Chapter 13

Content:

The River Boy speaks to Jess and she is really unprepared to answer. First they stand in silence, but then there's a repetition of the answer of the River Boy. Jess isn't sure whether she should answer. Nevertheless, after a while the River Boy wins her confidence. She tells him about Grandpa and about the worries she had with him, especially about the picture. However she doesn't mention the name of the painting. To her surprise the River Boy has a solution to finish the painting without grandpa's hands: Jess should be his hands. This weird but maybe successful way makes Jess to wonder about the River Boy. She wants to leave him, but he doesn't let her: he swims next to her.
The River Boy wants her to help him at the "biggest challenge" of his life and without mention what it is he makes her promise to think about to help. They'll meet the day after tomorrow at the source of the river.
When Jess returns to the cottage, Dad tells her that Grandpa wishes to be taken to hospital tomorrow because for him there's no way to finish the picture anymore. However, Jess wants to try to be Grandpa's hands before they'll take him to hospital and to fulfil the painting.

My thoughts while reading:

I felt really the high tension while reading. There is no tension falling down in this chapter, but however I felt some kind of exaggeratedness by this way to climax which grows and grows like a chewing gum getting pulled on its ends. That's a bit bad to let Jess ask "Who are you?" without answer. I don't think that Jess doesn't want to know who the River Boy is in this situation. If you're crying, you won't feel yourself to keep a high mysterious tension for your own. You'll want to know what's going on. So I couldn't stay this way of telling a story.
Nevertheless two other new events caught my mind. Will Jess really able to paint the painting for Grandpa? Will Grandpa agree with this solution? And of course, what's about the River Boy's challenge? Will Jess help him and in which way?