“Who is that?” Jenny shouted above the roaring river.

Her husband, Jesse, paused to look at the silhouette of the man. He just shrugged, never letting go of Jenny’s hand. Then, he looked down in front of his feet and they continued their methodical plodding across the shallow, but treacherous river.

That was the thing Jenny thought. Concentrate on each step, and they just might make it across with their lives. She rubbed her abdomen. She was not showing yet, but she knew the baby was there. She had not wanted to tell Jesse just yet. But maybe she would once they crossed the river. She looked at the other bank again. The silhouette was gone. That was curious. After all, he had looked like he was waiting for them. Almost like he was expecting them.

Jesse looked back at Jenny. He was saying something. “Treacherous,” was the only word she heard. She glanced at his face and then focused on where she was going to step next. She took a tentative step, then Jesse’s strong grip, indeed all of him, was gone.

Jenny realized that she had slipped on a mossy rock. Her left foot had slipped off the rock and she was plunged into the icy river. She had gasped when her foot slipped. And even though the water was shallow, the swift river had dragged her under the water and out of her husband’s grasp. She remembered thinking that she would never see Jesse again. And he would never see their child.

Jenny thought she had traveled miles down the river. She felt her body buffetted by the swiftness of the water. But her head felt like it was being lifted above the rocks. And even though she went under several times, she always seemed to come up enough times to gather a breath.

Then all of a sudden, she was in a deeper part of the river. Slower. She grabbed a breath, but felt herself being dragged beneath the water. She did not have the strength to fight gravity. Her clothes were too heavy for her to tread water or to try to swim toward the shore. This was it, she thought. And then, she felt a strong hand grab her wrist. Jesse! It had to be him.

Jenny smiled as her head came out of the water. Then her smile lessened. Just a bit. It was not Jesse. It was a man she did not recognize. He seemed to be standing in a shallow part of the river. He took her in his arms and walked her up the steep bank onto a rise above the river. He set her down on the ground and fussed to make her comfortable.

“You’ll be alright.”

“Thank you.” All of a sudden, Jenny was shocked with realization. “You’re the man who was on the other side of the river. You were waiting for us.”

The man just nodded. He looked down at Jenny. “Jesse is almost here.” He looked at her hand which had reflexively reached toward her abdomen. The man smiled. “The baby will be fine too.”

Jenny smiled. “Thank you. I… I was going down. And then you rescued me.”

“Yes, child. You and Jesse and the baby and the rest of your wonderful family have much to do yet.”

Jenny nodded. “Yes. Yes, I suppose we do.”

“Goodbye, Jenny.”

“Goodbye.”

Jesse got there just as the man was going over the rise toward the setting sun. He waved in case the man turned around. “Thank you!” Jesse shouted. The man did not turn or wave.

“That man saved you. I saw it all as I was running to catch up to you. I even saw that he stood up with you cradled in his arms. And… And he must have been standing in over ten feet of water! Who was he?”

Jenny smiled up at her husband. “I think we both know.”

Jesse smiled back at his beautiful bride. Then, they both looked toward the sunset and saw the man, who had turned toward them. They waved. The man waved back. Then, he turned away and was gone.