Flash Fiction: Lake Overturn
© Luke Dennison, Democratic Republic of the Congo. 2016
The air was thick with the smells of pineapple and freshly gutted tilapia. Kivu crouched on the hull of his father’s long wooden kayak. The light blue skiff was as familiar to him as an uncle. He had never so much as grazed the water with his fingertips, unsure of what could happen if he went under. The water shimmered. Gas bubbles meandered beneath the surface for a moment before they broke through. His mother named him after this great lake. Thousands of years ago, the stomach of the earth caved in and water from her rivers spilled in. Lava from the Virunga volcanoes formed a dam. Molten earth still flowed under the bed of the lake. He leaned forward, gripping the ledge with his toes. The other boys grinned up at him. “Come on, Kivu!” He took a big breath and held it, then leapt from the boat.
