CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Spinning like a top, she fell until she vanished into the swirling whirlpool below. Several seconds later, she shot to the surface and struggled to break free of the whirlpool’s powerful embrace. The backpack was dragging her under.
After she had plunged down twice, she realized the backpack had to go. Under water, she fought her way out of the tight straps and shot back to the surface—and, finally, broke free of the raging current. Swimming to the grassy side of the stream, Maria pulled out her exhausted self and collapsed.
Time seemed to stand still but, eventually, things came into slow focus: the cascading waterfall and the rushing river, the sun in the bright blue sky shining on the peaks of the Sierra Madre. Downstream, she saw the backpack lodged against some
