The river rushes through my mind as I see the miniscule waves wash all my thoughts away
I open my eyes
I see the trees covered with leaves as they gingerly linger around me
My boots make imprints in the unkempt soil where my grandpa once stood

I can see his reflection in the water
The river is speaking to me like the leaves that linger around me
I can feel his presence.
I can feel his warmth.

My pole takes a nosedive straight for the river
I reel it in with my cold fingers as I feel the weight of the river against me
It takes a toll on me that I will not see him again
I will not see him again.

It takes all my strength to reel this fish onto land
Oh. There it is.
The fish is the length of my palm to my fingertips
How can something so mighty be so… bland

But once I held the mighty small fish in my hands
I feel the warmth.
The same warmth I felt around Pa
The same warmth that filled my body when I held his hand long ago

I look down at the small sunny
He is yellow and brown and spikes covered its scales
But the spikes didn’t puncture me
The small mighty sunny didn’t frighten me

I can feel his presence
His mighty looks and status
But his soft caring personality lingers
I let the fish go just like Pa would tell me to do.