RIP Story: October 29th, 2024

Today would make the fourth generation to fish from this spot. Ed’s grandson Ethan had moved back to the country after his parents decided they wanted to raise their son away from the city where they attended university and had stayed to work their corporate jobs out of college.

Ethan had visited before, but they never had the time to devote a full day for Ed to take his grandson to the river. There was always an aunt or uncle; a childhood friend that was on the agenda for their yearly visit. Ed had this moment planned ten minutes after they got the phone call his daughter would be moving back to the countryside.

Ed took Ethan to the point where he had cast his own line for the first time so many years ago. Ed’s father was there to watch him and teach him all that he knew. Over that time, Ed and his father would talk about the land, the animals and the sounds of the river and its surrounding forest.

“Listen to the water as it flows,” Ed said. This was an advanced lesson he wanted to try out on Ethan. The rover was the base note of the outdoors, and it was the hardest note to hear. A profound moment for Ed, overshadowed by Ethan’s own moment, his first hooked fish.

“Papa, I got one!” Ethan added to Nature’s song.

It was on the smaller end of the scales, but a first fish is a first fish. “Did you hear all the flapping around on the water Papa?” Ethan asked.

Ed laughed, “I sure did, well done ma’ boy.”

“Is that sound of the water you were talking about?” Ethan asked.

Ed thought about it for a moment. He was surprised the boy had registered the question while hooking his first fish. This was a core memory for Ethan. Ed couldn’t remember the sounds of the water, but he could remember the birds fighting in the trees when he caught his first fish. We listen to the same notes, but we make the soung our own, Ed thought to himself.

“Papa?” Ethan said who had taken longer to answer than Ethan expected.

“Yes ma’ boy, I heard it, beautiful isn’t it?”

“Yeah”

They didn’t catch anything else that day. Ed wasn’t really trying. He was taking in the moments with his grandson. Cast after cast, Ethan was getting the practice in that would make him an expert by the time he was a teenager.

Ed got home after dropping off Ethan. “Turns out you can make core memories in our winter years,” he said to his wife.

“Autumn years Eddy, Autumn. I’m glad you had a good time,” Emma replied.

Ed smiled quietly to himself and went to the fridge for a cold drink.

Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow.

EPILOGUE: No Epi today, simple story, hope you enjoyed.