TEF, Vol. 2 No. 1

I caught my breath in a little gasp. It should have been bec9,use he startled me , but I knew i t was be cause he s tood so dark and handsome right there by me" I said, 12 No, we can't get them after they take the b con.•w 1You need a net to sc op them up with, 11 Paul xplained ., I told him that we j ust did it for fun, mostly to amuse by brother , but he showed us the art of catching a crab by taking the string and feeling the tugs. Then he slowly pulled the weigt"J.t up out of the water . There was the miniature monster ~ gl aring at us for pull ing him out cf the baye Paul carefully put his thumb on its belly and his i ndex finger on its back, taking it away from the bacon .

Suddenly it twisted on his grasp and pinched him. He hurled it away, muttering curse wor os . I heard him, and r ight then I was vaguely aware of the heavens "elling me to beware. But something about him fascinated me .

'Ihe J---ed blood stood out against t.he dark tan of his hand . A dr p spl a tere on the pier as we walked away, l eaving my brother to crabfish alone .

He wasn't mad anymor·e as he said, ttLet' s go up to my umbrella."

We s ..o4rolled along the wooden pier, watching a yacht sail around the rocks jutting out into the ocean~ We talked about boats and swimming as Vii _, lay under the umbrella. Paul said, n I like to swim over in the bay -vvnere they dock the yachts."

11 Why. " I asked, nonchalantly trailing my index finger through th e sando "Because it's still and dee p. Like a big s alty lake."

I thought about still waters running deep ... .. .. • Once I raised up to see about my brother. When I did I could ~ee t he cath dral, poised high upon the bluff, looking out over the Gulf. nWhe .. e do you go to chur ch?" I asked him.

He pointed to the Greek Orthodox Church just down f rom the cathedral~ I · ay back, daydreaming for a ~1ile , and looked at the Greci an God I h~ d just mete But again there was t hat uncomfortable feeling that somet hing was wrong, that the heavens were trying to tell me to be careful .

I stayed with Paul all that afternoon. We talked a little, but When our ~yes met, our sentences faded away as the sunshine finally faded un il it was dusk. My brother grew tired of splashing in the water and crab-fishing and said he was ready to go., We said goodby-e to Paul, and he said, nwill you be back tomorro·w?"

I said "Yes, we come here every day. n "Then I 'll see you sometime. Maybe some night we can go out to Padr • n His black eyes came ali ve with his last wo rds and I wondered.

Page Eight