Chapter 5: I will give you my Wife

Kelo choked on two mouthfuls of water, his face pale, and shouted, “Pull me up!”

“Okay,” Dino replied, but he had no choice. He had originally climbed onto the embankment but was forcibly pulled down by Kelo. He grabbed a willow branch as he went. The riverbank was high, and there was nothing else to hold onto. He hooked his feet up, fearing that Kelo would lose his grip as the strong force grew stronger, and tried to climb up by pulling on the willow branch with both hands.

Dino struggled to pull Kelo from the rising river. The soft willow branches he clung to only bent under his weight, preventing him from getting far up the bank. The embankment itself was high, steep, and dangerously slick with water. Despite his great effort, Dino only managed to pull Kelo to the very edge of the bank. Kelo remained submerged, clinging desperately to Dino’s feet as he had nothing else to hold onto. Dino was also mostly underwater, relying entirely on the willow branches. The river’s current was intensifying, its force growing stronger as the water level continued to rise, likely due to persistent rain upstream.

With the water no longer obscuring his vision, Kelo finally saw the precariousness of their situation. Anxiety flared as he shouted at Dino, “You little brat, pull me up! Hoist me up!”

“Okay.” Dino’s face turned red, and he tried to lift the willow branch upwards with all his might, but the willow branch itself was soft, and with someone hanging on his body, he couldn’t use the embankment for support, so he couldn’t get up at all. Instead, he pulled the whole willow tree down and bent it over.

Kelo saw that Dino had done his best. If he let go, Dino could climb up by himself using his feet as stepping stones. But could he let go? There needed to be something to grab onto on the bank. If he let go and let Dino climb up, he could break off a willow branch and pull him up. Both of them could climb up. But he couldn’t let go. He could swim a little, but this was a flood. If he let go, a wave could sweep him away.

“Call someone,” Old Ke shouted.

Alerted by the warning, Dino shouted, “Is anyone here? Someone come here!”

The area around Red Bridge is quite remote, and cattle herders only occasionally come here. It’s slippery when it rains, and it looks like it’s about to rain again, so you can’t see a soul around at this time.