He made his way down the old familiar dirt path as the morning light began to appear in the sky through the trees.  It had rained the past evening and he moved carefully over the slick mud and stones.  He could hear the river up ahead, low rustlings of water along the banks and through the rocks and riffles.

            He carried the weight of his overstuffed fishing vest and a small backpack.  His fly rod was aimed back behind him as he cradled its smooth grip gently at his side.  He was dressed warmly in the cool of the autumn morning.  His breath showed in labored mists of steam as he continued on the long trail from where he had parked his truck. 

            The soft light showed the deep creases that lined his face and spread out from the corners of his eyes.  A once firm chin and neck now sagged just a bit and was covered with the gray stubble of two day's beard.  He had recently passed seventy-two years and it was evident from his slow pace and slightly bent figure.  Only in his clear green eyes could you see the energy of his younger days.

            The river was now visible up ahead through the trees and low brush of the forest. It ran quickly to his left, looking nearly black in the early light.  The far bank, some fifty paces across, showed the colors of Fall just beginning to show in the hardwoods, framed by the lingering deep greens of tall cedars and pines.  He stopped at the bank, a grassy ledge above the current.  He looked around to take in the beauty of this stretch of water that he had come to know so well through the years.  He was breathing hard from the walk and sat on the bank, lowering his wading boots into the steady pull of the river.

            To his right upstream was the smooth surface of a long tailout from a deep pool disappearing around a bend.  Out in front of him a fast riffle broke the surface as the water dipped and swayed over gravel and stones.  On below the river flowed smoothly into a stretch of jagged pocket water with large boulders dappling the flow.

To receive a free copy of the complete story, email Michael Lindley at michael.lindley@comcast.net.