A word of explanation from the author: It was a place to enjoy art, music and ecology while enjoying engaging events. Well, my fellow readers, I’m talking about Narrowsburg’s Riverfest, an annual event that provides families with real riverside fun.

Produced by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, Riverfest is a 35-year-old celebration of the arts that takes place in this hamlet along the Delaware River. In addition to vendors, live music, kid activities, the beloved poster auction and River Dogs Parade, this year there was a presentation of stories by young writers, a collaboration between Tusten Social and the Sullivan County Yarnslingers. Participating authors were asked to write a story especially for Riverfest about water, and I was one of those selected.

So, readers, here’s my story, which I read live in its entirety at Riverfest on Sunday, July 27. A portion of it appeared in the August print edition of Manor Ink, but the whole enchilada is reproduced here. So read on, and enjoy!

My Dead Sea dip, or a salty saline slip

By Rachel Zuckerman I Manor Ink

A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, my whole family and I went to visit my maternal relatives in Israel. Nearing the end of our trip, and with Israel being a relatively hot place, my parents decided to take me and my siblings to the Dead Sea.

Maybe some of you know, but the Dead Sea is the saltiest body of water and has the lowest elevation of any lake in the world. The Dead Sea is not only known for these two things, but also for its healing properties to the body. Not when you have a chopped-off leg, of course. Just for other problems.

When we arrived, we parked the car and headed straight for the sodium-filled water. I saw what looked like a normal place for a beach, a deck, lifeguard, freshwater showers and a big building which was a hotel. It was pretty crowded on the beach, but the water? Almost empty, aside from a few people floating. Since the Dead Sea is high in salt concentration, the water is extremely buoyant, meaning people can float effortlessly, making it very hard to swim, though.

My dad, mom and older sisters set up an area for us relatively near the water. My mom and I were the first ones to go in, because one sister was complaining about wanting to get covered in a mud mask. There are a few rules for being at the Dead Sea, but the most important one of them all is you never, ever dunk in the Dead Sea. No matter what.

I was scared of going into the water, because I was afraid of the salt melting my skin off. Eventually, Mom got me into it. It wasn’t anything special, it just felt like normal water against my skin. The breeze coming from the water was very strong against my eyes and nose – because of the saltiness, of course.

Mom told me to trust her because she was going to make me float on my back. I was very skeptical in a scared way, not because I didn’t trust her, just that I didn’t want to be submerged in the murky white waters. But I said OK, and she held my back with her arms and slowly lowered me down into the water. But I suddenly panicked, and scrambled and flailed myself out of the safety of my mom’s arms. I don’t know if that was what made me get a mouthful of water, or if other events led to that, but I did get water of utmost saltiness into my mouth.

Imagine the saltiest pretzel you got out of a bag, or the saltiest chicken soup your parents have ever made. Well, this was more bitter and saltier than that. My mom was laughing at me, not in a mean way, but in a way that said, “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry that happened, but I have to laugh at your stupidity.”

But I was not really happy with that. I got out of the water that I now despised, and headed for the freshwater showers to hopefully get rid of the lingering bitterness. In the corner of my eye, I turned to see my two sisters guiding my dad to the showers, too, because he had also somehow gotten the salty water not in his mouth but in his eyes. But all three of them were in a sort of hysteria, while my dad was also wincing in pain.

Getting to the showers was pure bliss, because immediately after my dad and I stepped into them, everything went away. Abracadabra, gone. The rest of the trip went by in a blur, us getting all dried up and dressed, going into the lobby of the building for something that I don’t remember and was probably not important, and finally going back home, or at least to the place we were staying.

If you do go to the Dead Sea, just know, it’s a really long drive to get there, and it’s only really good to go there for healing purposes to the immune system. But if you want to most likely get salt in your eyes or in your mouth, be my guest.