Village E3: Survival of the Human Spirit by James Holler

feeling
pretty good today," said Hailey, as she walked up behind Katie. "Yes,
I do feel pretty good. The fish is just about ready," said Katie.
"John and I found a stream that has a bunch of fish in it," said
Hailey. "That's good, because we are going to catch all the fish in our
pool, sooner or later," said Katie, repeating what John had said several
times before. Katie turned one of the fish over, and then took it from the
fire.
    "I think it's ready to
eat," said Katie, peeling back the skin from the fish, exposing the flaky
white flesh. Talking to Katie felt strange to Hailey, because they hadn't had a
real conversation, since they woke up on the beach together. Katie had been so sad,
that she never spoke more than a sentence or two each day. Now she acted like
her depression was a distant memory, if it was a memory at all.
    As Katie took the second fish from
the fire, John stepped from the hut. "The fish is ready," Hailey
shouted at him. "Good," said John, "I'm starving." Katie
passed one of the fish to John, as he sat next to her and Hailey. He tore away
a large chunk and began to eat. He then handed the fish to Hailey, and she also
picked off a large piece of meat, and put it in her mouth.
    While Hailey and John shared one
fish, Katie started on the other. Eating was a serious activity, since they
never seemed to have enough to eat, so none of them spoke. After consuming a
little more than half of hers, Katie handed what remained, to Hailey. By then,
she and John had finished their fish, and John was picking tiny bits of meat
from the bones.
    After they finished what remained of
the second fish, John chewed away at the skin covering the head, then removed
one of the fins and crunched away at it. "I'm still hungry," said
John. He and Hailey had been spending so much time looking for Katie, that they
both had neglected eating. "I'm going to catch some more fish," said
John, as he stood to his feet. "Now that we have another place to fish,
I'm not going to worry about catching all the fish in the pool," he said,
as he walked toward the hut to get his fishing pole. After a nice meal, he had
a little more life in his step.
    In no time, John had his pole and was
gathering insects to use for bait. He found that hunger was a great motivator.
Catching fish from the pool had always been easy and now that they had another
source for fish, he wouldn't have to ration them. Each time he fished, he
always checked his line for weak spots by slowly running the line between his
fingers, like his dad had taught him. This simple act was more important than
ever, because he couldn't afford to lose a hook.
    Satisfied that the line was ok, he
baited the hook and dropped it in the water. He liked to keep the bait in sight
so he could pull it away from any large fish. Within seconds he had his first
fish and tossed it on the ground behind him. He watched it flop about on the
ground, working its gills and struggling to breathe.
    As he looked at the tiny fish, he was
a little surprised that he was feeling sympathy
for this little creature. Putting his pole on the ground, he took the fish in
one hand, and using the back of his knife, he whacked it in the head. His need
for food required him to kill, but he felt differently about it than he once
did.
    After catching four fish, John
quickly gutted them and rinsed the body cavities out at the edge of the pool.
Seeing him returning with his catch, Hailey got the two cooking sticks ready to
be used again. Handing a fish to Hailey, John watched as she skillfully ran the
stick through its mouth, and out the body, near the tail. He handed the second
fish to her. They worked well together.
    Katie watched from her place beside
the fire, and realized that she was the odd person out right now. She wondered
how she would fit into this weird three-way relationship, which had been forced
upon them. How could I feel so good today, after feeling so bad for so long? Why were John and Hailey acting so strangely today