When the Sun Goes Down

I dug the end of my fishing pole into the damp sand as Abby and I took a seat at the edge of the bank. We were simply fishing for our next dinner; our infamous fish fillets. I threw my knotted hair over my shoulder and rubbed tirelessly at my eyes. It had been only three agonizing days since Mama had passed, but I eventually found myself taking action with Murphy's opinions. He had insisted on taking Abby out for the day, which was exactly what I intended to do.

I tried to relax into the cool sand and hope that today would in fact go well. The sun was hidden slightly behind grey clouds, but the breeze picked up on the humidity. It was fairly nice out today and Abby was ecstatic to know she wouldn't have to suffer through more sun burn. Abby tugged lightly at her pole and let a frown form on her lips when she didn't have a bite. She sat it down beside her legs and tucked her kness into her chest.

She turned her attention on me and asked, "Are you okay, Adrienne?"

I quickly looked over and grew slightly shocked. I wasn't expecting her to ask something flat out, especially that. I nodded my head and said, "Yeah, Abby. I'm fine. Why you askin'?"

"You just seem so sad."She frowned slightly.

"Well, I'm gettin' better."I smiled warmly.

"Do you miss Mama?"She asked quietly.

My smile began to fade, but I kept it as long as I could. I nodded slightly and let my eyes fall to the dirt ground. Of course I miss Mama; she was my whole world.

"Yeah."I sighed."I do, Abby. I miss her a lot."

"Well, you can be happy."Abby stuck her thumbs up and tried to be funny.

I couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. I set my pole in my lap and turned toward her.

"I guess I can do that."I smiled."How about you? How you feelin', darlin'?"

"I'm okay."She said."Um,"

She scratched at the back of her head slightly, as if trying to figure out what she wanted to say. Abby was only thirteen or fourteen years old, so I couldn't expect a crazy question. She dropped her hand and asked, "Are you, Connor and Murphy brothers and sister?"

I chuckled lightly and shook my head.

"No,"I laughed."we're not."

"They were really upset."She frowned.

"Well,"I began."they were really close to Mama. She was like a mother to them too. When I lived in Louisiana, they took care of her for me. They love her as much as I do."

My eyes caught Abby's pole as it shifted in the sand. I pointed to the jiggling pole and shouted, "Get it Abby!"

She turned with a gasp and laced her fingers around the thin wood. She began to tug and pull the fish in with a large smile. I went to reach over and help her as well, but my pole started to slip from my lap. Abby let out a loud squeal of happiness when I started to pull my fish in as well. She looked over at me and shouted, "I bet my fish is bigger than yours!"

"Oh yeah?!"I chuckled."We'll see about that, lil' lady!"

Abby and I pulled our first catch of the day onto land and looked down at their jumping bodies. They were of decent size, but nothing that would feed the whole group. I gave Abby a smile when she claimed hers as bigger. I laughed quietly and put the small fish into a medium sized bucket. We sat back into the sand and I sighed quietly.

"Alright, I guess you win that round."After fixing both of our hooks, we cast them back out into the river."But the next one I'm going to win. And the one after that!"

"Yeah, right."She giggled.

I leaned back in the sand and looked out onto the water. If we were to walk down a few yards, we would come in contact with the small waterfall that falls over the cliff. We were a little further away from camp than I would have liked, but this was the first spot where we met calm water. I took in a deep breath and smelt the murkiness of the water, the trees, the fish. I scrunched up my nose slightly and heard Abby giggle at my actions.

I turned toward her and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Your face."She snickered.

"Oh yeah?"I laughed.

She looked out onto the water and I watched as her features slowly turned slightly upset. I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but I didn't want her to start breaking down. I wanted to keep Abby happy, even if it were me changing the subject quickly. Abby peeked back over at me and said, "You know, Adrienne, I lost my mom too. If I can be happy, you can be happy too."

I felt my lips part slightly in disbelief. I never would have expected those words to come out of her lips. Abby was in her preteens, not an adult. I cleared my throat slightly of its oncoming shakeness and nodded my head.

"You are absolutely correct, Abby."I said sweetly.

I reached over and pulled Abby's tiny body into my chest. I hugged her tightly and forced a smile.

"Thankyou, Abby."I whispered.

"For what?"She pulled away and tucked her knotted hair behind her ear.

"For being a lot more mature than a kid your age should be."I smiled.

I tugged lightly at my line and felt my smile widen. Even though Abby was just a little girl, I couldn't help but start to realize how smart she really was. Maybe listening to Murphy was right. Maybe taking his advice and bringing Abby out here was a good thing. Because in the end, I found myself a new friend and someone I could lean on.