The Wanted

     "Oh my God, Missy, that was great. You really helped me out."

       "Helped you with what? "

      "Oh, uh...nothing," I said awkwardly. "What are we going to do next?"

       "How's about a little fishing? I have a whole stash of poles near the lake. It's real private. We'll probably be the only ones there." I got real excited. I had never been fishing before, but I had always wanted to do it.

       "Sure, I would love to," I said happily.

     "Great, let's go."

    She took us deep into the woods. I was feeling a little uneasy because, this was in every scary movie I had ever seen. I mean come on. Pretty girl, plus creepy woods, equals guy with a chainsaw trying to kill us. Lucky she lead us straight to the lake (and there was no guy with a chainsaw trying to kill us.)

      "This is great, nobody's here. This will hopefully help out with-" Chris stopped talking.

      "Help out with what? Why do you guys keep saying that?" Missy said.

     "Oh, its nothing. Let's just fish." She looked at me a little weird, then smiled.

      "Don't have to tell a country girl to fish twice." She left and came back five minutes later with some fishing supplies.

      "Got these from my hiding place. I come here when I'm sad and fish. It....really helps with the stress and everything." She had an unsettling look in her eye. Like she had seen something she could never unsee. Out of nowhere she snapped out of it.

       "Any of you boys know how to fish? " Chris and I looked at each other.

          "No!" We said.

"Well, I guess I oughta teach ya." She explained all the basics to us. Like if the bober goes under water you have a fish on the other end, or what to do if the line gets caught in a tree branch. Then she demonstrated the right way to cast a line. It looked pretty easy, but I quickly found out it's harder than it looks. I couldn't figure out how to get the line in the water. Chris on the other hand had no problem. He was a natural. I was so frustrated. It was literally the hardest thing in the world to understand.

      "I can't do this! It's hopeless," I said mad like.

        "It's not hopeless. Let me help you." Missy came up behind me and put her arms around the fishing pole. I was the happiest guy in the world. I didn't even care if I ever learned how to cast a line, I had Missy's arms around me. That's all I needed.

       "Swing back and release." Just like that the line went flying into the water.

       "Thanks. I didn't think it was that easy." She smiled.

      "Looks like you have a bite." The bober went under the water. I reeled in a small, grey fish. Missy said it was called a carp.

       "Wow, your the real natural Dan-...Kevin. You caught a fish immediately after you castes your line." I felt proud. I had actually accomplished something. For once in my life.

         "What do I do with it Missy?"

     "Well, you can keep it and fry it up, or do what I do, throw it back."

          "You should keep it so we can eat it for dinner tonight." I looked at the fish. It was still alive. I couldn't kill it, I wouldn't kill it. I threw it back in the water and watched swim away.

        "Why did you do that? That could have been our dinner?"

      "I just couldn't kill it."

             "Why? It's just a fish."

     "It's more than just a fish. It's a life. And when I die, and God ask me why I killed one of his own I can tell him I made up for it by letting the fish go."