CHAPTER 32: A LONG NIGHT
Even as they run out of glitter, we continue to watch the twins dance symmetrically around the moon in silence. I should be tired but I’m having way too much of a good time to fall asleep with ease. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves tonight, even the twins, who have went a couple of hours without arguing about anything, which is a rarity. Then, for no particular reason, Mane gets up and walks away from us.
“Where’s Mane going?” I ask Courage.
“That’s just Mane being Mane. He likes his space.”
Courage then shifts his eyes over to him and watches the lion drift off into seclusion.
“Hey, where are you going?”
Mane gently turns his face towards us and replies…
“To the lake.”
He proceeds to walk until he disappears behind some trees.
“Let’s go with him,” I tell Courage.
“Mane likes to be alone. That's how he is,” he replies.
“He’s been like that since our father’s death,” Athena turns her head to explain. “He just sits down there, staring into the water, for hours sometime.”
“Let’s go hangout with him,” I say as I stand to my feet.
“I will be down there,” Courage says as he yawns. “I just gotta rest my eyes for about ten minutes.”
“Yeah me too,” Athena adds. “Better catch him before he disappears.”
I rise from the moss covered log and follow Mane’s paw-prints. I quickly discover a black shadow moving slowly in the distance.
“Hey, wait up,” I shout to him.
He stops and turns around.
“What do you want now?” he asks as I approach him.
“I was just wondering if you wanted some company, that’s all,” I reply while trying to catch my breath.
He shifts forward and remains stationary without responding. When he finally continues to walk, he mutters the word “fine” underneath his breath. Together, we begin to stroll across the flat grassy plain under the stars.
I want to stir up a conversation, but I can’t seem to muster the bravery to speak. Further down, we reach this long steep rocky hill. He places a paw on the hilltop but I stop him from proceeding by clearing my throat loudly.
“Hey, can I get a lift?”
He shifts his harsh eyes into mines. I step back slightly and quickly rephrase.
“That’s if you want to do it.”
It takes him a bit of time to respond.
“I guess so,” he says halfheartedly.
Due to his size, it takes some time to climb onto his back.
“Hold on tight. It’s not my fault if you fall,” he tells me in a humorless tone.
“Okay,” I reply while grasping his hair firmly.
“Are you on?” he asks me.
“Yeah, I think so.”
He shifts his face sideways.
“Are you on or not?” he asks harshly.
“Yes, I’m on.” I reply. “Calm down, goodness.”
I lean forward and hold on tighter. He walks onto the hill and proceeds downward, increasing speed automatically. He dodges large rocks by leaping over and around them. I hold on tightly as my body bounces on his backside.
The rough bumpy ride is now over. I see a gentle black lagoon that mirrors the moon and the trees surrounding it. This body of water is narrow and it extends pass my eyes limitations.
I get off Mane’s back and step onto soft grass.
“Thank you,” I tell him as I slide off his back.
He proceeds to walk beside the tranquil stream without responding. I follow behind him, eager to gather his attention once more. Seconds roll by as we both remain closemouthed. I clear my throat and turn my face to the top of his head.
“So, um, do you spend a lot of time here?”
He takes his precious time to answer my question.
“Yeah, I guess you can say that.”
Our small conversation only satisfies me momentarily. Soon, that aching silence comes back with a vengeance. I can't stand awkward silences.
“Did your father used to bring you here?” my voice shrinks gradually throughout this sentence.
I feel so stupid asking him that. He instantly freezes and remains stationary for a moment. He then turns his head to me but only slightly.
“Who told you about him anyways?” he asks in a very harsh tone.
“Your mother did,” I reply nervously.
He shifts forward and begins to walk again.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought him up.”
I decide not to open my mouth and say anything that might annoy him further, but a moment later, I’m not the one breaking the silence.
“I’m come here, sometimes, to get away,” he tells me modestly.
I stop as he cuts across me and sits in front of his reflection.
“I used to go fishing here with him,” he says to me as he looks into the dimly lit water.
“I’ve never been fishing before.”
He finally lifts his face and look into my eyes.
“Never…?” he asks.
I lower my head in total embarrassment.
“I never did a lot of things,” I clarify.
He shifts back into the lake again. Suddenly, a small thin shadow cruises by us.
“What kind of fish was that?” I think out loud.
He gazes into the water.
“It’s hard to tell, but by the size of it, I would guess a Silver-side,” he informs me.
“Did you bring a lot of them home?”
“It’s not all about catching and eating. Sometimes, it’s good to just catch them, observe them, and let them go.”
“Why fish if you’re not going to keep them?”
“Do you really want to listen to me talk about fish?” he asks with his head turned to me slightly.
“I don’t mind.”
He looks back at the water while he speaks.
“It’s called catching and releasing. The term speaks for itself. My father showed me the value of it. It’s very calming. I don’t know why.”
I see a larger fish traveling down the stream. Its scales are the color of a dirty-green.
“What’s that one?”
“That’s a steel-head. They’re mostly found further away near Ontario.”
I look back into the water to search for more fish.
“I’d love to go fishing one day,” I mumble underneath my breath.
Mane sluggishly glances up at me and then back into the peaceful water. He stands on all four paws, only to lower down into the thin grass. One steady paw after another, he gently prowls closer to the water like a cat hunting a mouse. He stops when his nose touches the surface of the water. A moment pass and he remains lifelessly still.
“What are you doing?” I begin to ask but it’s too late.
He swiftly ducks his face into the water and keeps it submerged for a couple of seconds. He lifts his head with water pouring from his fur. He shakes the access water from his fur and then walks over to me like a dog holding a stick. Instead of a stick, I realize that he’s holding this small fish in his mouth. I open my hands and suddenly I feel something wet in my palms.
“That’s a silver-side,” he informs me.
I shift my attention away from the fish to look at Mane and smile at him. The fish wiggles and then slips from my hands. It falls into the water and takes off. We watch the small fish swim away from us and become one with the black lagoon.
“Sorry,” I apologize. “It was slippery.”
“That’s fine,” he replies while looking at the water. “I haven’t held one of those in a …” he pauses momentarily to reflect on a time long gone. “…a very long time.”
I see another obscure fish swimming pass us.
“What kind of fish is that?” I ask him.
“I think that’s a catfish. They keep the lake clean.”
In this moment, I think something miraculous has happened before my very own eyes. Somehow, I touched him. Not physically of course but emotionally. He stares at the water way longer then he should. He’s most likely reliving his days with his father when he was younger.
“Mane, are you okay?” I ask him.
“Huh?” he replies as if he just slipped from a trance.
“Are you okay?” I ask again.
“Yeah I’m good,” he replies in an irregular soft voice.
I'm on to something. For the first time in God knows how long, Mane has connected emotionally to another human being; although it only lasted a couple of seconds. But I shouldn’t stop now. Maybe there is still a person behind all of the anger and frustration. Maybe he just needs the right people to guide him just like his father once did.
“Tell me more about fishing.”…