Reflections on the Hook

‘Am I truly ready for this? Why am I asking that now? I’m already here and I want to be here. There’s nowhere else in the world I want to be right now. If that’s true then why am I asking these questions?’ Lara looked at the mirror and her reflection stared back at her. The same eyes, the same hair, nose, lips, ears; everything was the same as it had been, but at the same time, it wasn’t. She had grown much in the last few years and in way, almost didn’t recognise herself. It was difficult to fathom but she was also never one to turn down a challenge in life. This was just another one to be conquered.

She looked at the space in the tent reflected behind her. She was the only occupant. There were a few chairs scattered about, a table covered in a white-and-purple cloth with a few of her belongings placed on it, and the tent’s opening fluttering in the warm breeze. On the table, she could see a hairbrush, a bracelet, a pair of earrings, a bottle of water next to a half-eaten plate of food, and a closed blue folder. Lara focused on the plate and sighed. She’d felt hungry when she arrived, so she fixed herself something from the buffet but soon found out that her stomach wasn’t too keen on the idea of food.

Now, as she looked at it in the mirror, her stomach growled. “Enough of that.” She scolded. “Did my eyes always squint like this when I get heated?” Her grey eyes, with flecks of gold, looked back at her, a little too intensely to stand. She looked away for a moment then back again. “Maybe I should consider coloured contacts but Mort always said he loved my eyes. Said they were unique, and I guess they are.” Her gaze trailed to her nose, which she turned from side to side. There was a scar on the left above the nostril from an accident involving a fishing hook. Lara watched her lips form a half-smile as she recalled the memory.

She was ten and her older brothers had taken her out fishing for the first time. They went the spot their father had always fished at, out on Cranberry Lake in St. Lawrence County. However, since Mr. Anderson was laid up with a broken leg from an auto accident, the kids had decided to go on their own. Since she was under sixteen and Martin and Jesse had fishing licenses, Lara didn’t need one. They arrive early that morning, Martin getting her up before the sun so they could secure a good spot when the lake opened. The trio rowed out to their spot, baited their hooks, Jesse helping Lara with hers, and cast them to wait for a bite.

It wasn’t long before the ten-year-old started to get bored with the waiting and distracted herself by looking at the other boats on the water. They ranged in size from a rowboat like the one she was in to speed boats and decent-sized fishing vessels. Most had only two to three people on them but there were a few with more than five, and one of those boats was fairly close to the one she was in. So close, in fact, she could almost make out the eye colour of three of the boys who looked to be around her age.

“Hey, Martin?” She called.

“What’s up, little sis?”

“Are they supposed to be this close to us?” She pointed at the larger vessel, and he turned to look over his shoulder. “Won’t they scare the fish away?”

“No, they’re fine, unless they drift any closer then, we may have a problem with a possible collision but it’s unlikely. We can always move to a different spot if you’re nervous about it.”

She shook her head and looked up to see one of the boys was looking at her. “No. I’m fine.”

“Uh-huh.” He grinned and turned back to his pole, which had yet to move.

Lara attempted to focus on her own line but kept glancing up at the boy, who smiled at her and winked. She didn’t know how to respond and smiled back a little but looked back her pole. She felt her face go red when she noticed the other boat had drifted a bit closer and she was still being watched. ‘Focus!’ She forced herself to not look up anymore and her line started to tug. “I got something! It’s big too!”

“Give here!” Martin secured his pole and picked up hers. “Dang, girl! What do ya got hooked on here? A great white?”

“Easy!” Jesse harnessed his brother to an eye-hook so he wouldn’t get pulled in while he fought with the big fish. “What do you suppose it is?”

“Won’t know until I boat it! Get the net ready!” While her brothers attempted to wrangle her first catch, Lara looked over at the boat to see the boy still making eyes at her. Now, that he was closer, he seemed older than she originally thought, and his stare was starting to make her uncomfortable. She looked away and didn’t look back until, “Watch out!” She didn’t have a chance to duck when the large pike on the hook came flying at her.

“Oof!” She was thrown on her behind and knocked almost senseless, the big fish flopping next to her on the boat’s floor.

“Damnit! You okay, sis?” Martin kneeled in front of her while Jesse wrangled the fish and tossed it in the cooler to take back to the dock. “Oh, crap.”

“What? What’s the matter?” It was then she felt something running down her nose. She dabbed at it with her fingers and saw blood.

“What-what happened?” She started to cry as the shock wore off and the pain hit her.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. We’re going home.” Martin hugged her, trying to get her to calm down.

“Lara? Lara?” She was brought back to the present when she heard Terry’s voice outside the tent. The other woman made eye contact with her long-time friend in the mirror. “It’s time. Your Dad’s here.”

“Right.” She gave herself a last once over, adjusted her dress and veil then went out to meet her father. “Hey, Dad.”

“Hey, sweetheart. You ready?”

She took his arm. “You better believe it.”