The Hero

He stands there and watches as his friends start out crossing the rapid river. They jump from rock to log back to a rock, trying to make it across, while he stands and watches. They had tried to bring him along but he had refused saying it was too cold to get wet, saying he didn’t want to get this clothes dirty, that he didn’t have the right shoes on for such a feat. Was he afraid? Of course not, he is no coward. He just didn’t want to get wet, and besides he was wearing some of his good clothes and didn’t want to ruin them, and since he was wearing the wrong shoes he would probably get wet and ruin his clothes.

One of his friends slips and falls into the river, holding onto the nearest rock for his life. Our hero jumps into action diving into the river with no regard for being wet, his clothes, or his shoes. He manages to overcome the strong current and reaches his friend just as his grip lets loose on the rock. Our hero reaches out and makes a daring grab for his hand, saving his friend from being sucked down the river. Our hero then swims back to the shore with his friend in tow, thrusting him upon the land before climbing out of the freezing water himself. He is no coward as he smiles proudly, looking down at the life he just saved…..

“Why didn’t you come across with us?” Our hero snaps out of his dream as one of his friends comes back from the other side. The rest of his friends follow the first one and they all wind up back with our hero, clean and dry. Our hero smiles weakly and insists again that he didn’t want to get wet nor ruin his clothes, and to top it off he didn’t have to right shoes to be climbing over rocks. His friends dismiss such reasons as petty excuses as they make their way back to the cars, leaving our cowardly hero looking over the rapid river. As he took a step towards the edge of the water he realized, he is afraid. He hides his embarrassment and catches up with his brave friends, hoping they don’t see his cowardice as clearly as he does now.