A SUMMERS DAY page 4

found a tree that was tall, enough and wide sufficiently so it could scale it. The insulating pads on its hands and feet not only help to keep it warm during the cold nights; they muffled sound. Climbing the tree made no sound at all. Even to its sensitive hearing, it sounded like squirrels squiring up and down trees. It made it up as high as it wanted to go, then started to gather branches and leave around its body to camouflage, visually break up its form. It had finished when Mr. Thompson had just coasted up to the docks after that securing the boat, he grabbed the days catch.

Then dark being looked down upon the man and his catch, not moving a muscle. Its heart at the moment is settling at more a steady beat, its breath is now shallow. It became part of the tree that was directly over the head of Mr. Thompson. It watched as Mr. Thompson took out a cutting board and fillet knife then proceed to fillet the catch. It watches intently at the knife cutting the flesh off the fish. It started to wonder if... Before it could finish that thought. It felt something on its leg. It slowly turned its head with its multi ruby eyes to what it was feeling. It was a squirrel; a north American red squirrel on its leg. It didn’t flinch. It didn’t even try to shoo it away. It just stared at for a moment, then turn its attention back to Mr. Thompson. Soon the squirrel went away. That dark figure assumed that the little thing was curious and after the curiosity was fulfilled, it left.

Soon, Mr. Thompson started a fire in a pit. He had decided that he was going to eat his catch of the day outside. The smell of the frying fish, made the dark being stomach start to chinch up. Its shielded nostrils closed down, to protect the dark being from the onslaught of smells that were lofting up to it. However, that didn’t stop its stomach from remembering what the fish smelt like. It’s been awhile since the dark being had any fish, it coveted the fish of Mr. Thompson. Its mind began to the whorl of everything that he would do for it. The feeling of something was on its leg again. It looked back to the spot where the squirrel was before. The little creature came returned and started to eat a nut on his leg. It didn’t feel to threaten by the dark being, that it felt comfortable enough to have its dinner on him. The dark being wanted to skewer the small pest with one of its claws. It wanted to teach the little beast who it should be afraid of. Then it gave it another thought; it broke the spell of the fish. The tightness in its stomach lessened. The squirrel got a second chance, at living out the rest of its days in squirrely splendor. The dark inky form turns its attention back to Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson, had finished up his meal and started to clean up.