Twins on the Rocks

1. Along Barton Creek

The sun was high in the sky, periodically hiding behind white clouds. A breeze blew up the canyon, cooling our sweating faces. The water rushed and made a conversation-squelching roar as it fell over the rocks.

We sat down by the edge of the clear water and took our shoes off. We waded into the stream, and we coaxed our nervous dog to do the same (which he did not). We sat at the top of the falls and let the flow massage our legs and toes as the dog hopped from her lap to mine and back again.

Several people came and went -- a man on a bike who watched the water for a few minutes, a young father with his boy thrilled to be wading in the creek. But most of the people staked their ground beyond the final fall downstream where the water slowed and lapped at the feet of the cliffs before the creek bent out of view.

2. The Twins

But one other couple chose the falls. They arrived shortly after we did -- a man with long hair pulled back in a bandana, a woman looking to be either deep in profound thought or in some sort of illicit haze, and their two twin boys about four years old.

The mom and dad sat the kids down and stripped them out of their clothes. First one and then the other got into the water, which wasn't too cold. Their faces erupted in smiles. One of them could hardly contain his excitement as he waved his arms and shook his hands. The other turned back to his mom and asked if he could wear his cape.

They were twins. One wore his purple and red cape that hung into the water behind him. The other wore nothing at all. As soon as they got their bearings walking in the swiftly flowing water, they started for the falls.

3. Climbing The Falls

They started for the falls, each of them. One accompanied by their dad, the other by their mom. But soon both boys outpaced the adults, and they had arrived at the rocks ahead of their mom, and their dad had stopped in midstream and was just shouting encouraging words their way.

The smaller of the two boys had the remnants of a bloody nose and a scab on his chin. He got to the rocks first. (He was the one with the cape.) Without hesitation, he began climbing the rocks, slipping only a few times, and catching his balance remarkably well each time he teetered. The other was more cautious and lagged behind his brother -- but not too far.

The place they had chosen to climb was not where the water was falling with full force. But there was water here, snaking its way between the boulders and making a fair noise. The mother arrived just as the second one was clambering up the first boulder. He pulled his naked body up the side and began to stand at the top, where he tripped and fell forward. His mother caught him before he fell into the flow or hit his head on a rock. He turned back to her with a look of terror on his face.

Meanwhile, the caped twin had reached the top and was shouting with glee, arms held high in the sky. He scrambled back down and walked to where his father was standing smiling. The second twin then left his mother's arms and proceeded to climb the rest of the way up the falls.

4. Time To Go

This went on for some time. The two of them walked up the creek bed, finding sunny places to sit. They walked down the creek bed to where the flow slowed. Upstream. Downstream. In the sun. On the rocks. Laughing and soaking wet. Breathing the spring air. The two boys splashed and jumped and shouted with understandable glee.

And when it was finally time to go and they returned to the place on shore where their clothes were scattered on the rocks, they were so exhausted that they could barely stand straight.

I bet they sleep well tonite.

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