THE FISHERMAN
By
Robert Dominguez Jr.
1997
The sun entered the horizon from the east smiling upon all those who would receive its warmth. The fisherman stood by the ships helm sipping his morning coffee that his wife made for him prior to his departure. He would always set sail before sunrise so that he would finish casting his nets and setting his anchor in time to view nature at a state of perfection. He was content, a beautiful wife, a job he loved, and a sea with no bounds. The sun then began its usual incline which meant it was time to go to work.
There were hardly any fish out, and the waves were unusually still. Yet the fisherman hardly took notice, instead he preoccupied himself with a gold anchor that hung from a chain around his neck. It was a gift from his wife to celebrate one of their many wedding anniversaries, yet over the years the anchor eventually transformed into somewhat of a talisman. The fisherman believed with all of his being that the anchor was given with an enormous amount of love, so grand in scale that when he wanted to go home from any point at sea, he would grip the anchor tightly and feel his way across any vast distance. Then towards the end of his voyage, he would see his wife waiting for him on the ancient wooden dock, to finally close the gap between the two. The gold anchor symbolized a compass that would always take him home.
The fisherman had taken notice about half an hour ago, that there were but a few birds out that morning, and those that were around were heading for shelter. Then the tide was becoming high as sprinkles of water came inside the boat making them a new home. The fisherman then knew it was time to head home.
The clouds almost instantly turned gray and the sun ran away as if frightened off by the oncoming storm. The ocean became blue and black showing nothing of what it held. The wind was now picking up causing the tide to rise higher. The fisherman grabbed and pulled on the nets he had set earlier from the water.
“I must hurry and head for home, with God’s guidance I shall make it.”
Once all of his equipment was safely secured within the boat, he began to set sail, wishing to God that he should arrive home safely to his loving wife. The water was now powerful as it hit the boat from all directions. The water churned and twisted pushing and shoving anything within it. The clouds were now black, acting as a veil smothering all life from beneath it. A curtain of rain could be seen from the shore where the fisherman’s wife stood. She looked on with worry as she began to pray.
The waves were now towers of force colliding alongside the already beaten boat.
“I must make it home!” screamed the fisherman as though he were asking permission from the almighty Poseidon.
What once was a beautiful day had now shifted into a fisherman’s worst nightmare. The waves were tremendously high and strong swaying the boat from side to side. Gushes of rain drops, pushed by the wind, pounded on the fisherman’s back leaving a stinging impression. Visibility was down to zero, but he refused to give in to the dark side of nature. He began to hoist every sail he had, only most of them had already been destroyed and ripped due to the force of the wind. Pulleys and ropes were snapping and breaking, his boat was being picked apart right from underneath him.
Then in a split-second, through all the chaos, he saw the origin of the storm. Off in to the dark horizon through the wall of rain; he saw a twister skimming along the surface of the water, and it was headed towards him. Suddenly without warning a massive wave smashed the stern of the boat. The impact literally caused the fisherman to lift off the deck. At first, it appeared as though he would surely fly off into the raging sea, but the collision of his ribs and a wooden pole stopped his intended course. The fisherman’s ribs and eyes were aching and stinging; regardless he stood and desperately tried to regain control of his decrepit vessel. Then without notice a large mast made of fine oak broke loose from its sail and swung wildly hitting him on the back of his head causing him to drop immediately without hesitation. Blood ran along both sides of his face flowing into the salty water.
The fisherman lay helpless on the deck of his boat, wanting more than life itself to rise and continue his course. His vision became blurry and through the blood and water in his eyes he finally came to realize just how horrific the sea could really be.
In one final attempt, the fisherman desperately used all he had to stand back up in hopes of taking command of what was left of his ship. Any other man would have buckled at the knees if they were in the same situation, but the strength and love within his soul kept the fisherman erect. The sounds around him could no longer be heard, making the atmosphere feel eerie and void. Then gazing into the sky and firmly grasping the anchor tightly; he wished and asked to go home. A few thoughts later the massive wave both in height and width covered the boat and all of its contents; the collision caused the boat to capsize and shatter into hundreds of pieces.
The sea at times could be as warm and inviting as a loved ones embrace, and at other times it could be as evil as a seam monster that prided itself in stealing the lives of unlucky sailors and keeping their souls and ambition within its cold, wet, and lonely chest.
The fisherman loved his wife and knew that she was waiting for him, and if he did not return then her soul would be tainted with vast amounts of pain and solitude. Now she would suffer an awful fate, the wanting of someone who would never return.
The sand beneath her feet felt as cold as the morning air that brushed up alongside her cheeks. She fought bravely against the ill thoughts that surrounded her husband’s image, but to no avail her surrender became evident when the blanket that covered her shoulders seemed to fall simultaneously with the warm and gentle tear from her left eye. The storm was over, the waves were calm, the birds were out, and the smell of salty water filled the morning air. Nothing would ever be the same again, for although nature was alive all around her, the innocence and meaning within her soul would have to be found again, for they disappeared with her one and only true love.
“Copyright © 2004 by Robert Dominguez Jr. All Rights Reserved.”