while we were up here—at least till they ran out of gas.
“Um, sure.” I looked at Anna, who was just staring at the ground in front of her. He thanked me, told me to
make sure I look out for her, then started back towards the camp. “Do you have everything you need?” It was
a stupid question, as it was pretty clear she had never been fishing before and really had no idea what she
would need. But Anna nodded anyway and the two of us started back towards my fishing spot.
We walked in silence for a while, though hiked might be a better word for it. The trail here was rough rock and
sand weaving in and out of boulders and trees that marched along the water’s edge of the canyon. We were
about half way there when she broke the silence. “How much farther is it?”
I stopped and turned to her. I could see she was pretty tired from the hike. She was wearing small yellow flip-
flops that couldn’t have been very comfortable. I then notice she wasn’t carrying any water. “It’s still a little
ways up.” I pointed up the trail as if this would make our destination clearer. She looked a little disappointed.
“But we can stop here and take a break.”
“I’m okay, we can keep going.” She tried to sound enthusiastic, to me it seemed as though she just didn’t want
to drag me down.
“I’m kinda of tired anyway.” I lied, speaking as I sat down on a rock. I un-slung the canteen I carried and took a
big gulp, watching her eying the liquid as I did. I offered it to her. She took the bottle and started gulping it
down. I was kicking myself, I should have thought about bringing extra water. I wondered how long she had
been thirsty. She had probably been staring at the water I carried and thinking about how much a pick I was for
not giving her any. After drinking near half of what I brought, she handed it back and thanked me.
“Ready to go?” She stood up and started walking again. She seemed both eager and dreading the walk at the
same time. I didn’t know what to think. I quickly caught up to lead the way.
We eventually arrived at my fishing spot. Here the sandstone walls had created a large bowl shape with water
on one side dropping into a deep hole, and a sandy beach half-shaded by the rock over hang on the other.
“Wow!” Her eyes where wide with wonder as we slid down into the small basin of sand. I remembered when I
first found this place, I probably had much the same look on my face. “Okay, the hike was worth it!” She smiled
over at me. I sheepishly grinned back. I then moved over to a rock chair I had created on the beach that was a
perfect place to fish and sit and read from.
Putting the rest of my things down, I quickly rigged my pole and cast it into the water then sat down. I leaned
back in my rest and watched the light ripple as it reflected off the water onto one of the bowl walls. Nearby
Anna had sat down in the sand and was fumbling with her fishing pole. After watching her become increasingly
frustrated with the thing, I offered my help. She accepted in a way that made me feel like she was expecting
the offer the whole time. I handed her my pole and began rigging hers.