As I Looked Into The Water

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Who among the fishermen in the winter has not tried to look into the hole? Probably everything. As a child, when I came to the river bank, I often liked to do it. The late grandfather even used to say: you like to poke your nose where you don't need to.

In the transparent depths, I saw the real magic kingdom of Neptune himself. The ridges of stones and pebbles did not look at all the same as in the aquarium. Algae in their entire life size and objects that got into the water, overgrown with moss, complemented the idyll of the fairy tale. Of course, my main interest was in observing the behavior of fish under a thick shell of ice.

One winter day, I quarreled at home with my sister. Twisting her fingers at her temple, she said that an ambulance should come for people like me and immediately added - I need to be treated …

The next day, having collected winter fishing rods, I got to the reach and went out on the ice. This time there was no bite for a long time, and I decided to lie down on the ice and look into the hole to see with my own eyes that there is still fish here. I shielded myself from the light with one hand, and with the other, on my index finger, I held a fishing line with a jig. Striped handsome perch stood right under the hole, not paying any attention to me and my jig. Just some kind of sleepy kingdom, I thought. Well, I decided, you don’t want to be caught like that, I’ll take a trick, and started a game with them, like with a kitten. Making different variations of the jig nods, speeding up and slowing down the pace, I simply "turned on" them, causing a chase and attack.

And with the help of such a game of "cat and mouse" I was able to deceive and pull out on the ice a few measured, palm-sized perches. I got excited and completely captured by this exciting hunting game.

I don’t remember how long I spent in such a horizontal position, but suddenly someone with a strong jerk quickly turned me onto my back. Naturally, hitting the bright light, I abruptly closed my eyes and for the first moment lay dazed and motionless. And then suddenly I heard the first words, as I understood, addressed to me: "Mom, but he doesn't even breathe like … Probably, the guy felt bad, and there was no one to help …". When I got up, I saw that among the people standing at the hole, one was in a white coat and with a suitcase, and not far away, on the shore, there was a car with the inscription "ambulance". Shaking off the snow and ice crumbs, I began to look at them as if they were sleepwalkers. Also for me, the circus was arranged for fishing, apparently, the fishermen were not seen. Choice abuse and reproaches fell on my head. It turned out that I was somehow guilty before them.

And what happened, it turns out, is the following story. Passing along the shore, the compassionate aunt saw a man lying on the ice face down, without moving. Quickly calling an ambulance, she expected to be praised for her quickness and thanks for her help. And then suddenly both her and me were scolded by all and sundry, they began to threaten to send to the police for a false call to a medical car. And all this instead of the expected gratitude.

It turned out that the compassionate grandmother was embarrassed herself, and even dragged me into this embarrassment.

At home, I didn't say anything to my sister. It turned out that her words about "ambulance" really turned out to be prophetic.