Fishing for answers (standard:other, 1047 words)
Author: jenne64	Added: Oct 25 2000	Views/Reads: 3573/3	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Sometimes answers just appear when you least expect them to.

FISHING FOR ANSWERS. By Jenne64 

She sat and pondered her fate or at least made an attempt to. She
watched the float dance above the water as though some invisible force 
were holding it in place. When she thought about it nothing really 
mattered here except the actions of that float. Here the commercial 
world ended and the real one began as far as she was concerned. 

Her only real worry at this precise moment was would she catch a fish
today? The day had started off with its usual enthusiasm when she 
decided to take the rod and go out to the river. Today she would surely 
catch one of the elusive fish that lived here. She was beginning to 
doubt that there was actually any fish in this place at all. She had 
fished here four times previously and to date had never once managed to 
catch a damn thing, oh, with the exception of a few small slimy green 
weeds. Somehow though it never really mattered, as this was her place, 
the place she came when she needed space from the corporate world, the 
one that she had grown to detest over the years but the one that she 
still relied on heavily for her standard of living. 

Here E-mails were replaced by whispering trees, the water created it's
own currents. She watched as a small flaming red leaf fell into the 
lake a few feet from where she stood and began to be carried by that 
very current. It swirled and eddied as it began to travel until it's 
journey was curtailed by a small black rock that stuck out of the water 
just as she imagined the iceberg that had sunk the Titanic had to it's 
captain that fateful night. Round and round it swirled trying 
desperately to escape the clutches of its tormentor until it finally 
found freedom again. It wasn't long before she lost sight of the leaf 
but its journey had made her wonder if it wasn't time that she changed 
her own path. This was what life was really about, not whether one 
company could take over the other successfully. The parallels were 
there and she could plainly see them but still she resisted the choice 
that she knew she would have to make and soon. She couldn't avoid 
making that decision for much longer, of that she was sure. She had 
been unhappy for a while but it was easier to carry on down the path 
that had been chosen for her all those years before. To try and break 
free of the bonds that held her would take courage and conviction in 
reserves that she was unsure that she possessed. 

It was then she noticed the float dip under the water, a quick small
bob, hardly detectable but there nonetheless. She gripped the rod a 
little more tightly, this was the first bite she had in the last hour 
and she wasn't going to miss this sucker for anyone. Again the float 
bobbed under the surface, she resisted the urge to pull it up and 
allowed the creature that was toying with the small worm that was 
attached to it to play some more. Suddenly she felt the rod tug 
strongly and this time the float disappeared under the surface 
completely. She was ready and pulled the rod hard to her left side. She 
felt the pressure increase on the rod and the line tighten as the hook 
did it's job. A slight twinge of guilt ran through her as she thought 
about the fish that was frantically trying to escape from the hook that 
was now firmly embedded within its mouth. 

This was no small fish of that she was sure, it pulled and it tugged
trying desperately to flee from the scene. It thrashed and convulsed as 
she reeled him in until she could see his body shimmering below the 
surface of the water. His open mouth taking great gulps of water and 
air while it struggled vainly to free itself of the shackles she had 
placed on it. Her heart thumped against the wall of her chest and her 
hands became sweaty as the fight for supremacy ensued.  She had to win 
she never lost a fight. Her whole career and life were founded upon the 
belief that you never had to lose as long as you maintained the edge. 
Here she had the edge unlike in the real world where she felt that her 
grip was loosening as her will was diminishing. 

This was one battle that she was destined to win. She pulled hard on the
rod, reeling the line in as she pumped the rod up and down playing the 
game with the enemy. For what seemed like hours she wrestled with her 
foe, both desperate to win the prize. He was tenacious, a worthy 
adversary by anyone’s standards. 

Each time she thought that she had one the battle, as he rose ever
nearer to her and allowed to see the beauty of the colors he contained 
would he once more start to struggle. She marveled at his endurance, 
his will to live, his willingness to fight until the very last moment 
and she took strength from him. If this creature could fight for it’s 
freedom then there was no reason why she could not do the same. 

Finally he floundered and she took her chance. Reeling him in with all
her might until he fell into the net that she held just below the 
waters surface. She pulled him towards her, careful not to hurt him. As 
he came closer she realized just how beautiful he really was. The 
rainbow of colors that were contained within the surface of his scales 
almost dazzled her with there brilliance. 

Reaching forward she bent down and finally carefully cupped her hands
under her prize. She watched as she hauled him gently from the water. 
He began to gasp for air and Natalie realized that what she was 
witnessing was a mirror of her own self, a specimen in a big tank 
gasping for air, for her very survival. Unlike the beautiful fish that 
lay in her outstretched hands though she didn’t have the will to fight 
as he had or did she...? 


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