As he lay awake that night he could feel his chest split in two like a sawn hornbeam that lay helpless to the recent inshaven occurrences that left him hollow and empty. His blue eyes, once admired by a lady froze over and slowly closed from the night’s consumption. Every question that stormed through his mind earlier that day subsided and every trace of sensitivity he had been reluctantly hiding had died as he smiled unconscionably.
A bottle that pressed his lips in a less passionate fashion however just as intoxicating had blurred memories of when he was kissed by soft lips. The bottle left his hand as his fingers loosened and landed on the floor beside a card of faded writing. Every muscle in his body relaxed after he struggled removing only his worn boots. He then reached toward the end of his bed and pulled a small reddish quilt close to his face while realizing it was the only tangible item left of her, that protected him and kept him warm. As the man drifted off he murmured her name that echoed through his head causing a mountain of dreams to avalanche around him. He lay still in his bed with a half smile and a faint dimple on the right side of his cheek before turning to face the wall.
The reality of his lonely bedroom quickly transformed into scenery of green hills and warm weather in which he found himself walking along a stream. This dream led the man to the shore of a vast lake that was spotted with small houses on the opposite side. He zigzagged along the gravely banks and tall trees while avoiding marsh and deep pools of cold water. The young man grinned as he quickly hopped over the odd fallen firs, which resembled tiny toothpicks that lay beneath the huge pines, which stood upright like giants.
Memories of childhood, a time when the forest was his playground relapsed through his mind as the lake wind stretched across the forest floor and carried the aroma of purple and pink lupine blossoms through the air. He maneuvered along rather quickly as if in a hurry although not. His steel-toed boots tearing up the ground here and there and scattering cones and spills astray. The only time he stopped was to retrieve his tattered hat that had been yanked off his head by a mischievous branch. He stopped and laughed at the thought that the tree may have stolen his hat with intent and began laughing out of embarrassment for personifying the situation, which made him feel childish.
Just as he stood up while adjusting his hat he noticed an older gentleman fishing off to his right. Looking around the man searched for a clear spot to sit where he could watch the older gentleman catch his dinner. He quickly made himself a seat out of broken bows and rested his back against the trunk of a tree. He watched in amusement as the old man carefully baited his hook with a worm and cast his line without spoiling the dirt that lay on the bottom of the lake. He reeled in his empty line only but a few times before catching his first catch of the day. He removed the small brook trout from his hook and strung it on a string that was tethered to one of his belt loops. The old man smiled and quickly cast his line once again after checking his bait each time.
The young man sat quietly and sighed as he closed his eyes for a moment wondering who this older man was or if he had any loved ones at home. Not wanting to disturb the old man from his fishing he left these questions in his mind unanswered but instead assumed the old man must have lived a happy life and did in fact had many children. The young man opened his eyes and gazed out onto the water only to notice that a young girl of about ten years of age was standing out on the edge of the bank. The little girl stood about ten yards away from the man sitting in the shadows of the tall pines however failed to notice him. He watched as the little brown-eyed girl stood impatiently staring at the older man as he finished reeling his line in before wading back to shore. The fisherman held his rod in one hand and pulled the string up from the water with five trout dangling from it and then rose up his stringer to show off his catch. The little girl clapped and jumped up out of excitement for him only to soak her homemade skirt with water. As the fisherman approached the bank where the little girl was standing her smile grew wider. He set his rod down and laid the stringer of trout on a flat rock then slowly reached into the pocket of his plaid coat. The little girl held out her hand only to whip it back as the older man quickly bent over and pretended to spit in her palm in a jokingly manner. He then laughed before reaching back into his pocket as the little girl hesitated to hold out her hand for the second time. His rough course hand pulled out a small bit of change and he emptied it into the little girls tiny strawberry stained palms.
The little girl stood on her tiptoes to kiss the older man on the cheek and wrap her arms around his thin waist as she smiled from ear to ear. He kissed the top of her head before she let go of him and quickly ran through the woods on a beaten down path but stopped to look back one final time to yell I love you.
The little girl skipped along with her hand clinched tight around the change that the fisherman had given her. Her cheeks turned red like roses as she noticed the man sitting down with his back against a tree. As she passed she grinned from ear to ear and her brown eyes seemed to blend in with the world around her. She continued down the path until the top her head was no longer visible through the bushes. When the man looked back towards the lake he noticed the older man walking up the shore holding his catch in one hand and his rod in the other. The man sat there and didn’t take his eyes off the fisherman until he vanished over the bank and into the woods.
No comments:
Post a Comment