Life & Tigimber*

She plopped on the plastic chair as her father plodded around, swinging a stiff, ink drenched canvas bag. He had bought her a new spear; she reached out and carefully grabbed its smooth, wooden middle, smiling to herself as she remembered the flimsy plastic one she always ended up with when she was younger. Finally, he said, “Ha, Mishaina?”**

As she arose from her seat, her father’s dowdy swim trunks dropped an inch of her waist. She bent down and pulled her socks up, recalling the stinging itch of the boots’ harsh interior. Clutching their spears, the pair silently trudged through the soft sand towards the temporarily bare gulf. They passed the beginner’s zone, where a handful of children scampered barefoot, in search for colorful seashells and small sea creatures to play with.

As the two veered leftward, the water slowly crept toward their knees. She glanced at the miniature sand dune to her right and laughed when her father reminded her how it was her safe haven; as a little girl, she would often squat on the ephemeral island and impatiently wait for her father as he ventured deeper into the sea.

When the sun bowed down, she held the oil lamp as her father gingerly brought it to life. Soon enough, the game began; multiple squids smoothly propelled themselves, coyly displaying their vivid, ribbon-like veins; mighty, coral crabs with brilliant blue edges mimicked their movements, bucking left and right whilst defensively snapping their pincers. The occasional “Ew7ara” would be spotted lounging on its belly; the last time they caught one, however, the fish almost broke her father’s spear as it writhed and squirmed under his fork’s pressure.

After walking for two hours in the still, humid airs of the sea, her flimsy General Electric shirt was drenched with her sweet, salty sweat that dripped from her neck onto her chest. After wrenching a few fat oysters, she looked at her father, her face glowing with perspiration that had gathered into demure puddles under her eyes and over her lips’ ridge. “Ha, Radaina?”***

PS Jessie's Girl

*Spear fishing
**"Shall we get a move on?"
***"Shall we return?"

at 7:48 AM