Read Online Mercy by Rhiannon Paille - Free Book Online

to stretch from the grassy shore. The sky was alight with the yellowish glow of dawn. She hopped onto the planks carefully and walked to her canoe. It took a year of working at Red Boot Restaurant for her to make enough to pay for half of her own canoe: a brand new WindRiver, three seats, and red exterior. She loved it as much as she loved canoeing. It was in part a gift because her dad didn’t want to take her across the mainland everyday so she could get to school. It was fine when she was in elementary and they lived on Valley. Her mom walked her to school back then, but since they moved to the island when she was twelve, getting to and from anywhere in Kenora had become a hassle. It’s not like they built a bridge to every tiny island in the middle of Lake of the Woods. Sure, St. Mary’s Harbor was relatively close by comparison to some of the other islands, but spring and fall were the worst.
    She threw her backpack into the canoe and put on her lifejacket, zipping it up. She walked to the edge of the pier and untied the boat from its hook. She doubled back and stepped gingerly into the canoe. Sitting on the middle bench she grabbed the paddle from the bottom of the boat. The catalogue said it was one of the best, made from cherry and ash trees. It wasn’t heavy and all the rowing gave her arms a slightly muscular look. It was probably the only part of her that was athletic. The rest of her was scant, flimsy legs and a cinched torso. She pushed away from the pier, her mind circling the thing she had been trying to find for the past three years.
    Gord gave up this summer because of her mother. Grace didn’t want Gord encouraging her, and so Gord, being the pushover father he was, listened. The only good thing, Gord trusted her enough to go by herself, so the search wasn’t over, but the afternoons of sandwiches and scavenging and long conversations were. She missed spending time with him, especially since he spent most of his time at the factory.
    The canoe glided seamlessly through the glassy lake. Everything reflected off the water, trees, sky, even the last few stars. She moved the canoe south, searching the shores for a path she hadn’t trekked before. She loved Lake of the Woods for its quiet beauty. She stopped dipping the paddle in the water and secured it in the plastic holder. Unzipping her backpack, she pulled out her iPhone, taking it out of its waterproof case and flipping to the iPod app. She didn’t want loud music but something to cut through the sound of nothing was better than listening to the birds and wind. Music calmed her in ways nothing else could.
    She flipped to an Adele song, letting the sound fill the empty air. She quickly flipped to her compass app to make sure she was on the right path and put the iPhone back into the case, music streaming from it. The canoe drifted to the left, nearing the banks. She picked up the paddle and switched sides, carefully moving it away from the winding shoreline.
    Maeva sighed as she dunked the paddle in the water again, pushing as hard as she could, her limbs getting tired. She locked the paddle on the holder and stared at the sky. It felt more like home in the forest and on the lake than it did in her stuffy house; or in the brick-walled classrooms at school. She preferred sunshine and wide-open spaces. She yawned, and grabbed the water bottle, popping the top and taking a long sip of whatever had melted. The icy water trickled down her throat and she shivered. Her eyes went to the sky as a flock of geese formed an uneven V shape.
    Sometimes she wished she could be like them. They weren’t tied to one place but were tied to each other and that was all that mattered. She might have stayed in one spot her whole life but she didn’t feel tied to the people at all. The only thing she felt any affinity to was the forest. Most people she knew weren’t nearly as adventurous as she was. They’d wait for guided school tours and stick to campsites scattered