Iceland is a country of such vast contrasts, gorgeous snow-capped peaks, black volcanic valleys, and pristine emerald forests that would dazzle even the most jaded traveler.

All of that doesn't matter when you're gasping for breath in a rapidly shrinking air pocket under the Fjaora River. Ryder Lee Matthews's mother Ruth warned him that his lack of impulse control was going to kill him. Seems like it was the one thing she was right about. RIP Ryder Lee Matthews, RIP Ryder Lee Matthews. What a ridiculous wordplay to roll through his head while submerged here in some forgotten river in the middle of Iceland. Ryder swore he could hear her voice and feel his dad’s warm embrace while he was fighting for his life under the riverbed outcropping.

Ryder spent his life on the razor's edge from the time he was in diapers. Just ask any of his uncles. Trouble with a capital T. Every single one of them. People often forget their good side, the way they took care of the kid after his Pop died.

“Ryder? Oh yeah. Every time we took the gator out to cut down trees, he'd chase after us like a puppy until we scooped him up and threw him in the back.” Chuckled Uncle Jerry. “That kid wanted to be around us all the time so I guess we’re the ones that made him this way.” Flipping the spicy speide chicken on the grill, watching it sizzle and steam, Jerry yelled to his brother.

“Nick, remember when Ryder started bodybuilding?” Ryder's Uncle Nick ambled over to the grill, worn jeans with holes, t-shirt stained with oil covering his sinewy frame.

“Ya. Sure do. Caught him posing shirtless in front of his dad Joe’s car window. What did you call him?”

“Elephant nipples.” Jerry uncapped a bottled water, took a big swig, and continued. “Picked up a machete off the ground and chased me around the yard. The more I laughed, the more pissed off he got. Sixteen years old. Right after that he took off and went cliff diving in the gorge and brought back three college girls to party with him. The kid had animal magnetism and could charm anyone.”

The sound of a growling engine sitting smoke interrupted their conversation.

“Your son knows how to enter a family picnic, Nick.”

Ryder's cousin Jonah pulled up in a beat-up white Ford F150, the bed filled with bags of ice, juicy watermelons, and enough beverages for a small army.

“Jonah, did you get more beer? Nick yelled over.”Your Aunt Ruthie said she sent a text but, and I quote, she says: that kid has his head so far up his butt I'm surprised he can use the toilet.”

Jonah jumped down out of the worn driver's seat. A baseball cap perched on his blonde buzz cut like a middle-aged frat boy.

“Aunt Ruth should get a life. Got better things to do than be her errand boy. Hey Uncle Jerry, remember when Ryder and I took off for Colorado when he turned twenty-five? We spent a week base jumping in the Colorado River, then snuck into Mexico for some shark diving. We even crashed a wedding on the way home. Ryder hooked up with the bride and maid of honor at the same time. Left me with the groom. Had to get him piss drunk so he forgot all about his wedding. Man, those were good times. Need to get in the house for something, I'll be out in a few minutes.”

On the way in to the house, Nick passed the family matriarch Ruth. Giving him a playful slap on the head, she made her way across the dusty, sprawling property. The tangy delicious scent of chicken and corn on the cob wafted through the pine trees.

Making her way over to her brothers, she started in on how impulsive Ryder was.

“When I gave birth to that boy, they should have given Joe and me a manual. Couldn't sit still in school, tipped desks over, punched teachers. He jumped off a cliff into the Tennessee River when he was twelve. Rescued him from more naked encounters with every girl in town. I witnessed more of that tan butt running than any mother should. Broke lots of bones. Hell, he even cut his scrotum skateboarding.”

The rickety screen door opened with a loud bang as Nick pushed the door back to make more room.

Ryder appeared in a hospital wheelchair, with Nick behind him to help maneuver around the rocks and roots outside the door. Taking care not to bang his mangled right arm and left leg, Nick guided him over to the crowd of family and friends waiting around the worn red picnic table or sitting in scuffed-up camp chairs. Taking off his black Ray-Bans, he squinted while he looked over the motley crew.

“I can't believe you're all here today. Mom must have threatened you because I'm sure you'd rather be four-wheeling than looking at my ugly mug and one good eye.”

“Ya got that right elephant nipples!”

“Thanks, Jerry. Seriously though, I thought I was

dead and had already made peace with God lodged inside that cave under the river. Forty and my life was over, and I guess. I was ready. Ready to be done with the pain from the past, the regrets, the women. I guess what I'm trying to say is I got another chance and I'm going to grab life by the balls and live it. Not reckless, like before. More like my Pop, Joe who cared about others would give you the shirt off of his back and loved you as no one else could. Now let's eat because Jerry is burning the chicken.”

Ryder started feeling euphoric as he began to slip away into the unconscious. Hearing his mother calling his name over and over and the warm touch of his Pops calming him in the icy river, he waited for whatever came next.