| COLD WATER |
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1978
As David Jeffery sat in the backseat of his father’s old
car, he felt excitement race through his veins.
He had anticipated this day for months now, and was
excited it was finally here.
His father parked the car, then David got out, looked
around, instantly drawn in by the excitement of being at
Selfridge Air Force base.
This was the day the Thunderbirds were performing
their various aeronautical tricks in the blue summer
sky.
David walked with his father as they crossed over a
bridge, which had a body of water beneath it, and
David’s breathe caught in his throat.
As he stared over the bridge, into the water, he could
have sworn he saw a purple human hand sticking out of
it, and it chilled him.
He shook his head, to clear it, and looked again. The
hand was still there, and it looked as if it were reaching
for someone to save it, from the dark murky water that
had claimed it.
“Dad, can we stop for a minute?” David asked, as he
reached over, and tugged on his arm, as he continued
to stare at the hand.
“Sure, what’s wrong?” His father asked.
“Look over there. Do you see that thing sticking out of
the water?”
“What thing?” His father asked a bit annoyed.
“Dad, you can’t see the hand sticking out of the water?”
“Come on David, you can’t be serious. I can’t see
anything.”
“Over there, dad.” David pointed, and watched as his
father’s eyes traveled over the body of water, in the
direction he was pointing.
“Son, I don’t see a hand. It’s your imagination. The only
I thing I see is a stick protruding out of the water. Not a
human hand. Now, let’s go or we’re going to late for the
show.” His father gave his arm a tug, and as the two of
them started walking again, over the bridge to the other
side, David couldn’t take his eyes off the hand, which
bobbed helplessly in the water.
“Dad, are you sure it’s not a hand. I mean shouldn’t we
tell somebody?”
His father gave him a stern look. “No young man,
we’re not telling anyone. Look, Dave I’m telling you, it’s
only your thirteen year old imagination.”
David stared at his feet, and continued walking, never
commenting on what his father said because he knew
the truth of what he saw, and now the image was
burned permanently in his mind.
David knew what just happened, what he witnessed
was something he would carry around for the rest of his
life, and he knew somewhere deep inside of him, this
day had ruthlessly stolen the innocence of his
childhood, and had changed his life forever.
