Subject: The Essence
From: Christopher W. Thomas (creatician@poetic.com)
Host: dnb-as1s47.erols.com
Date: Tues Sept 23, 1997 at 3:21PM

He casts out his line, then takes a seat on a boulder to wait .... 

A short while later, there is a tug on the line, and he slowly but surely, pulls in his catch ....
As he quickly winds in his reel ... a shining silver object comes bobbing to the surface.
It is the essence of something he is not sure he understands ...

He quickly runs to the car, and grabs his phone, leaving the shiny object writhing around in his net.
As he dials HER at home ... slowly speaking the numbers deliberately ...
... he looks out to the sand, and focuses in on the object in the net.

It has now stopped writhing. It has settled down, apparently waiting for his next move.
He speaks sharply into the phone.

"Come and meet me here at the lake, Honey ... I have something to show you ...
it is something you lost long ago ... but it has always been there!"

There was a slow and gradual scream which came through the handset from the other end.
At first, he panicked, not at all sure whether he'd said the right thing ...
and then - the scream turned into a loud cackle of glee.
He knew then, he had said it perfectly. ....
He sighed, said his goodbye ...
threw the phone back onto the front seat, and then trudged slowly back to the net to survey his catch ....

The essence shined in the beams of the sun.
It was so strong ... the glare blinded him, and - momentarily, he lost his balance,
stumbling on some pebbles under foot.
As he struggled to maintain his footing, the net suddenly moved,
and suddenly the shiny object was no longer there.
In that moment - it had transformed itself, and suddenly ...
there SHE stood, looking back at him, holding her arms out to him lovingly.

He straightened himself out, and marched stolidly forward.

A Modern-Day Fable
by Christopher W. Thomas
[All Rights Reserved]