Slutningen er åben, og det er op til læseren at tolke, hvorvidt de klarer den eller ej. Forfatteren efterlader dem i den rivende flod mellem sikkerhed og fare. Det kan dog siges at faderens beskrivelse af situationen i floden peger på, at de ikke klarer den:
”He wanted to scream for help. There was no one – just the rushing plain of the river, the trees...Everything had come together. He couldn’t move. He was barely holding on. There was no way.” (ll.145- 148 )
”There was nowhere to go. It didn’t matter. They had to go.” (ll.155- 156)