This somewhat reminds me of “The Bridge to Terabithia”, except without the bittersweet ending and fanciful characters. Also I believe Ms. Patterson used a paragraph break or two. []o)

Is there any way in which you believe it could be improved? :)

A pleasant memory if there ever was one. I enjoy the approach to the river the most and you establish the setting very well.

Your quotations are pretty rough when it comes to grammar and punctuation. You’re missing a few periods and commas.

Towards the end the sentences are somewhat awkward. The second to last one in particular.

As far as paragraphing goes, this story can be split into at least three from what I see, but it really all depends on the rhythm you want your story to have. One giant one usually isn’t the way to go though.