A man fishing.
The man woke early. He got dressed and had a small breakfast. Then he took his fishing bag, strung it over his shoulder, and left the hut. He closed the door behind him and locked it. Then he took his fishing rod from where I was leaning against the wall, and walked on down the mountain path.
It was just after dawn, and the sun rose pink and red in the east. Small scattered clouds dotted the horizon in a pink and silver glow. The wind was light and pleasant. He walked down the mountain path towards the broad river. He looked forward to the day's fishing. He walked until he reached the river bank, and then he unpacked his bag, and prepared to fish.
He baited his hook, but did not use a sinker. He used only a line and a hook. After the bait was on the hook, he cast out the line with a smooth and even motion over the water. Then he held the fishing rod in his hands and waited. At the spot where he was fishing, the water was tranquil, and his bait did not drift away with current. He stood and waited with the rod in his hand.
After he had had no bite for about an hour, he reeled in the fishing line, and re-baited the hook. Then he cast the baited hook out again over the water, and prepared to wait. He fished on in this way, and at about mid-morning he caught a nice medium sized fish. The silver fish struggled as he took it off the hook, and gutted it. He put the dead and cleaned fish in his fish pouch, and resumed fishing.
He fished on and the hours passed. The sun passed its zenith, as the day wore on into the early afternoon. He caught another fish of medium size, and took it off the hook, and cleaned it. He placed it in the fish pouch along with the one that he had caught earlier that day. He had had enough fishing for the day and prepared to return home. First he sat down on the bank for a while, and marveled at the beauty of nature that surrounded him.
The river was clean and beautiful. Its banks were lined with pine tree groves and green bushes. The birds sang in the trees and flew past in the sky. It was a glorious day, and the sun shone warmly. He sat and listened to the wind in the trees, the song of the birds, and the water flowing by. Apart from these harmonious sounds of nature, there was a greater underlying silence, which gave him an inner peace. He sat breathing and absorbing the beautiful nature a while longer, and then prepared to depart.
He slung his bag over his shoulder, picked up the fishing rod in his one hand and the pouch with the two fish in, in the other. Then he walked off swiftly and surely along the mountain path towards his home. He walked with the path between tall pine trees until he reached the top where his hut lay. He placed the rod upright against the outside wall, and unlocked and opened the door. Once inside, he put away his fishing bag, and placed the two fish in a dish on the table, where they would later be prepared for supper.
Then he went outside and relaxed in the fading light of the closing day. The sun started sinking slowly with a red glow in the west. The small clouds were scattered beautiful and pink across the sky. The wind was fresh and sweet on his face.
He was happy; it had been a good day's fishing.
The End.
JP Brown ' 07/05/2006.
