Her brother Denzel had plain out refused to row himself anywhere because of his asthmatic chest. His father called it a sign of weakness in character.
"You should at least think of a time when you would have to save your own life," Mr Shaun Classens, Mishka's father had responded to Denzel's pleas to let him be.
"I can help myself in other ways," Denzel had responded. "There will be another way out," he had insisted.
In the end, Mishka had to jump into the argument on her brother's behalf. The two of them had always been very close, even though she loved her father dearly.
There was the distant sound of thunder above her head as Mishka crossed the bridge.
"Suppose it's the end of my music practice session cos the rain is soon gonna come down on me," she said to herself as she crossed the bridge with quicker steps.
"Oh, am I not gonna hear any more of that nightingale singing?" Mishka heard behind her.
She turned around to see a well-built man with thick, curly, brown hair and dazzling hazel eyes staring up at her from where she was, high up on the bridge.
"Hello, who are you?" Mishka asked curiously. He looked unfamiliar. She knew everyone who frequented the woods over the years.
"I'm Bruce Marks from England. I've been here for quite a while now, but I don't usually run into anyone," the stranger replied.
"I'm a designer and a photographer," he added with a smile.
"Oh, but you can't be here for too long because someone would have seen you here and sent the news around.
Otherwise, it means that you come out very seldom," Mishka remarked with a curious frown.
"Well, I do tend to get very busy, but sometimes I need some inspiration, so I come out to enjoy the beauty of nature," Bruce replied.
"Oh well, you chose a beautiful place to do your work from. This place can make you very creative, yes," Mishka agreed as she observed the man.
He had an open face. He did not look dishonest at all, but looks could be deceiving.
"It's really inspirational. The woods, the lake on one side and a river stream running through the forest. Not to mention the amazing forest creatures," Bruce remarked as he looked around himself. His eyes came alight when he looked around him.
"I can see that you really love nature. But you have to look out for the dangers of a storm as well, because then everything changes and you will wish yourself back in the safety of your home," Mishka remarked, pointing up at the clouds which were now gathering thicker than earlier on.
"Oh, I'm not staying very far from here, but if I heard you properly, you are not very close to your home?" Bruce asked with his eyebrows raised questioningly.
"Yes, I'm a distance from home, but I'm very close to a friend's house, where I will rush off to now in fact," Mishka responded with a friendly smile.
"You're also welcome to come to my house for shelter," Bruce offered with a smile that revealed pearly white, glittering teeth.
"That's very kind of you, but another time, I promise," Mishka responded. "I'm not only going for shelter, I also have something important to do at my friend's place," she added, still smiling courteously.
"Well, then just look out for the tall gates a short distance from that big oak tree over there," Bruce responded as he pointed at the oak tree behind him. It was really massive and difficult to miss.
"Oh, I will come. It would be wonderful to see your fashion creations," Mishka responded honestly. She then waved at Bruce and walked along the way that she was going.
She walked on without looking back. She felt that it would look weak if she looked back to see if the man was looking after her.
"He won't be following me either because I noticed nothing odd about him. He doesn't look dangerous," she told herself inwardly.
Only when she was deep in the woods again on the other side of the river did Mishka risk looking over her shoulder.
"From here he won't notice if I'm looking at him," she told herself.
There was no sign of him.
"Well, maybe he had to run along because the clouds are really thick now," she told herself as consolation. She did not understand why she was experiencing a hollow feeling in the middle of her stomach at the thought that Bruce was not still standing and staring after her.
"If he's looking then it's probably from deeper in the woods where I can't notice," she told herself after standing still in contemplation for a short while. This thought made her feel happier on the inside, so she turned around with a smile and hurried along on the narrow footpath which led to her friend Gillian's home.
There was the sound of thunder now as she walked, so she glanced up at the sky. The clouds visible from amongst the tree branches were dark now.
Mishka hastened her footsteps. Rain fell suddenly in her town and village, so she was not about to arrive at Gillian's house all drenched.
Just as she reached the clearing of the woods, Mishka heard a howl a distance behind her.
"What's a wolf doing out when it's about to rain? Aren't they more cautious about the weather?" she asked out loud. She turned her head to look in the direction of the howl and saw some movement quite a distance away.
Mishka srood still focusing on the place where she had seen the movement. It was rare to see a wolf in their forest, so she did not mind risking the rain coming down on her while she stared.
From amongst the shadows of the trees, Mishka noticed a pair of golden eyes looking in her direction.
"Is it actually staring at me? Will it come any closer or is it too afraid?" she asked herself with her heart beating in excitement.
Mishka stood still for a while, staring back at the pair of golden eyes. They actually had a sort of light in them too, she noticed as she stared.
"Now, why are you just staring?" she asked.
The wolf then turned around and disappeared.
"Is it gonna come this way or is it running for shelter now?" Mishka asked into the silence before she rushed on her own way.