#12: KEEP GOING!

 A true story of courage and how we saved each other.

When I was 11 years old, my family lived in a canyon (دره). It was a very wild ( وحشی ) place. At one end of the canyon was a huge waterfall (آبشار). And a river flowed by our two-story house ( خانه دو طبقه ). We only had one neighbor ( همسایه ) who lived near us. Our neighbor’s name was Buzz. He lived quite far ( خیلی دور ) from us in a small house with his wife who we called Mrs. Buzz.

Buzz was 65. He lived in the wild mountains (کوه ها) all his life. Mrs. Buzz was also a mountain person. They knew how to live in such a place.
     One evening my parents were gone ( رفته باش ) for a short time. My older brother, William, was 13. My younger brother, David, was 7-years-old. It started to rain but it was not like any storm we ever experienced ( با تجربه )! All of a sudden we were in a cloud burst ( انفجار ابر )! A cloud burst is when rain comes so fast rivers flood ( سیل زدن ) very quickly.
     All the lights went out.
     We ran to the front door. Everything was under water. My brother William yelled ( داد زد ) for us to stay in the house as he tried to go out. The water was up to the porch ( ایوان ) and almost carried ( برای حمل ) him away. We grabbed ( برای گرفتن ) him, pulled him inside, and slammed the door shut ( در را محکم بست ).
     We tried to call our parents but the phone was not working. We did not panic ( وحشت ). We told each other we must think of a way to get to higher ground
(زمین بالاتر). The river by our house was filled with rushing water
( آب عجله ) and flooded the land all around us.
     We ran upstairs ( از پله ها ) and looked out the windows. All we could see was rushing water. We were so scared! We held each other's hands. We knew we had to stay in the house.
     Suddenly ( ناگهان ) we heard shouts (فریاد می زند) and the front door opened. We ran downstairs ( طبقه پایین ). It was Buzz shouting for us. He tied a rope (طنابی بست) around our waists (کمر) and then around his own waist. He told us to hold hands ( گرفتن دست همدیگر ) as tightly as we could. He said, "BE BRAVE!" ( شجاع باش ) It would be hard, but none of us could give up ( دست برداشتن از ) along the way.

“All for one and one for all!”
he shouted.
     (! همه برای یکی و یکی برای همه )
We could tell how serious ( جدی ) he was by looking into his eyes. We all found the courage (شجاعت) to go outside in the storm and fight our way up the hill to his house.
     Soon David fell ( افتادن ). I held him tightly ( محکم ), but then the water pushed ( فشار دادن ) me over too. We kept holding hands and kept our heads above the water. Buzz and William were pulling
( ما را بالا می کشد ) with all their might ( استحکام ). We had to keep going even though we were exhausted (خسته) because we weren’t out of danger ( خطر ) yet.  UP . . . UP . . . UP we climbed
( ما از کوه بالا رفتیم ) against the rain, against the water, and against our fears.  
     Then we saw something that gave us strength and courage. There was light up ahead! We pushed toward it, every step bringing us closer ( نزدیک تر ) to safety ( ایمنی ).
     Finally, Buzz lifted us onto the porch ( ایوان ) of his house. We were safe. ( ما در امان بودیم. ) Mrs. Buzz came running out of the house to get us inside ( داخل ). That night I learned something very important.
     When you’re scared, never give up (هرگز تسلیم نشوید). Even when we thought we were not going to make it, we did not give up, we kept climbing.  Just remember to reach deep inside you ( به عمق درون خود برسید ) and hold on to your courage.  You will get through it! 

—This story was written for you
with much love by Jan.