| There once was a woman who had left her mate some time ago. Her friends urged her it was time to find another and moved her towards ones they knew. But, she didn’t want this. She knew they were the same as her old mate. She wanted something different. Her mother had always told her there were plenty of fish in the sea but only one true fish for her and it was up to her alone to find him. She wanted to find that fish. So, on her own, without her friends pushing and pulling, she gathered her tackle together, climbed into her little boat and ventured out to sea to find her fish.On her first cast, the natural beauty and sparkle of her lure landed her a nice fish. The fish barely struggled and with relative ease, she pulled the fish into her boat. She looked the fish over and quickly realized she had caught him in very shallow water and alas, he was shallow. She tossed him back. Her second cast landed her another fish. She tossed him back too. Her third cast caught her yet another shallow fish. “Of course”, she thought, “the better fish do not hang out near the shore. My fish will be in deeper water.” She tossed the third fish back to return to the shallow school from where he came and turned her little boat towards deeper water.Not long after reaching the deeper water, she began to catch a more fish. But these fish gave even less struggle then the shallow fish. They were larger fish that she thought would fight harder but they didn’t. They seemed almost lazy to her. Then it came to her, “Of course. These fish are suspended in deeper water just outside the perimeter of the shallow fish,” she though to herself. “They have been rejected by the shallow fish and are waiting here in hopes of being caught by a woman who has tired of the shallow fish. I will catch my fish only in the deepest water.” Again, she turned her little boat toward deeper water.She ventured in her little boat farther and farther. Past the suspended fish. Past the lowly bottom feeders. Past the vicious sharks that patrolled the deeper water - lurking for any strays that unwarily come into their realm. Out into the deepest, deep of the ocean. A place she had been warned of. Where the strangest and oddest fish could be caught. Ones that would be very hard to get rid of once caught. Some dark and mysterious, coming from the deepest depths, never truly revealing themselves. Only to creepily hang about once tossed aside – waiting for something.She was undeterred by all this strangeness. She knew her fish was not in the shallows. He was not suspended just out of site. He was not cruising around feeding off the misfortune of others. And, he certainly was not sucking the scraps off the bottom. He was out here, somewhere, in these deep dark waters. Far from the all the other fish. Alone. Waiting to be caught by only that one special woman. She dropped her line in the water and let it run out as far as it could go. Down deeper and deeper to the darkest depths. So deep her lure went that it was not even recognized as a lure by the fish that noticed it on its way down. It’s beauty and flare not even visible. And there she sat. Waiting.Nearly ready to give up her search, a tap came on her line. It was subtle. Soft and gentle. But a tap none the less. This seemed odd to her. All the other fish had taken her lure so quickly. None had ever just tapped. Curious, she picked up the rode and held it in her hands. Very delicately she held the rod so she feel the slightest vibration. Another tap came. She felt it this time. It vibrated through the rod and into her fingers and hands. Up her arms she felt it and into her chest. Anxious to see if this was her fish, she moved the tip of the rod up and down causing her lure wiggle and flutter through the water at the end of her line. Nothing. She gripped the rod tighter in hopes of feeling another tap. Nothing. She moved the rod up and down again – coaxing this new fish to take her lure. More gently this time. Just a little slower. Nothing.She really wanted this fish. Was he eluding her? What did she have to do? Was he not even a real fish? Was he afraid of her? “Please!” she pleaded to the fish. “I’m not going to hurt you. You’ll be safe with me. I promise.” And with that, her line went taught, pulling hard. She had had the fish from the first tap but didn’t realize it. He wanted to be caught by her but wasn’t sure if she was the one. She pulled and pulled on the rod. Reeling the line in more and more. Bringing this new fish closer and closer. She was as excited as could be. Soon she would see her fish. But he was pulling hard. It wasn’t easy for her. She began to get tired. She began to wonder, “what will this fish be like? Will he be all I dreamed of? What will I do with him? What if I don’t want to keep him? Will he let me break this commitment I made? What if he’s great? Can I handle him? What if he rejects me and wants to go back? Should I cut the line now while I still have a chance?”She sat in her little boat, pondering as she reeled the line. Pulling on the rod, she noticed his fight became less and less as she pulled him from those deep dark waters he had known for so long. She could see his shape beginning to form in the clear water beneath her. “Here he is,” she thought. “Here’s my fish.” She felt a comfort come over her as he broke through the water just off of her boat. Still struggling a little she pulled him close and gazed at him. A bright smile beaming on her face as she watched him swim gently around her boat. Gazing back at her with glowing green eyes, he smiled the brightest, most beautiful smile she had ever seen. With all that she had done to catch him, she looked upon him as the most beautiful fish in the world. And he was a great looking fish. Not bloated and fat. Not shallow and thin. Not creepy or hideous. No big scary fin behind his back or sharp teeth in his mouth. He was just right.She gently raised him out of the water and into her boat. He tried to look comfortable but soon began to gasp for air. The bright light of the sun blinded his eyes, so used to the darkness of the depth, to the point he could barely see. The sun’s rays burned his skin as he struggled to get out of the boat. He looked towards the coolness of the water and the comfort of it’s depth. He wanted so much to stay in the boat but feared he would not survive. Not without help. She just sat there watching him. Not knowing what to do now that she had him. She saw him gasping and struggling. Looking towards the deep blue water. “No!” she thought. “I’ve spent all this time trying to find him. I’m not going to lose him.” She had to help him survive. She reached over the side of her boat and cupped water in her hands. Gently washing it over his skin. Caressing him over and over. He relaxed and stopped struggling. He pulled up close to her and nuzzled into her chest. His soft fin resting on her tender leg.She turned her boat towards home. She had caught her man. He would survive with her nurturing and her understanding. He would be happy with her. He would love her with all of the love he had kept at such deep depths. A love she had never known. More love than she knew what to do with. She would keep her new fish. She will be eternally happy with him.For WhiskersEquus69May 5th, 2004 |
