn't want to be left behind by the others or he wouldn't have a place in the pool once a few still came.

After a few minutes the pair have been there, some other kids came to swim too, making the pool crowded. Ling was still playing with the other kids while the parents were talking together near a natural cave where they left their clothes and food, so it would not get wet or taken by wild animals.

However, the older kids who came in late were pushing the others so they can swim freely. They also started to use the big rocks as jumping points for diving. Since Ling was near the rocks, he can see the older kids having fun with his eyes sparkling, despite the numerous water splashes on his face because of the force of their fall.

Not only our boy, this also influenced the little kids and they climbed up the rocks. With nobody looking, Ling joined them thinking of the stories he will tell tonight to his sisters. Smiling widely now with stars in his eyes, he climbed after one of the kids.

As he was climbing, one kid lost balance and pushed the one nearest to him to steady himself. This kid sighed to himself but then he heard a splash near him. Our boy, Ling, who was beside him, was now taken by the strong current downstream.