Walking on the beach just as the Pacific tide turns back in on itself I lower my big stick to a meandering drag. Emotions settle from an off-key choral to a steady hum as my eyes lift off from the sandy shore. My visual path upward gets caught in a glint on a rocky dune. "Has someone lost a jeweled necklace or perhaps here lies a bottle broken?"
A birseye view lands on the gaze of what appears a living fish. Stooping down to scoop it up I jiggled its mouth to look for any sign of life or muscular reaction. None. I smell it, no scent of death. Stiff? No, and the eyes are perfectly clear of shadow or distance, it actually appears to be looking back at me. It's scales were even damp and yet it lay a full hundred feet from the outgoing sea.
I lay it on a rock and just as I did with my brother and my aunt I bid the wee soul a safe journey and a fortunate sojourn. "May your heart remain open, your fears meet with calm and your travels land you in a pleasant abiding."
