Miss Morgan

Fifty-One

July 1899
-Kieran-

"Fishin's boring." I swing my legs over the edge of the dock. My bare feet look so close to touching the water below, but I can't even reach the surface with the tips of my toes. The spring sun warms my skin and shimmers off the lake, imprinting waves of bright blue into my vision that I see even when I close my eyes. I look up at the sky and see one lone cloud hovering there. It looks like it might blow in front of the sun to give us some shade but the air is still and the cloud doesn't move.

Pappy's voice rasps next to me. "Sometimes life gets boring, Kieran. Sometimes life goes still and those are the moments you'll long for when life moves too fast. And you know what? Even in this moment of stillness, you're still achieving more than you realize. Sometimes you have to be still to get what you need."

"What?" I squint to see his face, silhouetted by the shimmer lake.

Pappy chuckles. "You feel like nothing's happening right? You feel like you should be doing something more productive?"

"Yeah. I could be tendin' to the horses."

"You're catching fish that will help keep food in our bellies. It's a process that simply takes time, boy. But just because it's a slow and boring process does not make it any less important. Be grateful that even in this moment of stillness, you are doing something so important that it might help us see tomorrow."

I nod, simply because I'm still bored. It's hard to be grateful when I'm hungry and I want to get back to the barn. I like working on the farm, I like being useful and productive. Sitting here swinging my feet isn't making me feel too good.

"Tell you what, boy." Pappy smiles. "Tomorrow, you can help me take care of that damn coyote pack that keeps tryin' to get our chickens. But today, we must fish and enjoy the calm."

"How do you enjoy the calm?"

"Listen around you, you hear the sounds of the bull frogs and the crickets and the birds? You smell the fresh air and feel the warm sun shining on your skin? You see the beauty of the world around you? It's all a reminder that you're alive. You're safe and you get to see another day. That's not promised for tomorrow so you enjoy the beauty of today."

Pappy has a good point. The sun feels good after a long cold winter. The snow has finally melted and summer will be here soon. The warm weather means I will be busy on the farm all summer. I can enjoy one day of relaxing by the lake with my pappy.

A moment of stillness goes by when I feel a nibble on my line. "Pappy..." The pole jerks in my hand.

"Pull and hook it!" Pappy beams at me with excitement.

I yank up on my pole and I feel the fish fighting me on the other end of the line.

"Hold the pole steady and wait until it stops fighting you, Kieran. Reeling now will only snap your line and lose the fish." Pappy rests his big wrinkled hand on my arm.

We wait until the pole stops jerking around.

"Now boy! Reel that sucker in!" Pappy cheers.

I reel as fast as I can, laughing hysterically as I spin the wheel in my fingers as fast as my little hand can go. My knuckles are white with how hard I grip the rod with my other hand.

"Oh I bet it's a real big fish, maybe it's a sturgeon. Keep going!" Pappy claps his hands and rubs them together.

The fish is about half way to me when it starts to fight again. It feels like it might pull the fishing rod right out of my hands. I hold on with all my strength. My arms are shaking but I can't tell if it's from my muscles aching or the fish shaking the pole. "Pappy, I-I don't know if I can hold on much longer."