the initial deviation

in the harsh perspiration of one glaring afternoon, the girl considered a mirage of forward foliage, an expanse of trees and the end of this generous expanse of challenge simmering before her eyes. she knew this place, once it had visually solidified from mere intuition, and gushing memory roared through her mind. at the turn, she would take refuge, regain her strength and prepare for each curved meander that would follow. she drove through the waters, swerving beside the chaos generated with delight from the powerful flex. in the protection of that sharp bend, the place where she had first truly seen this river, she pulled the tired craft from the mud. the girl sought a perch atop a boulder leaning out into the crescent wind; she placed herself along the edge of boundary defined at the convergence of arrested land and commanding water, each knee folded into the safety of her chest. in this first hook, as in each that would follow, the expanse of the water commanded the scope of view, interrupted only by the scattered ships expectantly held in waiting. each eager tanker, brimming with material and option, varnished her industrial understanding; the girl envisioned each determined offering shielded from her view by steel encasings. the sun beat the rutted scars forged into the form of subservient stone, and reflected from the bright tone of her saturated shoulder. the heat of her slowing breath was captured by the speed of wind, her savage hair careened about the spark of her face.