And the prairie tale continues

Sometimes I call him - then there are times like this.

She cast a pebble into the most beautiful lake she could find.  She looked around for quite some time to find just the right spot  - one that cast the perfect glow at sunset and wasn’t too overgrown with marsh - one that reflected the reds and golds of autumn - one strong enough to withstand a harsh midwestern winter.   

 

She made her toss, but her hand was unsteady.  The pebble only reached the shallows. It caught a quick second of the sun’s reflection before sinking to the bottom along with the rest of the pebbles, thrown before her.

 

A moment of glow, amidst an eternity of darkness.  

 

She headed back home with a meager catch; two small crappie and a gar.  She was pretty sure it would feed the cats, but not in the way they would have liked.  Some days, well, you just use those days to survive until the next. 

 

As soon as she reached the crest, she saw his hog a’sittin’ there.  Damn hellfire!  The big man picked today, of all days, to show his face on the prairie.  It was sure to be an unpleasant moment - one that she may as well have done with.

 

“What the hell do you call that lil’ string, gal?  Fishin for minnows these days?”   He laughed heartily, but it was not unkind.  “Them cats gotta eat!  That’ll take em through a day, but what about tomorrow?”  

 

“Tomorrow is another day.  I’ll do better.  No one will starve.  You know how I am.”

 

“Do I?   No, ma’am - no cats’ll starve around these parts.  But what about you?  You’re looking a bit puny.  Have you been dreamin again?”

 

“Well, I did cast a stone,” she said.  She may as well say it - he’d know anyway and there was no sense in hidin it. 

 

“Lassie, ya ain’t been hearin me, have ya?  This land here - it’s the real deal.  Them cats - well, they’re a bounty full of love and you know it.”

 

“But I saw the sun today!  I saw it reflect off my pebble this time!  It was just a moment, but, well, it made me dream - it made me hope!  Can’t ya just give me that?” 

 

He set off a mighty guffaw with that one, all right! 

 

“All right, gal.  Cast yer stone.  Maybe some fool’ll catch a glimpse.  Most likely, though, the next stone you cast will be yourself, and when you sink to the bottom like all the rest, well, that’ll be the end of this here story.”

 

“Now, pour me a glass of that lemonade, Lassie.  Can’t you see I’m parched!”

 

 

Reviews

[Veronica Chandler]

Damn that is one interesting story; I love the whole crazy cat lady thing, it is a line one of my dear friends uses to describe herself. Looks like you got yourself a whopper there; hope there is more.