It was the sun that woke me in the morning. The heat rained on my face and it was early - about six. I woke up in a fog as a result of the late night fire activities. It was quiet but I could hear birds chirping, I think a blue jay, and the sound of light breeze through the leaves on the Cyprus trees. I was the first to wake, and I unzipped the tent and heard Brandon roll over probably half awake or in a dream. I stood outside the tent for a minute and looked around. There was not a cloud in the sky, and a few flies were already buzzing around our camp. I looked at the still smoldering coals in the fire and the empty beer cans in a pile next to the fire pit. I smiled. I was in my underwear but there was nobody around so I slipped on my sandals and took a walk to the water. It was seventy degrees early in the morning and the sun had that strength promising of a hot day. The water was calm near the shore and a few light ripples sparkled like snow near the center. The land around the lake was a dry brown and green trees were littered on the hills. I heard something splash and saw the residual ripples from a jumping fish head towards the shore losing speed like tick, tock.
I dipped my feet in the water and it was cool. It felt nice in the early hours of waking like the last moments of a dream before the sun forces consciousness upon you like a wave crashing on the beach. I walked back towards the camp and saw Domenic standing confused scanning the tent for clues of the night. I laughed at him and he saw me and smiled with his hair matted against his face like he hadn't moved all night. It was going to be a good day. I could feel it in my nerves.
After we were all up we cooked some hash and added some hot sauce we had taken from a diner in South Dakota. It wasn't very good but it was better than a granola bar. We packed up our hiking packs and broke down our fishing rods and strapped them to our bags. It was about ten o'clock when we were ready to go, and the heat was overbearing. I wrapped my shirt around my head and we started walking around the lake with no real direction. We had packed the Jetboil, some cans of tomato soup, saltine crackers, powerbait, nightcrawlers, water, a flask of whiskey, marijuana, and cigarettes.
"I am casting a line right here."
We had walked about two hundred yards and come upon a cove. I could see the shadows of small mouth bass moving slowly in the depths of the cove. The bank was eroded so there was a place to sit. We all in silence began unstrapping our rods and baiting our lines. Brandon cast first. There was a tug on his line almost immediately. Domenic packed a pipe and we all puffed on it slowly. The heat felt cyclical like the hands on a clock. It was turning slowly and pressed reality on us slowly and powerfully. There wasn't escaping the moment.
"Do you have one?'
"Yup." Brandon was in a small battle with a fish that leapt from the water and twisted awkwardly in the air. Brandon's rod was bent to almost ninety degrees. As he was reeling Domenic began a fight of his own. I could see the sweat on his brow as he struggled to keep the fish on his line. It was like a game of chess. Brandon and Domenic paced down the bank trying to land their fish. It was very peaceful. A fly buzzed in my ear.
"Got 'em." I grabbed the net and waded to my ankles. I scooped the fish and held him out of the water. It was a small mouth bass about three lbs. I smiled and Brandon wiped the sweat from his brow. Domenic had lost his fish. It was probably a pickerel. His line was cut clean.
"Glad I didn't catch that. Can't stand those Goddamn teeth."
"This is a beauty." Brandon held up the fish as he tried to unhook it. It had swallowed his line almost to its stomach. He finally was able to free the fish and we admired it in the sun for a minute. With out warning he dipped it in the water and helped the water run over its gills. He released it and the fish remained still for a minute. Suddenly it flicked its body and with a splash took off back to the deep, where it belonged. We smiled and packed up our rods and continued to hike around the lake.
As we walked we could see how dry the lake was. The old shore line was cut into the land and small trees and shrubbery had began growing in the muck. In the shade it was nice, and the sun fell through the branches like broken glass. In a few areas the cliff was steep and we were struggling in the loose rock and dirt, hoping someone would slip and fall in, praying it wasn't you. We moved inland on the west side of the lake. It was too rocky on the shore. Brandon stepped on a bees nest and we all ran away from the angry swarm. We heard the rattle of a snake and saw one slipping through the dead leaves and grass. We finally found a path down to the lake on the opposite side of our camp. There was some kind of structure that was abandoned and looked like a cement dome. Confused at what it was and needing a break we walked towards it and began to break out our rods again. It was about noon so Domenic set up the jetboil and Brandon began heating our soup. The waves lapped against the rocks and the flies were buzzing around our heads. There was nobody anywhere that we could see. We were isolated and content with each others company. Domenic caught a fish and he released it and I sat in the shade and let my eyes close and suddenly I was being shaken awake and handed a bowl of soup. I broke up the crackers and enjoyed the meal under the umbrella of shade. I had forgotten who I was.
The day waned and we kept fishing. The walk was slow but we weren't in a rush. We caught a few fish but didn't keep any. There wasn't any need. The battle on the shore was enough.
That night we relaxed by the fire. The stars were out in full force. After Brandon and Domenic went to bed I just sat by the fire with a headlamp and my journal. I was writing well. It felt right. I heard something move in a tree by my camp and looked. There were a family of raccoons peering inquisitively into the light. Their eyes flashed like lightning. I smiled and gathered up the chair and doused the fire. I unzipped the tent and climbed in my sleeping bag. Brandon was snoring. I smiled and elbowed him and the side. He rolled over but didn't wake. The snoring stopped. I fell asleep to nothing and felt nothing until the morning.
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