Her father seems to think well enough of me, to laugh and leave her with me, but I guess there’s not anywhere I could take her. He hasn’t gone that far away, anyway, just to see what was actually wrapped up in that net. I can’t tell much of what’s going on when I’m crouched down like this, but nobody seems to be getting eaten.
I have a little girl in front of me waiting impatiently for a story, and calling me wet man from town. Not sure what that’s about. “I’m not from town,” I tell her. “And my name is J—” The name sticks in my throat, but not because of the salt. “My name is a secret. I think your daddy knows, though.” And where that came from, I don’t know, since I don’t know her father from Adam.
There are two more women, as wet as I am, picking their way toward the knot in the shallows. One of them smiles at me, and I nod back but don’t stand. Don’t need to see what’s going on over there to feel like it won’t end well. I turn back to the little girl. “Are you sure you want to hear a story about sea monsters?” I ask, knowing what her answer will be. “You’re not going to be scared?”
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Date: 2011-03-15 12:19 pm (UTC)I have a little girl in front of me waiting impatiently for a story, and calling me wet man from town. Not sure what that’s about. “I’m not from town,” I tell her. “And my name is J—” The name sticks in my throat, but not because of the salt. “My name is a secret. I think your daddy knows, though.” And where that came from, I don’t know, since I don’t know her father from Adam.
There are two more women, as wet as I am, picking their way toward the knot in the shallows. One of them smiles at me, and I nod back but don’t stand. Don’t need to see what’s going on over there to feel like it won’t end well. I turn back to the little girl. “Are you sure you want to hear a story about sea monsters?” I ask, knowing what her answer will be. “You’re not going to be scared?”