The water is vaporised, like a white cloud around us
For a short moment the boat is airborne
as if it defies gravity
only to hit the all-consuming water masses a second later
We are thrown around
but have time enough to glimpse the rocks ahead
Black polygons in all the white and blue
Almost before we have time to think, we've reached them
and the roar of the river is drowned by our shouts
as we use all force to paddle past
Another jump and a vertical drop
as we reach the edge of the water
All sounds disappear while we fall
only to return with double force
when the river once again reaches us with a blast of plastic against water
We look up and notice that the river runs upward
and we wonder, but continue
as the waves turn to steps and the foam to snow
The snowflakes reach our faces as white needles
and we squint our eyes
The boat dissolves as a yellowish fog
that gradually turns fainter behind us
and the hundreds of stairs we climb
Then we see the final stair
It disappears in a dark hole in front of us
and the snow melts on the steps
between brick walls of indeterminable age
We run downwards and throw away hats and gloves
when we don't grab the wrought iron banisters
And we reach the train station at the end of the hole
In a sparse light from oil lamps and a few electrical light bulbs
it looks like it has been caught in a hole in time
and not hidden under the bottom of the river
We run from one circle of light to another, over tiled floors
pass shops with the news of the past
and through shadows full of ghosts in fur and spats
Ahead we can barely make out the cauliflower-shaped smoke moving
from the train we have to catch
The chief guard's whistle screams as a shrill siren
while we rush to the platform and back out in the show
Sighing like a bull the train starts to move
it's carriages behind it in silent procession
And we reach the open door using our last energy
where the hands of unknown help us aboard
so we can see the train station disappear behind us in the blizzard
Our train gets smaller and smaller
and finally disappears behind a curtain of snow
Leaving only the metal tracks
as the only witnesses of our passing
