The bottom of the canoe fell beneath her. She grabbed its sides as she floated down with the plunging water. She caught a glimpse of a plume-covered lake below, then ducked her head just before the canoe hit the water.

The impact knocked the breath out of her, and she was thrown from the canoe. She floated in the depths for a moment, then gathered her strength for a surge to the sunlight. She kicked her right leg with all her might—the snakebite had rendered her left one useless—and thrust down with both arms.

She opened her mouth and gasped for breath, sucking in large quantities of water.

This is the end of us all. Miraba …

Sunlight broke upon her eyes, and misty air surrounded her head. She coughed violently, breathed deeply, coughed some more. She looked upriver. She was a considerable distance from the falls, floating lazily downstream. She glanced to her right, then to her left. Her canoe, capsized but intact, was floating parallel to her, ten arm lengths away.

She kicked over to it, grabbed its hull, and laid her head upon it. I have to get it upright. But she didn’t have the strength. She thrust her arms against the hull and lifted herself a few inches onto it. She tried repeating the maneuver but fell back into the water, grasping for the canoe.

She hung on to the boat. She floated. She gathered her waning strength and pushed herself upward again. Six attempts later she straddled the bottom of the boat, feet dangling in the water.

She laid her head on the boat’s hull and lost consciousness.

3

Abby Caldwell opened her eyes to a place unlike any she had ever seen. She was lying on a soft bed. All was white around her. A long, thin plastic tube was attached to her right arm. Metal boxes with lights surrounded her.

A dark-skinned woman in white clothing entered the room. She looked at Abby, then at the metal boxes. She smiled and said something in a language Abby didn’t recognize.

“¿Neen jné?” Abby responded.

The woman looked at her, clueless.

Abby tried English. “I’m sorry…I can’t understand you.” The words came haltingly. Though she was accustomed to thinking in English, she hadn’t spoken the language in years.

The woman answered in English. “Are you feeling better?”

“Everything hurts.”

“You are a lucky one. I’m told you were drifting in the Sepik when they rescued you.”

Abby groaned and tried to sit up. “Where am I?”

“Easy.” The woman moved to help Abby lie back down. “You are in the Meridian Hospital in Lae. I’m Somare, your nurse. You’re under the care of Dr. Kate Sampson, so you’re in very good hands. Can you tell me your name?”

“I need the doctor.”

The nurse glanced at a schedule above the bed. “She should be here in about two hours.”