Sunset Swim

A shy wind crept from the sea and inched its way along the shore. Grains of sand shivered at the breeze's gentle touch. Sam sat barefoot with his toes buried under the shale and a book in his hand. The dying light of the evening sun darkened the words on the page beyond visibility. It was just as well, he was paying no attention to the paperback. His gaze was set on the crashing waves as he breathed in the salty spray and melted onto the beach. Work had been tolerable today - no, it was better than that but his visiting anxiety gulled him into thinking it was death in a cubicle. Work was enjoyable and the pay was good and life was good despite what that little voice in the dark of his mind whispered.

His cousins laughed and splashed in the waves, beckoning him to join. He could make out their silhouettes against the brilliant orange light on the horizon. He had dipped his toes in the water earlier and found it much too frigid to submerge entirely. But that was then and this was now. He wriggled free of his hoodie and shirt and cautiously stepped into the sea. His brother, ever the helpful one, was there to splash the icy water onto his skin. Goosebumps burst from the flesh of his arm. To avoid a second onslaught, Sam inhaled and dove beneath the surface. The sounds of the world dropped away and were replaced with a gentle dampened churning. It was peaceful down here. He even forgot, for a moment, the heart stopping arctic cold. When he rose, the surface of the ocean broke around his head and the murk was replaced with a blinding light. The sun was nestled in the marine layer, drawing its luminous cirrus across the sky.

The waves continued to roll, carrying one cousin after another closer to shore before ultimately crashing atop them. Elation seemed a natural conclusion for everyone but Sam. Contentment was elusive. He knew that his doldrums would pass and in passing, vaporize like dew in the morning light. But there was knowing and there was knowing. And right now, there was only angst.

He let the buoyant sea lift his legs until he was floating on his back, eyes to the distant edge of the world. From this position with his ears submerged the melody of his surroundings were once again allayed. He drank in the beauty of a sky on fire and it began to quench the darkness. His body rose and fell with each passing swell. He closed his eyes and found peace in the sanguinity of the sea.

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Sunset Swim was written by Daniel Weinell and illustrated by Maribel Navarro.

Fishing

A sudden chill rippled the surface of the otherwise pristine lake. Kady shivered and zipped her parka up until her nose was securely protected. She and her father, Eli, had been sitting in silence long enough for Kady’s mind to slip into fiction. She had been imagining a cavernous wonderland underneath the lake. She floated uninhibited through stony parapets surrounded by schools of brilliantly colored fish. Her child’s mind wasn’t constrained by the hard realities that came with age. The vast expanse of the lake’s interior was just as her grandfather had described it. She was searching for Kuna, the fish as big as a whale. Grandpa had described the fish to her and it’s grandiose nature had grown with each telling. She thought she saw the hulking frame of the legendary fish from the corner of her eye but that was when the whistling wind snapped her back to the surface.

Eli looked over his shoulder toward his daughter as she zipped up her parka.

“You doing alright, sweetie?”

Kady nodded, more for her own reassurance than her father’s. She stood and balanced toward Eli. The dinghy swayed with her movement and she braced herself on the boat’s raised edge. She sat down next to her father who promptly reached his free hand around his daughter. His other hand held fast to the handle of his fishing pole. Kady snuggled into his side-hug for warmth.

“Nothing’s biting,” Eli mused.

Kady watched the silent ripples where her father’s line broke the surface of the water. His gentle tug on the pole was the only indication of movement, whatever lurked beneath the placid surface remained a mystery. But Kady had an idea what dwelled in that underwater kingdom.

“Do you think Grandpa’s happy, now?” asked Kady.

She could feel her father’s muscles tense ever so slightly at the question. He shifted his weight inadvertently -  an outward reflection of his inner contemplation.

“Your grandpa was always happy around you kids. I remember the way his eyes lit up every time we visited.”

Kady pondered this response for a moment. She was too young to understand the subtleties in the way adults spoke, the avoidance of her father’s answer, but she had some ideas of her own.

“I think he’s happy,” she said matter-of-factly.

He had loved taking walks around the lake with Kady and her cousins. They would throw rocks into the water and chase the ducks until they flocked into the sky. Grandpa would always warn them to be careful not to disturb Kuna, he was a gentle fish but he didn’t enjoy all the rocks sinking into his bed. And then Grandpa got sick and he couldn’t walk with Kady anymore.

“I think you’re right,” Eli said, “You know, grandpa loved you very much.”

“I know,” said Kady.

They sat in silence for a while and Kady’s mind began to drift again. She was once more floating among the schools of fish. A bright orange fish broke from the group and swam right up to her face and puffed out its cheeks. It reminded her of when Grandpa used to make her laugh with his silly faces. A warm shadow filled the ocean floor and the orange fish darted away. A deep hum reverberated through the water all around her. It was foreign and yet familiar. She felt the presence like an embrace. Kady turned, sure of what she would finally see floating behind her. And there he was.

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Fishing was written by Daniel Weinell and illustrated by Maribel Navarro.